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Why did you choose to name your label Jeepster? Does it come from the
T-Rex song?
"The name Jeepster was chosen by Stef (one of the founders). It does come
from the T-Rex song. The idea being that it sounded like a person and
something you can relate to rather than a corporate entity, as well as
reflecting the music we listen to."
How would you describe the Jeepster Sound? What are the qualities you
look for when signing artists to the label?
"Alternative/Pop? We generally go for good song writing skills, prolific
creativity with the instrumentation and a unique vocalist."
If they weren't signed already, is there any band you'd love to snatch
up without hesitation?
"Quite a few actually. The Super Furry Animals are the first that come to
mind. But then also Beck, Bjork, Grandaddy, Blur, The Prodigy, Flaming
Lips, we could go on for days :) There's no point being in this business if you
don't still love music."
Jeepster is a relatively small and independent label. How important is
the make-up and position of the label to you? Is independence and size a
major factor in the label's philosophy?
"Independence is integral to the way we work. Small is beautiful. Although
we can see the label growing into the future, being small at the moment is
very good, with only 4 full time members of editor there are no internal
communication problems, and we can make decisions and act on them very
quickly."
What - in short - is the history of Jeepster? How did it come about?
"Mark had become bored and frustrated with working for major record
companies for 15 years, and Stef had worked in the City for that time. When Mark
finally left the majors with the dream of starting his own company (in
which he would finally have the ability to sign the bands he loved and work on
them in a way that reflected the music and wasn't just part of a rigid
marketing strategy), Stef agreed to come onboard with him and invest in the
startup of the company. Both Stef and Mark's friendship had developed from
going to gigs through the previous years, and here at last was the chance
to put out records that were of the same quality and diversity as the ones
that their friendship had grown from."
The internet is rapidly changing the way people consume and listen to
music. How important is this new technology to you, and do you have any
plans to use this medium in different ways?
"It's incredibly valuable to us. We don't work on records in a traditional
way, we have no rule book dictating how to make and sell a record. And
because of our size, we can't compete with a major record label's million-
pound advertising campaign. As a result, we have put everything into
finding the best way to let the people who buy our records know about our records.
It just follows through that the best way to do this is not to wallpaper
the streets with posters but to give the information directly to the fans and
to help provide the services that enable the fans to get in touch with other
fans and grow the fan base from the grass roots. We will continue to push
the boundaries of what is possible (technically and creatively) and
continue to ignore the rules on how to do things. We create music for people, and
we'll continue to use technology to let people know about it, be this
through internet radio, wireless area protocol, digital distribution,
or a fanzine element to the websites."
What does a typical day at Jeepster Central look like?
"Well the office is a permanent mess, merchandise covering the floor,
paperwork all over the deskspace, the walls cluttered with posters. We all
use computers and the internet a lot, so our desks are dominated by them.
In between fits of laughter, cups of tea and generally taking the piss out of
each other we get a surprising amount of work done. It's a simple 'heads
down' ideal, providing the work is done quickly and to a high standard,
then everything else is just fun and play and helps to keep the atmosphere
electric."
Aside from CD releases, a good deal of your records come out on vinyl.
How important is vinyl to you?
"Most of the bands' love of vinyl has encouraged us to continue to release
records on vinyl. But there is no doubt that the format is sadly dying.
We'll continue to put out records for as long as they can cover their own
costs as there's still no beating the sheer experience of getting a new
record, removing it from the slip, and dropping the needle onto it for the
first time. Records are very personal items, more so than a CD, it
remembers the time you scratch it and that becomes part of the character of your
particular piece of vinyl, you really can't surpass it for emotional
attachment. That is something that digital media neutralises too much."
When releasing a record, how important is packaging to you, combined
with the music on the disc? Is there a Jeepster look?
"Again, this is an artist-led decision. We try to give them full creative
control and merely advise on feasibility and production angles. Jeepster is
about putting out great music, the finer details like design should be part
of the artistic process of creating music, we're here to enable it and not
dictate it."
Have you ever thought about branching out into other areas such as
books or video?
"Not really, we're a record company, we don't want to be the next Virgin and
have planes, trains and crap soft drinks or other types of media empires.
We're very happy putting out the best music that we can and sticking to
what we believe we know, thank you very much :)"
What does the future hold for Jeepster?
"Who knows? We're going to continue what we're doing, continue to believe in
the music, and place that first. We're quite humble about what we've
achieved and we're not aiming to be the 'biggest record label in the world'
or anything. It's the old cliché, we're happy with what we're doing, we
love the music, and providing it manages to pay the rent for the bands and
ourselves, then we want to do this forever, anything else, is just a bonus
:)"
http://www.kindamuzik.net/label/709/jeepster-recordings/736/
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