Für unser erstes Interview haben wir uns UG, den Gründer und Chef des spanischen Independent Labels Thronerecords ausgesucht. Wir haben ihn zu seiner Arbeit als Labelbetreiber und seiner Affinität zum Vinyl befragt und er stand uns Rede und Antwort. Im Folgenden könnt ihr seine sympathischen Ansichten und Ausführungen lesen.
what was the reason for you to start a record label?
I used to run in the 90′s another different label before Throne. I felt really boxed in within a couple of musical styles, while personally I liked quite a lot of different bands and music styles, you know. So, I decided to pack the other label off, and started Throne Records in the beginning of the 2000′s, with a clear focus on attitude / intention instead of purely musical style. Along these years I’ve released some of the fastest bands in the world, as well as some of the slower ones! Also, some others non-related with speeds at all. So you can see the whole point. Therefore, the main reason why I started Throne up, was to release records I would buy myself if I wasn’t running a label.
do you sign bands that you like personally? if not, what music do you listen to privately?
99.9% of the priority when releasing a band is that I like them quite a lot on a personal level. As Throne is a one-man project, it all relies on my own personal taste, that’s it. Very rarely I helped out friends even though I was not that much into their stuff. I don’t count this as a mistake, because it feels good to help out people you respect, you know… but since some years ago I’ve seen there are enough labels and resources around which enable every single band to release something, so I decided to focus only on what I really like, you know… When at home or going to live shows, I listen to all the types of music you can imagine when seeing my releases’ catalog, and many other styles I really like which I don’t/can’t release due to lack of funds, resources, or knowledge. The list would be endless, believe me. My father was a local musician, while my mother was a local actress, so I was exposed to a lot of different stuff while I grew up…
do you have a favourite release on thronerecords?
Hahaha… who do you love most; mammy or daddy? Actually, yes, I have a favourite Throne release; always the next one!
if you were free to choose, which band would you sign for thronerecords?
I actually release most of the bands I’d like to! I’m really fullfilled and satisfied with the bands I’m releasing, honestly. That suits perfectly for a small underground/DIY label like Throne.
our personal evaluation is that there are currently more vinyl sales than a few years ago. what’s your personal view about vinyl purchases?
Well, as some of you may know, I decided to stop releasing CD format a couple of years ago, more or less. Instead, I tried to focus on the only music format I’ve always liked, always trusted in. I grew up in the 70′s and 80′s with my father’s vinyls and my own ones, never liked tapes back at the time (when I was a teenager I felt stupid to pay the same amount for a vinyl than for a pro-cassette release, I always thought vinyl was THE format). I’m not against CDs at all, it’s just that I personally only buy vinyl, therefore I started to distribute more and more vinyls despite of cds, and ended up releasing vinyl only as a natural progression. I think CDs sell quite more units seeing it from a global point of view (I mean, counting all commercial type of music). But vinyl gained more and more recognition within underground styles. Yes. I think it’s very positive because bands and labels will have to focus more on the release itself, whereas artworks, the whole sleeve format, analog sound, etc etc. It’s a victory for the true lovers of music, from my point of view. Of course, there are also shitty vinyl releases with no effort whatsoever in the artwork, package, sound quality, etc. But when a label and a band cares about all these aspects, you’ve got an unbeatable format there: vinyl!
what was your first self bought record?
I was 9 years old, and I remember this as if it was 1 year ago, believe me. I saved all the christmas money and bought Motörhead’s “no sleep ’til Hammersmith”. It was 1983.
what are your plans for the near future?
Well, this year 2010 seems to be one of the funniest and more hectic ones, if not the most since I started the label! You know, these sort of chances that happens very rarely. Like a snowball. I’m counting the days now for the SUMA “ashes” 2×12″ and CONAN “horseback battle hammer” 12″ get delivered from the pressing plant. Besides that; from May til the end of the summer, I should release the following if everything’s OK:
LUDICRA “the tenant” 2×12″
LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER “buscando una respuesta” 12″ (this is the first and last repress ever of this old Throne’s title, in order to celebrate their first album for Relapse Records)
JARBOE “mahakali” 2×12″
NADJA “skin turns to glass” 2×12″
Afterwards, with no time schedule set:
NEKROS debut 12″ (great swedish bands with the main head behind Tyrant and Arcana)
GRIEF “torso” 2×12″ (official repress)
GRIEF “miserably ever after” 2×12″ (official repress)
TARANTULA HAWK a couple of vinyls with unreleased stuff.
That’s it, more or less.
