Label Talk with Surrrealism

Creating an independent record label is quite easy in the 2020s - especially with digital releases and online distribution. Gradually more artists and professionals from the music industry wish to take the leap and create their own platform, in order to showcase their vision or musical taste and grow their brand.

Therefore we inaugurate today a new interview category dedicated to Label Talks, where we will exchange with brand owners and give some insight to future record label bosses.

We are also hoping to learn a trick or two in the process ;)

Hey EdOne, it’s nice to talk with you again on Melodic Diggers. Today we have a few more questions for you and Pakk, but this time more specifically about your experience as record label owners.  

First of all, we were wondering when exactly this collaboration between you 2 started, and how you came up with this idea of creating your own label. How long did that process take? 

EdOne: Pakk and I met 20 years ago and currently, in addition to my partner in crime in Surrrealism, he is one of my best friends. I suggested we set up the label together and he did not hesitate. So we embarked on this adventure together.

This is an idea that has always been in the back of my mind, but it wasn't until 2019 that I began to take it more seriously and decided to put it into action. It manifested in 2021, after a year of pandemic in which I had enough free time to consider everything.

Why did you choose the name Surrrealism?

 E&P: The label's nomenclature is related to our intention of incorporating visual arts into our project. Surrealist art has an infinite number of ways to show and express itself, giving us a wide range of options for working on the development of our ideas. We had no hesitation in calling it that because we're big fans of surrealist art. We've always admired the work of artists such as Salvador Dali, René Magritte, and Max Ernst.

We included an extra "r" in the name to distinguish the word of the surrealist concept from the name of our brand and give it a personality boost.

With already so much music out there and released every week, why did you want to create your own label (and therefore put out more music)? 

It's true that there is a lot of new music every day, and it's without a doubt a good thing, but we also believe that most of it follows a trend, and our goal when creating this brand was to sign rare music that works on the dance floor, as well as the opportunity to have a lot of exclusive music for months and thus be able to make our sets more special.

What are you trying to achieve or build with Surrrealism, and what makes it different from other labels?

What we hope to accomplish with our project is to create a gathering place where our listeners and visitors can enjoy, learn, and even contribute to the development of our concept. Everyone is looking for their own recreational stimuli. Art is a bond between people, and we want to bring as many people together as possible to have a good time. We also try to provide both auditory and visual works, as well as a personal and critical perspective on our surroundings.

Would you agree that it’s easy to create an independent music label nowadays? 

It's simple to start another label that doesn't stand out, but doing something different, with quality and originality requires time, investment, and a lot of headaches haha.

We were curious about how you select the demos that you receive. Do you also ask producers to send you some?  

The selection procedure is extremely thorough. We receive a large number of demos, which we carefully listen to in order to find sounds and feelings that match our style and concept. Finally, because sound is our trademark, we try to stay true to our understanding of music and what we want to convey.

We also ask some producers who we believe will fit our concept to send us new music so that we can collaborate. In fact, some of our catalog artists, such as LERM, Abuk, and Liebig, released their first tracks on Surrrealism. If we believe the music is of high quality, unique, and works well with the track, we will definitely sign it.

A question about the schedule of a new label: how long did it take to prepare the first EPs before officially launching the label, and how many releases per year are you putting out? 

We estimate that it took approximately 8 months from the time we received the first original tracks from the EP until the release finally occurred; this was due to the remixers, cover art, and other factors. From here, we'd like to thank Murat Uncuoglu and Alex Medina for contributing remixes to the first EP when no one knew about the project.

The truth is that we don't release a lot of music; in the first year, we released about 7 EPs, "Equilibrium" by EdOne was the eighth, and we have four more planned for the rest of the year.

Regarding mix & mastering: how did you choose which sound engineer/studio to work with for this? 

EdOne: Well... I'm not a sound engineer, but after 10 years of working on sound, where I've been researching and learning on my own, I've made all of the label's masters, which are then sent to the artists for approval, and both they and I are pleased with the results.

Well, that’s impressive ; and pretty rare.

Are you releasing on digital or vinyl, or both? 

E&P: At the moment, only digitally, but we intend to release some special editions on vinyl in the future..

About distribution: who is your distributor and are you happy with them so far? 

We collaborate with Paradise Distribution. We believe they do an excellent job and make our work easier. They have a great platform that provides a wealth of detailed information, and they always respond quickly and efficiently to all of our questions and concerns.

About artworks: we’re curious about who is making the covers of the EPs, and why you chose to work with them. Are you going to work with a different artist every year like a lot of labels do? 

Nuria Baena is currently in charge of creating our covers. She has captured our concept and what we're looking for very well with each artwork. We believe there is a good working atmosphere, and her qualities are ideal for us. She is an incredible artist.

We’re not currently considering working with others, but we're always open to new proposals because we recognize that art has many points of view and infinite forms of manifestation.

Would you say that having your own platform made it easier for you to grow as artists? 

Having one's own platform, in our opinion, is an additional means of expression. It’s not essential for the advancement of your career, but it’s a place where you can develop more personal projects and ideas. In short, it’s a factor that adds up but is not decisive.

any exciting plans for the future with surrrealism? 

Surrrealism's upcoming projects are extremely exciting. Continuing with an extremely unique musical line, first-rate artists, and the most innovative artworks for our releases. We're also working on a clothing and merchandise line that will be available soon. Finally (and most excitingly), we're working on a showcase concept that will allow you to enjoy all of the content that our brand can express. It’s a time-consuming process, and we’re attending to every detail in order to provide a high-quality show.

and last but not least: What advice could you give to rising producers and djs who want to follow your example and create their own label too?

The most important thing, we believe, is to look at the market and try to bring something unique while remaining true to your style. We've already discussed the poor quality and originality of other cut-and-paste styles, as well as lyrics with poor linguistic and sentimental quality. You can't follow in the footsteps of others if you want to get a different product. All of this, combined with continuous learning and perseverance, can lead to the creation of a high-quality project.

interview by coralie lauren

Follow Surrrealism: