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Can you give us the story behind the name "Slumberland records". Of course
we prefer Philip K Dick inspired stories or Star Wars rip-offs.
"Alas, the story is more regular than that. We stole the name from an old
(early 1900s) comic strip called Little Nemo in Slumberland. Very cool art,
very surreal stories. It seemed suitably dream-like. We like surrealism."
If someone asked you the time, would you say "The time is now, brother,
let's put flowers in our hair and move to San Francisco!"? No seriously, is
there a Slumberland sound?
"No way. Although we use to run Slumberland as a group effort (this is
important fact), it now reflects my tastes, and I like loads of different
things. I think people want to try to squeeze a label into a little hole
(especially small labels!), but that's impossible with Slumberland. I want
it that way."
What made you start Slumberland records? Your love for polkadancing? Or
maybe aliens from Plan 9 From Outerspace?
"I was infected by music from an early age, and then really infected by great
noisy music like Sonic Youth and Jesus & Mary Chain. Most indie labels in US
in the late '80s released only Punk or straight Noise - we wanted to stretch
that further. Plus we had bands and we wanted to release our music that
nobody else seemed interested in. Starting a label was the next natural
step. There used to be a cool record store in Virginia called Plan 9."
Who runs Slumber Records? Or do these records get automatically released,
just popping up in recordshops out of nowhere?
"If life was only that simple. No - it's all me. Mr. Mike."
The first release, a fond memory or a Stephen King downloadable
horrorstory? Give us the whole story in 125 words.
"A fun/weird experience. 3 lo-fi songs recorded on 4 track cassette, our idea
of twisted pop with loads of echo and Joy Division-style basslines. Took the
tape to a studio run by a guy named "Be-Bop" - he would not tell us his real
name. He seemed like an old hippie trying to be straight. He thought our
stuff sounded like Pink Floyd (huh?) and promised to "make it better." Which
mostly involved laying a ton of chorus and reverb over everything. When we
got the records back I honestly couldn't believe it. I used to be disgusted,
but now I'm just amused."
What are the pros of running a label? Crazy people sending you tapes of
New Age muzak hoping you will release it?
"Yup, and you can't get enough of that stuff. It's also pretty cool getting
lots of free records and getting into shows for free."
Hold on, how do you find new bands? You just pick some people you found in
a bar around the corner, push a guitar in their hands and beg them to make
some tunes?
"No, no - that's Matador. Ha Ha. Mostly I just ask bands whose records I like
if they will do something for Slumberland. Sometimes it works out OK. It's
almost never from a demo."
What about the artwork? Do you give the bands a free hand? Or do you
threaten them that if they use crayons, you will let Limp Bizkit remix the
record?
"Sometimes the band does it, sometimes I do it, and occasionally I work
directly with the band. It really depends."
A regular day at the office: playing frisbee or sending out flyers/promos
hoping people will believe your bands are GREAT. Don't worry, you got us
fooled.
"Lots of e-mail. Filling some mail orders, making ads. Listening to records A
LOT. I listen to music all the time."
Vinyl: "That's so retro, baby!" or "Oh let's go back to those Gold
Soundz!"?
"It's all about vinyl. I love it. I know that financially it doesn't really
make sense, but I don't care. I could talk for hours about why I like
analog, or how horrible digital is, or how crappy it was for the big labels
to force CDs on people, but the bottom line is: vinyl rules. I make it and I
buy and I urge others to do the same. It's a big "fuck you" to the whole
music industry, and it sounds better!"
How important is the internet for Slumberland Records? Apart from
downloading Britney Spears screensaver of course.
"Well, I think our web page is a good place for people to get information and
maybe hear previews, but getting records into stores is still the most
important thing. Unfortunately it's also the HARDEST thing!"
I noticed that Stereolab released some records on your label. Can you tell
us how that came about?
"I had been in contact with Tim and Martin (their manager) since the McCarthy
days, trying to get a McCarthy record for Slumberland. When that band broke
up and Stereolab started, they offered to do a single for me. At that point
they had just released their first 10", which I liked a lot. Eventually they
asked me if I wanted to do the "Switched On" compilation, and of course I
was happy to. By this time they were getting pretty popular, though not yet
in America."
If someone walked into a recordstore, what would you recommend them to
buy? Apart from a microwave of course.
"Some 2-step, or a good jazz record. Or some 60s soul. Or, yes, the new
Aislers Set album!!"
» Visit Slumberland Records' website
http://www.kindamuzik.net/label/709/slumberland/748/
Meer op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/709
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