LABEL PROFILE: Sireena Records

The electric and eclectic world of German reissue label

SIREENA RECORDS

By Stephen SPAZ Schnee

     The greatest musical gift that we have today is that we already have over 100 years of recorded music to immerse ourselves in. From classical to Heavy Metal, there is so much for a music fan to discover and rediscover.  No matter what you are looking for, genre-wise, it is out there and ready to be found.
     If you are a fan of slightly obscure German and European Prog Rock, Krautrock, Jazz Fusion and Rock 'n' Roll, then there's a label I'd like to introduce you to: Sireena Records.  Already over a decade old, Sireena's catalog generally consists of reissues by artists that might be obscure to the general public but are adored by the music aficianado. From Octopus and Harlis to Shaa Khan and Bullfrog, there is a treasure trove of great artists to acquaint yourselves with. Mixed in with '70s and '80s reissues are some bona-fide current releases by some of the bands, including live recordings.
     Sireena was founded in 2000 by Tom Redecker and Lothar Gartner.  Redecker has steered the label forward for over a decade and shows no sign of slowing down.  Alongside Bend Paulat, who has been part of the Sireena family since 2008, Redecker has plenty of releases planned for 2012 and beyond.  One look at where they have come from and where they are headed will tell any music fan that this is a quality label that will continue to excite and surprise listeners for a long time to come....
  

STEPHEN SPAZ SCHNEE: Before starting the label, were you an avid music collector? If so, what types of music were you collecting (genres, bands, formats, etc)?

TOM REDECKER: My interest in music always was big. I didn’t care if it was Rock, Folk, or even Jazz: I absorbed everything like a sponge. Music from the USA, England, France, Germany, I didn’t care. I spent all my pocket-money on records and music mags. And for concert tickets. Thank God I  worked as a stagehand at concerts and I was able to see a lot of bands live!

SPAZ: What inspired you to start up a label?
TOM: There were several vinyl releases which had not yet been published on CD. Therefore, Lothar and I founded Sireena Records in 2000. We were two huge music fans. Krautrock, folk, hardrock, psychedelic – there was and still is NO border in regard to the taste of music. Meanwhile there are a lot of labels which specialized in reissues – great labels like Rhino or Bear Family – but we are even more specialized…

SPAZ: How did you go about picking the name of the label?

TOM: Sireena is a title from my musical project The Perc Meets The Hidden Gentleman. We thought that this also fits as our label-name.

SPAZ: When did the label first start operations?

TOM: We started in the year 2000 with the first label release of a CD called Pueblo Woman from Electric Family (Sireena 2001), which contained live recordings and studio outtakes.

SPAZ: When you first set up the label, what were your initial goals? And do you feel you’ve achieved those goals so far?

TOM: We had no special targets except to produce CDs and vinyl and to survive. And we are still alive! There are still so many diamonds to be dug out. Guess that is our main goal.

SPAZ: How do you go about picking the titles that you release?

TOM: We do have long lists which we created on our own and which are growing constantly. This is due to the fact that many fans of our vinyl are steadily feeding us with worthy sugestions. We have very close contact to music collectors all over the world with whom we are communicating with. Once we receive a suggestion, we research, apply for licence, and possibly have a future release on the label.

SPAZ: Is there an elusive album out there that you have been eager to reissue but haven’t been able to get the rights to?

TOM: This is something we face time and again. Especially the major labels, whoare not often willing to give their permission and license to us. Therefore, we prefer to work directly together with the artist. We do have a fine series called The Artist’s Choice. Here, we publish music directly out of the artist’s archives which is special fun to us. But in the meantime, we also get permissions from record companies and publishers to produce our records.

SPAZ: Is there a particular artist (or artists) out there that you would love to have on your roster?

TOM: Neil Young! To me, he’s still the greatest musician alive. Journey Through The Past is not yet available on CD but I would much more prefer to reissue it on 180gm heavy vinyl. Neil, if you’re reading this, please contact me!!

SPAZ: If you had a choice, would you prefer to reissue an album as it was originally released or do you like the opportunity of adding bonus tracks?

TOM: Depends on what kind of album it is. If the original was a concept album then you don’t need any bonus tracks. But if I heard fantastic additional tracks, then it would make sense to add them to the album.

