Various- Friendly Strangers

[Guest Phasen]

Hey everyone.

 

Well I've spent the end of 2008 preparing to launch my new record label. Our first release is a compilation album featuring exclusive tracks from the following artists:

 

Lackluster (Merck, deFocus, SLSK,)

Milieu (Infraction, Milieu Music)

City Rain (Boltfish)

Cheju (Boltfish, U-Cover, Herb)

Mint (Boltfish, U-Cover)

Mark.Nine (I/O)

Fomatic (U-Cover)

Five Step Path (I/O, Twoism)

Phasen (U-Cover, I/O, Distant Noise)

Koen Park (Experimedia, Acroplane)

Innerise (Make Mine Music, Distant Noise)

Mick Chillage (Psychonavigation, This Side Music)

The Dandelion Council (Archaic Horizon, Vu-Us)

Luga (Vu-Us, Distant Noise)

Xurba (Kahvi)

Rumorse (A Future Without)

and

Am-Boy (Attacknine, Unlabel)

 

 

There are samples up now at our label's myspace page- http://www.myspace.com/unnamedlabelrecords

 

This will be out in January of 2009 and available on CD and also in mp3 format from www.unnamedlabel.com (website still being built, please be patient!)

 

So yeh, check out the samples over at our myspace and let us know what you think!

[Guest Rent]

chea boyee! :grin:

[Guest Phasen]

Pre-Orders are now available from www.unnamedlabel.com

 

Release date is February 1. That will also be the day we launch our new website, digital store, and more.

[Guest Phasen]

A little review, more to come:

 

[unnamed Label] Records is a new venture begun by three American teenagers. Although this might not appear to be the wisest decision by a trio of youngsters, especially given the current financial climate, they have certainly got off to an impressive start. Their first release assembles the great and the good of independent electronica artists and the results wouldn’t sound out of place if they had come from more established labels like Make Mine Music or Boltfish Recordings.

 

 

In fact both these labels have some kind of influence since MMM’s Innerise features on ‘Friendly Strangers’ as well as a handful of Boltfish mainstays. One of these, Milieu, adds warmth to a precise collection of beats and similar qualities are exhibited throughout the compilation. The three label owners all contribute their own material too. I hadn’t heard anything from Mark.Nine or Five Step Path before but they both deliver crisp melancholia whilst Phasen’s ‘Illegal Leopard’ is a twinkling, mature piece of work that compares favourably to his recent ‘The Crisis Is Over’ album. In addition, Fomatic, Lackluster and the aforementioned Innerise evoke lonely nights with their subtly atmospheric offerings whilst Mick Chillage excels with some superior (and possibly danceable) ambient music.

 

The number of artists creating melodic electronica such as this never seems to dwindle but the crucial thing is that they manage to sustain interest here. Whilst there’s nothing outstanding on ‘Friendly Strangers’, the tunes are uniformly strong, the artists complement each other well and - in many cases - manage to convey the often elusive gift of emotion.

 

 

 

 

http://leonardslair.wordpress.com/2009/01/...ndly-strangers/

[Guest Phasen]

Another. This comes out tomorrow. Thanks to those that pre-ordered, they are in the mail!

 

VA: Friendly Strangers

[unnamed Label] (from textura.org)

 

 

"[unnamed Label] Records, an upstart label by three producers (all of them under twenty years of age), makes its first appearance with a sixty-six-minute compilation of fourteen pristine electronica tracks with roots in atmospheric, Boards Of Canada-styled electronic music (children's voices, reminiscent of those in BOC's material, surface amidst the billowing electronics in Luga's “Little Fingers”). Two of the three—Marcus Gutierrez (aka Mark.Nine) and Tomas Borosko (Five Step Path)—previously managed the net-label I/O and are joined in the new venture by Ryan Parmer (aka Phasen).

