Page 47 - DemoZone Magazine Issue 003

" The 100th release took me ages to put together, I chopped and changed with which one it should be. "
We have numerous videos of Dj’s such as Richie Hawtin playing KEFFISH’s ‘Contoure’ at Tomorrowworld, such an amazing feeling knowing these people are playing our releases from our artists.
Clearly a lot of labels these days fall way short of the mark and fail to establish themselves – where do you think people are going wrong?
You come across a lot of labels who just aren’t very professional in their approach and think it will all come together over night. We are pretty young in comparison with many labels, but we have maintained a professional manner and spend a great deal of time searching for avenues to help promote our artists and ultimately our brand.
Gaining respect from everyone is so important, whether it be from artists, other brands and the people that buy your music.
We also feel that the image of the brand is so important, from the artwork to the social media presence. We funnel a lot of energy into this and from the feedback we receive, it seems to be working.
What would you say to anyone thinking about taking the jump and starting their own?
We think one of the main things is to not be a music factory churning out release after release week in week out. We felt a bit like that for a while as we got busier, but thankfully we slowed things down and have taken on staff to help with various aspects to get the best out of all of the labels.
It’s so important to research the industry and the legalities of the recording industry. We joined the Association of Independent Music (AIM) right at the start and that was the best thing we ever did. They have been such a huge help and hold so many informative meetings and events. So we would definitely recommend joining them.
What’s the most difficult thing about running a label in this industry?
We would say two things; 1) Keeping up with all the correspondence and keeping on top of all the releases. You are forever chasing remixes, working out what goes with which release. It’s a huge lesson in organizational skills.
2) Financial stability is the second, it’s so hard to keep the momentum going if you don’t keep the consistency going.
What labels do you guys look up to with respect and why?
Oh there are so many labels we respect, mainly due to their consistency with releasing such fantastic music, such as Family Grooves, Ampispazi Recordings, Einmusika Recordings, No Passport, Troupe, Sweep The Floor Records, Highway Records, HIVE Audio, Noir, we could probably name 50 labels that we love. There’s so much really good underground music coming out at the moment, it’s difficult to fit all in when we compile our podcasts ha ha
If you could go back to the day you guys started this movement – what advice would you give yourself?
Don’t do it ha ha For me (Paul) I wish this was what I was doing over 10 years ago when I was DJ’ing more. Getting the right people on board is so important and back then I was playing at so many huge gigs that it would have been much easier.
Of course time moves on and the names change, but there are so many people who are still there keeping it alive. It took so long to gain that recognition and we still are, it’s an ongoing thing. Perseverance is so key, when you have so much passion for something, you make your own presence in your own way, whether it be big or small.
Both of us have that same passion and so do all the people who make our brand what it is today, so our advice would be to keep going with what you love and believe in what you release. Of course everyone has their own taste and you will never please everyone, but if you believe in yourself, it doesn’t matter if you get negative feedback from time to time.
What does 2015 have in store for you guys?
Another milestone on the horizon is for the Unrivaled Music imprint, in the form of release number 200!! We’re currently planning that and also there’s quite a few label parties planned this year. Our EDM label are hosting nights at Lakota in Bristol and we have each label hosting room 2 over the coming year starting with an EJ Underground party on 1st May.
We’re currently organizing a Bloxbox Records tour for later in the year with Brandon Block being the main DJ on that, plus more and we’re also looking at doing some more events abroad again. Hopefully back to Thailand for another label party and India.
As always we are planning some releases with some notable names and we want to syndicate our Krafted Music podcast this year as it’s gaining thousands of listens every month.
Currently the podcast is aired on six radio stations worldwide covering the States, Mexico, UK, Argentina and Turkey. We really want to get this on as many stations as possible to spread our music as far as possible. We showcase some of the artists signed to us as well as some guest DJ's who we have a link with in some way.
We are also in the process of planning a relaunch with the labels after the summer as we feel we really ned to concentrate on what each label releases. We've had a variety of genres on a few of them and we want to come away from that to make sure anyone buying in to each label will know what to expect sound wise. By doing so we are recruiting more staff and have already taken on two guys from Amsterdam to A & R for us. All will be revealed later in the year.
Where can we find more information regarding your labels?
We have a Facebook page for each of the labels and also one for the main Krafted Music Group, here's the link https:// www.facebook.com/EJUnderground and our website www.kraftedmusic.com as well as the sound cloud pages for each label, and also our podcast.
Any shout outs?
All these have had a massive part in our journey and of course there are so many more we could name!
Warren Mann, Patci Wilde & Julez, David Ducaruge, Dean (D-Ramirez), Dave Seaman, Dimas (D-Formation), Chloe Fontaine, Solar Wolf, Paul Moore (Soultrak), Lee Williams, Alex P and Brandon, Steve Harvey , All the guys at Label Work and TLM, MC Stretch, Sean Hurley, Gökçe Kaya Nalıncı, Martin Ward
Words by Matt Caldwell
Pics By Comma Black & Anna Lucia
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