SPAZ: Which format do you personally prefer? (CD/Vinyl/Cassette/MP3)

TOM: Definitely vinyl! I am very happy that the interest to buy vinyl is rising. It is the format of the music collectors.

SPAZ: As a collector and music lover, how do you view the current music scene?

TOM: The music disappears more and more into the internet and that worries me. But I don’t give up!

SPAZ: How do you view the idea of a future filled with download-only releases? Don’t you feel that collectors will always want to physically own the music that they purchase?

TOM: Definitely! As already mentioned, we’re producing for music collectors not for music consumers. Collectors want to have a physical CD/vinyl at hand, preferably vinyl, and mp3 files are of no interest to them.

SPAZ: Do you see the resurgence in the popularity of vinyl growing?

TOM: It makes us very happy. It is definitely much more fun. It is more expensive, the handling is more complex but that’s all OK: this way it is more fun. We release music on vinyl which hasn’t been released on vinyl before. From Stone The Crows, Mott The Hoople or Chic. Exclusively on vinyl – wouldn’t have thought about it five years ago – but it is working!

SPAZ: At the end of the day, do you have a particular personal favorite amongst your own label releases?

TOM: Very difficult. I have a relation to all our releases and I don’t want to highlight one of them. They all are our babies.

SPAZ: What would you like people to know about the label?

TOM: We are music maniacs but this is our gear! This helps us to go on searching and finding. Join us during this search.... there’s so much more to explore !

SPAZ: How can our readers contact the label with suggestions, comments and praise?

TOM: http://www.sireena.de/  or info@sireena.de

SPAZ's LABEL PROFILE: Now Sounds

What could possibly be better than being ultra-hip in the modern world? I'm not talking about THINKING that you are ultra-hip... I'm talking about BEING ultra-hip without really trying. Well, the NOW SOUNDS label (distributed by Cherry Red in the UK) is ultra-hip in more ways than one!

First and foremost, the man behind the label, Steve Stanley, loves what he does and it shows. There is a passion in every release, from the packaging to the music. Each Now Sounds title has it's own aura that makes it stand out in a crowded CD store.

Secondly, Now Sounds is NOT a label that concentrates on fresh new music that will only be stale by the weekend: Now Sounds reissues classic Pop albums from the '60s and thereabouts. These albums may not have scaled the charts when initially released, but like a good Twinkie, they will still be standing long after a nuclear meltdown has wiped Grunge and Emo from the face of the earth. And trust me, in a dark and barren post-apocalyptic world, you will want to listen to the joyful sounds of The Peppermint Trolley Company over the whining and complaining of Nirvana or Linkin Park any day!

Yes, Now Sounds is retro, but retro is the now sound!

So, with that being said, I was able to track Steve Stanley down and ask him a few questions about his fine label....

SPAZ: Before starting the label, were you an avid music collector? If so, what types of music were you collecting (genres, bands, formats, etc)?
STEVE STANLEY: Absolutely. I was collecting a lot of the stuff that I ended up reissuing over the past several years on Now Sounds and (earlier) on Rev-Ola. A lot of obscure ‘60s psychedelic pop, that—in the ‘90s—had virtually no collectability outside of a few Japanese fanatics. One of the first bands I discovered at a swap meet was Colours. They were five guys wearing what looked like clerical outfits with love beads. They had a song called “Brother Lou’s Love Colony.” This had to be good, I thought. 15 years later, the album saw its CD debut on Now Sounds and is a popular title for us.

SPAZ: What inspired you to start up a label?

SS: I was inspired in the late ‘90s to start my own label while working for Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records. Back then, there were very few obscure American psychedelic pop albums available on CD beyond the obvious, more commercially viable titles. So, at that time, there really was a major void that needed to be filed. And remember, you couldn’t find the music online. You actually had to know someone with good taste to hear the music you were searching for.

SPAZ: How did you go about picking the name of the label?
SS: The name of the label is akin to my design firm (Now Designs), my band (Now People), and, of course, my LuxuriaMusic.com radio show (The Now Sounds).