 

Friendly Strangers is certainly a credible entrant into the electronica domain: the album's gleaming and generally sunny electronic music is naturally tailor-made for devotees of Boltfish, U-Cover, and I/O, given that most of the featured artists previously appeared on those labels; plus the panoramic collection includes no shortage of pastoral and chiming reveries by the likes of Phasen, Lackluster, Rumorse, Innerise, Fomatic, Mint, and Cheju. City Rain and Milieu set the sparkling tone with two strong tracks, a jaunty electro-house stepper (“Asked For So Much More”) in the former case and crunchy ambient-electronic music glisten (“Nicepollen”) in the latter. Though the material is exquisitely produced, the general style isn't unfamiliar, and consequently the tracks that make the biggest impression are those with a little dirt and grime under the fingernails: in Koen Park's “American College Football Program,” funk seeps into earthy rhythms that clatter and rumble below the swirling synth melodies that uncoil above; robust beatsmithing in Mark.Nine's “Mobile Satellites” anchor ambient synth washes and melodic haze; and Five Step Path's “Seasonal Affective Disorder” grounds its gleaming synth melodies with hefty beat crunch and splatters of noise and grime. Most memorably, the album kicks into life the moment Mick Chillage's “Livin Large” enters with a punchy groove, its tough beats and greasy organ playing more in line with hip-hop than electronic music. A little bit more of that next time ‘round will make number two in the label's proposed compilation series even better."

 

 

 

Another. This comes out tomorrow. Thanks to those that pre-ordered, they are in the mail!

 

VA: Friendly Strangers

[unnamed Label] (from textura.org)

 

 

"[unnamed Label] Records, an upstart label by three producers (all of them under twenty years of age), makes its first appearance with a sixty-six-minute compilation of fourteen pristine electronica tracks with roots in atmospheric, Boards Of Canada-styled electronic music (children's voices, reminiscent of those in BOC's material, surface amidst the billowing electronics in Luga's “Little Fingers”). Two of the three—Marcus Gutierrez (aka Mark.Nine) and Tomas Borosko (Five Step Path)—previously managed the net-label I/O and are joined in the new venture by Ryan Parmer (aka Phasen).

 

Friendly Strangers is certainly a credible entrant into the electronica domain: the album's gleaming and generally sunny electronic music is naturally tailor-made for devotees of Boltfish, U-Cover, and I/O, given that most of the featured artists previously appeared on those labels; plus the panoramic collection includes no shortage of pastoral and chiming reveries by the likes of Phasen, Lackluster, Rumorse, Innerise, Fomatic, Mint, and Cheju. City Rain and Milieu set the sparkling tone with two strong tracks, a jaunty electro-house stepper (“Asked For So Much More”) in the former case and crunchy ambient-electronic music glisten (“Nicepollen”) in the latter. Though the material is exquisitely produced, the general style isn't unfamiliar, and consequently the tracks that make the biggest impression are those with a little dirt and grime under the fingernails: in Koen Park's “American College Football Program,” funk seeps into earthy rhythms that clatter and rumble below the swirling synth melodies that uncoil above; robust beatsmithing in Mark.Nine's “Mobile Satellites” anchor ambient synth washes and melodic haze; and Five Step Path's “Seasonal Affective Disorder” grounds its gleaming synth melodies with hefty beat crunch and splatters of noise and grime. Most memorably, the album kicks into life the moment Mick Chillage's “Livin Large” enters with a punchy groove, its tough beats and greasy organ playing more in line with hip-hop than electronic music. A little bit more of that next time ‘round will make number two in the label's proposed compilation series even better."

 

 

[karmakramer]

Sounds like this could be very good... I'll check it out.

[Guest Rent]

the comp came out fantastic Ryan...stoked to see it all came together so well. excited to see where else ULR takes us...

[Guest Phasen]

Thanks folks.

[esaruoho]

you gonna post it on last.fm?

[Five Step Path]

:embrassed:

[Guest Phasen]

Yup, here it is Esa. It doesn't seem to be appearing around their site yet and has problems with scrobbles but...

 

http://www.last.fm/label/%5BUnnamed+Label%5DRecords

 

 

 

Still taking orders for this one guys. Digitals are only 10 bucks, CDs just 2 bucks more.

[esaruoho]

Yup, here it is Esa. It doesn't seem to be appearing around their site yet and has problems with scrobbles but...

 

http://www.last.fm/label/%5BUnnamed+Label%5DRecords

Still taking orders for this one guys. Digitals are only 10 bucks, CDs just 2 bucks more.

 

what kinda problems with scrobbles?

[Guest Phasen]

This is important. You're gonna like this.

 

We totally redesigned www.unnamedlabel.com with a new idea in mind. YOU NAME YOUR OWN PRICE for all of our releases. Our first release, this compilation, is now available using this method from our website. Check the 'about' section of our site for more.

 

All of our future releases will be releases in this manner, with about 90% of your self-named price going to the artist, and the rest helping us manage the label.

 

What is music worth to you?

