What labels have inspired and influenced you up to this point – will you try and channel them?
There have been labels I’ve followed since the late 90s or early 2000s as much as new labels who are influencing me right now but I would never try to channel them. Influences are so important but don’t aim to copy. Use them in the right way and create something new.
Will you plan the label out over the long run or take each release one at a time?
I know from a lot of other labels I’ve been releasing on that their schedule is quiet tight and ahead and you’ve got to wait for a release to happen, sometimes up to a year. Of course if a label gets more and more popular and you start to receive all this incredible music it is difficult to get everything out but I prefer to keep it open and spontaneous at the beginning.
Will it be for your own music or anyone’s music? What sort of stuff are you looking for?
It will be an open platform for anyone. And here again I don’t like to put it into a pigeonhole. The more open it is the more exciting it is for me. Of course it will be music for the dance floor because that’s where we are coming from, but there might be as well music you just want to listen to at home.
How important is the overall package – the art, the format etc? Will you offer vinyl?
Super important for me, it’s the face of the label. When I’m in a record shop I sometimes pick and buy records out of the shelf only because I like the artwork without even knowing which music to expect or I see digital releases in my promo inbox and I don’t even listen to it because the artwork sucks and I often think, come on, put some effort in it.
For me it was clear at the beginning to offer the music on vinyl too. It’s the only medium where everything comes together and makes sense. The artwork and the presentation of it. It’s a big and risky investment nowadays and you might loose some money but it’s not about that. I still like to have a product in my hands than just on a screen.
Are you still a collector yourself/ Do you still play much vinyl?
On tour I rarely play vinyl, as it is too much to carry around, especially nowadays with all these 180g releases. 😉
But there are certain clubs where I still like to come with some records, Robert Johnson in Offenbach for example.
Of course I’m collecting a lot of it too. Once a week I go to the record store or order online and especially now since I live in Berlin I buy more records again as there are so many small shops all over the city where you can find some really good tunes.
What else you got coming up/are you working on?
Besides working in the studio on my next release for Truth Be Told.
If you could release one record from history on your label, what would it be and why?
I’m actually in touch already with two artists at the moment to reissue some of their old releases but as long as nothing is wrapped up I want to keep it quiet for now..