It’s no secret that the Heroic Records family have been feeling the spotlight lately. In particular San Holo, who pulled off a highly creative and viral campaign to promote his latest EP.
A key member behind the Heroic team is Budi Voogt, who’s had an influence on this and many other successful promotion campaigns for artists you probably love.
Budi took time out to chat with RR about his latest project: Villain Recordings – a new label that will feature much darker sounds than Heroic fans are used to – shared a few insider tips, and more in this exclusive interview.
Interview
When was the moment that Villain Recordingswas born? What lead to that train of thoughts that really birthed the label?
Since our launch, Heroic has developed more and more of a signature sound. Our primary artists such as San Holo, Ark Patrol, Ducked Ape and Dooqu have helped shape this – experimental, positive and melodic.
We want to go beyond. Not just to be rooted in electronic music, but to push great innovative music in general. However with the Heroic imprint developing the ‘positive’ sound, we wanted to have a place where we could release and foster artists that had darker inclinations – heavier sounds, heavier genres.
We embrace both sounds equally. Villain Recordings was the natural solution. An extension of the Heroic brand and the first steps to us expanding the empire.
What are some of the firsts artists that will be signed?
Our first release is from the talented Whynnel, a Slovenian-based artist, whom is making his debut with the ‘Mitzdi’ single. A signature track that fits perfectly as an introduction for Villain. Technical, moody and unique.
What do you imagine the sound of label being like? What genres could you see being commonly featured?
Villain will be the darker juxtaposition to Heroic. No limits to genres or styles. Just great music, but with a darker twist.
Our whole team has a love for bass music, drum and bass, glitch hop and other more technical or melancholic sounds and Villain is the perfect outlet.
What difficulties are there to overcome as a new label and how do you plan to get past them?
Essentially, our success is dependent on the quality of artists and music we can represent. A curation of a unique roster and finding experimental ways to get exposure for their music will be and has been what is driving our growth.
In the coming year we will focus on increasing the scale of our operation, releasing better music more frequently on both the Heroic and Villain imprint, as well as to focus on a few key high-impact releases. We like working on conceptual releases where there’s more than ‘just music’ to present and have a number of these coming out in the near future.
Any cool concepts you plan to use to market the label?
We want to further establish our ‘Empire’. Heroic and Villain. Two entities, purveyors of good music – but each in a uniquely different sound and style. We want people to feel involved and attached to our brand, for us to be more than just a label.
Recently we have launched The Ring, our subscription platform, where fans can get unlimited access to our full catalog (of both Heroic and Villain) and are invited into a private platform where they can interact directly with our crew and artists. We’re currently developing it further.
What other projects are you involved in besides Heroic and Villain Recordings?
I write about the music industry on my blog and have authored The SoundCloud Bible, now in its second edition.
What advice would you give someone who’s trying to get more involved in the electronic music industry?
For artists: make exceptional music, release it independent and start building hype. That will create the leverage with which you can open doors.
For aspiring industry professionals: start adding value, to artists, other people, building networks. Do something you can uniquely excel in. Find your own niche.
Where do you see Villain Recordings in the next 2 years?
Empowering creators.
For Heroic and Villain to grow, in unison, as well as add artists to the agency roster and help them develop careers. And to keep innovating on ways we can interact with our community.
Connect with Villain Recordings
http://www.villainrecordings.com/
www.soundcloud.com/villainrecordings
www.youtube.com/villainrecordings
www.twitter.com/villainrec
Connect with Heroic Recordings
http://www.heroicrecordings.com/
http://www.soundcloud.com/heroicrecordings
http://www.youtube.com/heroicrecordings
http://www.twitter.com/heroicrec
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