RareNoiseRecords - Update und Interview

Es gibt einige Neuigkeiten von RareNoiseRecords: Das für den 15. November angekündigte Somma-Album (wir berichteten) muss leider auf nächsten Februar verschoben werden. Als Ausgleich gibt es aber vollkommen unerwartet eine Download-Single namens "Nel Traffico" der neuen italienischen Verpflichtung Echo. Die Band aus Turin, bislang mit Abstand das kommerziellste Mitglied der RareNoise-Familie, wird voraussichtlich ebenfalls Anfang 2010 ein Album veröffentlichen.



Bis Frühjahr 2010 gibt es allerdings noch viel zu tun, wie Giacomo auf der Homepage schreibt. So ist etwa ein Relaunch der Website geplant, da mancher Content bislang zu unübersichtlich auf der Internetpräsenz verteilt ist und dies von Besuchern kritisiert wurde. Dennoch konnte Giacomo etwas Zeit erübrigen und uns einige Fragen zu RareNoise und den Künstlern beantworten. Giacomo verdient im Übrigen den Spitznamen "Radar", denn er antwortet auf manche Fragen noch bevor sie überhaupt gestellt sind. Nachfolgend das komplette Interview in Englisch, eine deutsche Zusammenfassung wird in den nächsten Tagen folgen.

[Optinal Mittelgrund] You're now on the scene for about half a year, most artists from the nice promo sampler have released their first items through the label. What are your thoughts about the first few months?

[Giacomo] RareNoise as a company was already founded in April 2008. We (Eraldo Bernocchi and myself) spent the time between then and our first release at the end of June, Meditronica, doing all the groundwork leading to our six releases - that is setting up the legal framework to regulate our relationship with artists, finding the right software architecture for website and accounting/royalty processing, finding the right people to act as PRs, defining the image of RareNoise, both in graphics and concept, finding the printers etc. etc., all that while selecting and finalizing the music projects which were going to represent us to the world (of music) and its consumers. All this took a looong time, but allowed us to present ourselves on day 1 with a well defined musical and artistic statement. Our time since our first release (end of June 2009) has been spent following the current projects, evaluating and serving our clientbase and more generally trying to convey the general design underpinning RareNoise and its recording arm, RareNoiseRecords.

[OM] Can you share any responses from media or fans?

[Giacomo] Gladly. We decided to follow different communication strategies, depending on the release.

Meditronica found very good response from a cross-section of fans of electric dub (people who would follow the work of Gaudi and Ashtech on Interchill), but also fans of Almamegretta, and was well received by the blog community in the UK.

We supported Method Of Defiance through our release of "Nihon" and in their current and future touring efforts. We used and will use "Nihon" as a card to remind the west (UK, US in particular) that Bill Laswell is still very active and on the forefront of music creation - he had slipped slightly from the radar, as he had focused a lot of his last years working and experimenting in Japan (Tokyo Rotation, for example). We have since decided to follow the Method Of Defiance project in its entirety, so expect a raft of releases, both audio and video, live and studio over the next couple of years. Press reaction has been very good, with features on Laswell and the Method on Echoes, Guitar and Bass magazine and The Quietus among the many.



The Mantra Above The Spotless Melt Moon is an insanely talented band from Naples, whom we decided to support from infancy. We have released their EP in September, and starting to get very good feedback in Italy. UK reviews are a little slower to come, but we expect to have a review in Rocksound for the Christmas issue. We will mount our campaign in earnest when they release their first album in February/March next year (on RareNoiseRecords).



Death Cube K went viral on its own... Buckethead has a very loyal following. We had reviews in Kerrang and soon in Metalhammer. I am thinking of organizing an amateur video competition around the DCK product - essentially every x months a song will be posted and the community will be asked to produce videos.

Parched is a small and inexpensive project - it currently has only been picked up by specialized digital radio stations/podcasts such as Solenopole and La Planete Bleue in France such as yourselves. We have postponed the launch of Somma until February 2010 to allow it the necessary lead time.

[OM] How difficult was it to set up a new label? And why did you start a new label in the first place? There's a lot of independent and specialised labels around, for instance one of your artists, Bill Laswell, has a few labels on his own...

[Giacomo] Yes, since I come from a completely different background - Eraldo was instrumental in smoothing the initial ride. Why did we start it? I can tell you a little anecdote: Mid 2007 I got in touch with Eraldo for the first time - at the time I wanted to make a documentary about three of my musical heroes, Laswell, Otomo Yoshihide and Eraldo Bernocchi - we started talking and talking, and eventually understood we cared for music in similar ways, and that the only way to further certain musical ideas was to create a platform to support them. Laswell has had labels in the past, at the moment Innerhythmic publishes some of his work (little collections/samplers). Method Of Defiance will all be released by us, as, possibly other projects to come in the future.

[OM] What will the general direction of the label look like? At the moment I understand it to be concentrating on an Italian and American mixture of guitar and electronics. Is this right?

[Giacomo] On the one side we will focus on a set of "stalwart" projects from the Laswell tradition, but we will be integrating them with more rock-band projects (such as Mantra) that satisfy the fundamental guiding principles of the label, which are to offer music that sits at the crossroads of musical genres, of audio and video and...

[OM] Are there any plans for releases beyond November 15th, when the new Somma album will be available?

[Giacomo] Somma has been postponed until February 2010. Beyond that we will have Meditronica remixes on a monthly basis (in digital format only), the new Charged project, a project of Eraldo and Nils Petter Molvaer (liquid light), the new MOD album, eventually Meditronica II (which will move towards the trance/techno space), the new album by The Mantra ATSMM, a new dubstep project by Ashtech and surprises....



[OM] What is the most successful release so far?

[Giacomo] MOD, with DCK hot on its heels, then Meditronica, Parched, the Mantra in order.

[OM] What can you say about Death Cube K's "Torn from Black Space". As far as I know it was recorded some time ago but did not get released. Any background info would be fine. Are there any plans for new releases?

[Giacomo] Yes, it was the "unreleased" DCK. As far as new projects are concerned, I would be very interested, but I will be approaching Buckethead in future (or try to do so...) to discuss - we also would like to push the visual aspect of the DCK project, by getting the fan community involved in making dark videos to accompany the tracks...

[OM] Did you ever meet Buckethead in person? If so, what was it like?

[Giacomo] No, but I hope one day. I think he is amazing.



[OM] Can you tell me any news about Charged, a project by Eraldo, Laswell and Toshinori Kondo? Will there be any further releases?

[Giacomo] Yes, 2010, lineup of the record: Eraldo, Kondo, Laswell, Guy Licata, Ayib Dieng and Paolo Polcari (of Meditronica...)



[OM] Is there anything else you want to tell us?

[Giacomo] I would like more than anything to thank you for your kindness and attention. I would also like to tell everyone that we are here to bring you all the best and most moving music we can conjure, and that we hope we will be providing you all with countless hours of listening ecstasy, mental stimulation - we hope one day to become synonym of a certain taste, both audio and visual - interesting and engaging music can also be incredibly close to one's feeling. If it doesn't move you, then it's not worth it.

[OM] Hope this questions were not too pretentious. ;-)

[Giacomo] Not at all, dear Tobias, I am deeply honored.

[OM] Thanks, Giacomo!

http://www.rarenoiserecords.com