[Guest Benedict Cumberbatch]

- sounds like a bad idea -

[Guest Phasen]

Yeh it isn't perfect, but...we figure it will drum up a lot more business than just saying 'we need $13 for a CD'. No matter what, people will get it for free on torrents, slsk, waffles, etc etc...and that's okay. We just think that this way we will attract people who value the music and want to give back to the artists according to what the music is 'worth' to them.

 

Naturally, most people will just click the 'pay later' button and accumulate bad karma by essentially stealing, but at least they get decent quality mp3s with proper tagging, etc and not some 128kbps garbage that is incomplete or DRM-laden etc.

 

Times are tough too, so I'd much rather have 100 people pay only 2 bucks for a release than to only sell 10 copies for an equiavalent amount of revenue. The more people that get to hear it, the better. We will still press CDs as well for most releases, however, to allow those who want something physical to get their hands on it.

 

 

Anywho, enjoy it folks. We were lucky to get some good artists/tunes on here.

[Mellow U]

I agree that this idea is totally flawed, for one reason (among others) that comes immediately to mind: distribution? By doing this with your release, what impetus does any shop or distribution outlet have to carry it? If you've already lowered the price to zero (essentially), a shop won't come near it because their business model relies on wholesale prices from the labels with a shop markup so they can profit by carrying your record. Therefore even if they did carry it, it would never sell if the label itself was giving it away free, with filesharing/torrenting/etc aside. I help run three small labels and I can assure you, a label with no distribution will fail.

[esaruoho]

I agree that this idea is totally flawed, for one reason (among others) that comes immediately to mind: distribution? By doing this with your release, what impetus does any shop or distribution outlet have to carry it? If you've already lowered the price to zero (essentially), a shop won't come near it because their business model relies on wholesale prices from the labels with a shop markup so they can profit by carrying your record. Therefore even if they did carry it, it would never sell if the label itself was giving it away free, with filesharing/torrenting/etc aside. I help run three small labels and I can assure you, a label with no distribution will fail.

 

what makes you think distributors / distribution even exist anymore?

and the chances of a fledgling label with: a compilation: on their belt, is going to get distribution, why? it didnt really work in 1999-2000-2001, now it extra double doesn't work. same with remix compilations. its no use :devil:

 

 

[Mellow U]

I agree that this idea is totally flawed, for one reason (among others) that comes immediately to mind: distribution? By doing this with your release, what impetus does any shop or distribution outlet have to carry it? If you've already lowered the price to zero (essentially), a shop won't come near it because their business model relies on wholesale prices from the labels with a shop markup so they can profit by carrying your record. Therefore even if they did carry it, it would never sell if the label itself was giving it away free, with filesharing/torrenting/etc aside. I help run three small labels and I can assure you, a label with no distribution will fail.

 

what makes you think distributors / distribution even exist anymore?

and the chances of a fledgling label with: a compilation: on their belt, is going to get distribution, why? it didnt really work in 1999-2000-2001, now it extra double doesn't work. same with remix compilations. its no use :devil:

 

Distribution is different for every label, and in my own experience, we've done pretty well finding places that work with us beneficially. All it has ever taken for us has been emailing shops and offering them wholesale prices, and seeing who is interested. The music usually speaks for itself, and in that respect I think a compilation with a seemingly "well known" lineup of artists has a better chance with distributors than, say, a full album by any one artist.

 

Beyond this, even if the land of distribution were as dried up as you say, it still spells out doom for a label that funds hardcopy releases out of the owner's pockets to simply give a physical product away for free. You say trying for distribution is no use, but giving everything away for free doesn't seem like a viable alternative to me.

 

That said, you will probably argue that "people don't buy records anymore" and that is also true to an extent. I feel that, with Phasen in mind, he does have the right idea having faith in the people who actually want to support the artists/label/music, and believing that they will follow through even if offered something for free, but I think meeting the consumer halfway and not 99% of the way is a slightly more reasonable path to tread. People like free things, so give them a component of the release for free, instead of the entire thing. Or, generate some bonus material that is only available to consumers who pay a "minimum wholesale fee" of, say, $5. There are numerous ways to garner people's interest in a hard copy product that do not involve just giving up and expecting people's guilt to take over at the right time - that just isn't going to happen, at least not nearly enough to support funding of future endeavors.

