If you don’t know about them or never heard of them, well, then it’s about time to get to know them. If you do know this great imprint called “sinnmusik*”, then there is no need to explain they are doing marvelous things. Always up for a great release, always refreshing. These guys are pushing their limits for four years already and we hope they continue to do so for the upcoming fours years and beyond.
A four year anniversary calls for an interview. Especially when the guys celebrate with a fantastic compilation album called “REWIND pt1”. The name of the release alone suspects there is plenty moire to come in the future.
sinnmusik* – your quality house music supplier!
Hey Tom,
Congratulations with your label anniversary!
Hey Claudio, thank You very much! Also a big thanks to TG for organizing this interview as well as continuously supporting sinnmusik*. Means a lot to us.
Four years already. Time flies. Tell us about how it all got started. What was your motivation and process?
Woow it really does fly indeed!
When we look back, the eagerness of running a label already came from an early age:
From 2001 to 2005 sinnmusik* co-founder Clemens, owned one of Portugal’s first vinyl-only Techno-Electro label called Electrik Bass, with releases by DJ Quiz, Clé K, Gater (now Allies For Everyone) and Marky Star. Back then we were all involved hands-on as artists as well as promoters running multiple club-nights all over Lisbon. The years went by and our personal lives developed into more time consuming academic and professional endeavors and so EB slowly faded into hiatus.
Times were different back then, computers and the internet didn’t play the massive roles that they do today in terms of A&R, production, promotion and distribution.
Formats have changed, new tools have become available and the overall music business underwent a radical transformation. This new industry landscape gave us the right push to restart where we left off, and so sinnmusik* was born in the summer of 2012.
What’s your aim with the record label and what direction are you heading for after these 4 years?
Since day one we have wanted to focus on releasing new, up-and-coming talent and still today we keep this philosophy to heart. This approach allows our artists to shape the labels identity without pigeonholing ourselves in today’s jungle of music genres. We believe everyone can relate to the fact that music tastes evolve and adapts to different stages of our lives and we embrace this change with an open-mind in order to be prepared for WHAT’S NEXT.
If you would have known things back then that you know now, what would you have done differently?
There were a few demos that slipped through our hands, that we wish didn’t.
We have been in touch for about 2 years I guess. I must say you are doing a great job. What’s your drive?
It has always been about passion for the music, connecting with like-minded people and having fun. It has been like that since we started playing together well over a decade ago and we still feel the same way today.
If we counted well, you will have your 40the release as well with your upcoming Rewind compilation. That are quite some releases.
42 and counting. 🙂
We know you have a focus on a specific sound. It’s more house oriented. Are you open for other genres in the future?
We relish the diversity in House music and love that our releases touch the spectrum across-the-board. Having said that we look forward to letting our artists shape our future with 2017 seeing some fresh talent joining the sinnmusik* tribe.
Is there a music policy on the label?
I wouldn’t say a policy as such. We do listen to everything we receive but for music to be considered for release it needs to be interesting and somehow in line with what we do. There also needs to be potential exchange between label and artist to grow and therefore we try to avoid one-off release material. Looking at the squad we are almost all friends and friends of friends and that’s how most of us got connected.
Tell us something about the artists. Maybe introduce some of them to our readers so they get a clear view on the talented producers you sign.
We’re quite a troop. Big shout-out goes to:
Adrian, who’s been part of the gang since day one and also partially involved with our overall A&R. He has crazy natural and outstanding talent for pure groove.
Georgi Barrel, our front man in Kassel. A natural born crate digger and analogue enthusiast that really shaped part of the sound sinnmusik* pushes today.
Fasika, Washington based producer and a true studio buff with endless output.
Roman Mühlschlegel was introduced to us via Georgi a few years ago and since than we’ve been connected. He’s a warm hearted and eclectic mastermind behind the decks and in the studio.
It’s been good times all-around since RFB honcho, Jamie Trench joined the crew. Incredible vision in the studio and a real fire starter on the decks
Further love and backing goes to Vibe Killers, James Benedict, Toefflinger and duo Fewture & Freddie Glitch.
Do you have a process of developing the artists you sign? What do you expect from your artists after they join the sinnmusik* stable?
We always try to develop long-term relationships with the artists we sign. (Both professionally and personally.) Always pushing for follow-up releases and keeping the new artists involved. We get remixes, podcasts, radio appearences, showcases and so on.
You celebrate with a compilation called Rewind Pt1. You got the whole family together. What a feeling did you get when you were selecting the tracks?
PROUD! An amazing and nostalgic feeling to be able to lookback and not easy to select from such a vast variety of “classics”:
“Ghetto Dinner” – Georgi Barrel’s debut 12″ release on sinnmusik* which was heavily supported by Laurent Garnier and John Digweed.
“Brokebeat” – Adrian’s latest release on sinnmusik* and one of his best ones yet:
“The LBO” – Jamie Trench’s latest efforts on sinnmusik* was a 12″ only affair and released digitally for the first time on Rewind Pt.1.
“The Junction” – Completely underestimated B-side of Roman Mühlschlgel’s first EP.
“Kidu’s Jam” – This one is a timeless wrecking ball and was part of Fasika’s first EP with us.
“Under The Rainbow” – Amsterdam based duo Fewture & Freddie Glitch brought us this beautiful piece on their debut EP in 2015.
“Quest” – Vibe Killers have been on absolute fire this last year with continuous gigs lined up and releases out on Hot Creations, Solä and their very own Killer Vibes Rec. Quest was the b-side of the brothers very first EP under the moniker Vibe Killers and we are stoked that sinnmusik* was able to be the first ones putting it out for the world to hear.
“One Night Stay” – James Benedict has joined us for the first time this year and his output is none other than remarkable.
Onto 4 more years?
Definitely! We really hope so! Barcelona has become our main HQ for now and we are happy to see strong bonds reaching between Kasstel (GER), London (UK), Lisbon (PT) & Amsterdam (NL).
Anything special up your sleeve in the short or long future?
On short term we have a new EP by Fewture & Freddie Glitch to look forward to. And some fresh new talent joining the roster in early 2017.
On the longer term we are looking into organizing another of our anniversary bashes! Last year we took over an amazing old warehouse factory and amazingly the boys flew in to play! Such awesome vibes!
Is there anything else you want our readers to know about sinnmusik?
Actually since March 2016 our very own Clara & myself, host sinnmusik‘s Friday Vibes radio show live on Barcelona City FM 107.3 (http://www.barcelonacityfm.com). From 9PM (CET) every other Friday. Two hours of forthcoming House Music by great labels, artists & friends. Last Off-Sonar we had the pleasure of hosting Play It Down & Watergate records radio specials. Make sure to tune in to our next show on the 16th December featuring Py AKA Jade Pybus a extremely talented soulful vocalist, who will be hosting with our Clara a Christmas special and Adrian taking over the final hour. Dear Santa I can explain … .
In our show archive over on Mixcloud you’ll find all previous shows featuring guest mixes by ZDS, Jesse Rose, Baldo, Afonso, Georgi Barrel, Jokko, Freddie Glitch, D-Bird and Guillaume Keller.
Thank you very much Thomas. Keep up your good and passionate work!
❤
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