[Guest Phasen]

Well you're both right. As for distribution, I am not interested in it at this point. I don't see how mailing stuff to smallfish, norman, etc will help me at all. If people buy it then they can buy it directly from the label. I have talked to several distributors and nothing sounds good to me. My own releases are at u-cover, n5md, norman, smallfish, etc etc and they sell terribly simply because nobody besides other musicians and hardcore collectors pay for them anymore. And that just isn't a lot of people...no market for it.

 

And Brian, I know this is giving it away for free...but how is that different from any other release. I can have any album I want within 30 minutes without leaving my chair, usually before its even released. Having the .zip on our page isn't gonna hurt us. If we're picky enough about what we release and keep it at the best quality possible, the artists will eventually benefit from it. We look at labels like Sending Orbs as role models for quality control/putting out very few releases.

 

So no, this will not make us any money initially. But we weren't really trying to in the first place. Business wise, this makes no sense, but this is more of a hobby than a business in the first place. We have turned down all of the demos so far, but by the time we find one we like enough I'm sure we'll hash out some incentive (like bonus tracks) for people to actually spend money, cause...be real...90% of people won't donate anything no matter how much they love it (at first, at least. Once the label gets bigger/respected then I think this model will work well for us.)

 

Either way, there's essentially no investment cost in it for us, so if it fails terribly then...oh well. In 2 years time we could be all about distribution, who knows. People seem to want digitals now, so we're giving it to them. There's just 1000s of labels and we don't want to fall into the same ideas as every other one. THAT is certain death, or at least certain boredom for me.

 

Start small, try to be different, go from there. Who knows.

[Mellow U]

Well you're both right. As for distribution, I am not interested in it at this point. I don't see how mailing stuff to smallfish, norman, etc will help me at all. If people buy it then they can buy it directly from the label. I have talked to several distributors and nothing sounds good to me. My own releases are at u-cover, n5md, norman, smallfish, etc etc and they sell terribly simply because nobody besides other musicians and hardcore collectors pay for them anymore. And that just isn't a lot of people...no market for it.

 

And Brian, I know this is giving it away for free...but how is that different from any other release. I can have any album I want within 30 minutes without leaving my chair, usually before its even released. Having the .zip on our page isn't gonna hurt us. If we're picky enough about what we release and keep it at the best quality possible, the artists will eventually benefit from it. We look at labels like Sending Orbs as role models for quality control/putting out very few releases.

 

So no, this will not make us any money initially. But we weren't really trying to in the first place. Business wise, this makes no sense, but this is more of a hobby than a business in the first place. We have turned down all of the demos so far, but by the time we find one we like enough I'm sure we'll hash out some incentive (like bonus tracks) for people to actually spend money, cause...be real...90% of people won't donate anything no matter how much they love it (at first, at least. Once the label gets bigger/respected then I think this model will work well for us.)

 

Either way, there's essentially no investment cost in it for us, so if it fails terribly then...oh well. In 2 years time we could be all about distribution, who knows. People seem to want digitals now, so we're giving it to them. There's just 1000s of labels and we don't want to fall into the same ideas as every other one. THAT is certain death, or at least certain boredom for me.

 

Start small, try to be different, go from there. Who knows.

 

I'm not disagreeing with you on any quality control lines or any of your motivations for doing it either - all I was talking about with regard to making money was not about profiting, but about breaking even on what you already have so you can continue to fund future releases without a serious debt.

 

As for not seeing any point in having other shops carry your release - I'd say the positives are pretty obvious: exposure to totally different people on another side of the world? This is, in my opinion, one of the most important things for a new label to do. Imprint your name in any way you can on people with a good, solid first impression. How can that be a bad thing?

 

I'm not actually sure what you mean when you say "no investment" - I thought there was a physical component to this release? If there isn't going to be anymore, and you're going totally digital with the release format, then I really don't see why you don't just charge a fiver for it?

 

Either way, I of course wish you only good luck with all this, but I'd hate to see it fail when you clearly have some positive motivation and some good artists onboard as well.

 

[Guest Phasen]

Yeh, we just about broke even with the CDs and I am still selling them off over at discogs for 10 bucks. I think Tom was thinking of selling his off to smallfish i just remembered, so we may actually get some distribution after all...haha.

 

The label is kind of riding on the back burner for me. I focus a lot of the Phasen stuff and some new secret monikers/collabs, and I hope that success with those will translate into success for the label but...realitstically my odds aren't too incredible. I appreciate the advice and definitely absorbed it for later thought, but I def want to try this wonky idea out first.

[Five Step Path]

I hate everyone's idea.