SPAZ: When did the label first start operations?
SS: After having single-handedly A&R-ed, produced, annotated, and designed over 50 releases for Rev-Ola—including many of their best-selling titles—by artists such as Mark Eric, Claudine Longet, Bergen White (For Women Only made both MOJO and UNCUT’s Top 20 Reissues of 2004), and The Merry-Go-Round, I launched Now Sounds in late 2007. The first release (The Parade’s Sunshine Girl: The Complete Recordings) followed in March of 2008.

SPAZ: When you first set up the label, what were your initial goals? And do you feel you’ve achieved those goals so far?
SS: The goal from the beginning was to reissue special albums that for whatever reason had never before been given special treatment; to expose—and enhance—albums that, for whatever reason, have been forgotten by time but in retrospect stand the test of time. We try to uphold the endangered concept of pride of ownership. We produce 16-24 pages booklets for every release. We work hard to locate unpublished photos and other related ephemera... We include exclusive interviews with key participants. We source master tapes whenever possible, and however difficult. A lot of other reissue labels just use Google Image Search, check Wikipedia for their notes, run a disc dub and call it a day. That just isn’t good enough for Now Sounds.

SPAZ: How do you go about picking the titles that you release?
SS: It’s a varied process. In addition to my own knowledge, I draw upon suggestions from our customers and friends. Regardless, at the end of the day the music always comes first.

SPAZ: Is there an elusive album out there that you have been eager to reissue but haven’t been able to get the rights to?
SS: There have been quite a few. The most frustrating thing that happens frequently is when a major denies a request because of a pending project they themselves have underway. And when the final product arrives on the marketplace, it oftentimes is a shoddy release with no imaginative packaging, and few, if any, bonus cuts. (Read: the recent Hip-O-Select Emitt Rhodes box.)

SPAZ: Is there a particular artist (or artists) out there that you would love to have on your roster?
SS: Emitt Rhodes. Dave Clark 5. Any poor soul that recorded for Cameo Parkway.

SPAZ: If you had a choice, would you prefer to reissue an album as it was originally released or do you like the opportunity of adding bonus tracks?
SS: I always prefer to find bonus tracks to enhance the release and provide the consumer with a greater value. Unfortunately, the majors can make this very difficult.

SPAZ: Which format do you personally prefer?
SS: The compact disc for compatibility. The vinyl for packaging.

SPAZ: As a collector and music lover, how do you view the current music scene?
SS: I don’t really give it much thought. A recent trip to Australia afforded me the opportunity to hear the Sydney-based Sparkadia, who are pretty decent.

SPAZ: How do you view the idea of a future filled with download-only releases? Don’t you feel that collectors will always want to physically own the music that they purchase?
SS: I refuse to drink the Kool-Aid. No one wants to look under the Christmas tree and see a download card. To quote Cherry Red managing director Adam Velasco: “Collectors aren’t going to stop collecting.”

SPAZ: Do you see the resurgence in the popularity of vinyl growing?
SS: I certainly see it sticking around for the foreseeable future. There hasn’t been this much new vinyl available since the ‘80s. It’s my understanding that half of the albums on the Billboard Top Ten are available on vinyl. Amoeba Records (the biggest record store in Los Angeles) recently moved all of their enormous vinyl inventory to the very front of the store. That’s a sure sign that it’s a growing and vital commodity.

SPAZ: At the end of the day, do you have a particular personal favorite amongst your own label releases?
SS: The release for which I’m the most proud would have to be Sunshine Girl: The Complete Recordings by The Parade. Not only because it’s our best selling title, but because we were able to include a lot of excellent bonus material that had never before been heard by anyone outside of the band. With a lot of releases, the bonus tracks are usually expendable and tacked on as a sales gimmick. With The Parade CD, the bonus tracks actually enhanced the release.

SPAZ: What would you like people to know about the label?
SS: I like to think we bring an uncompromising commitment to excellence, with a strong track record to prove it. I like to create releases I, myself, would be willing to buy. Based in Los Angeles, we’re able to access exclusive repertoire from one of the most historically vital areas for 60s pop. We’ve also got a built-in promotional vehicle with my LuxuriaMusic.com radio show, The Now Sounds. It’s on every Friday Morning, 5:00 – 7:00 AM, GMT. We have podcasts too.

SPAZ: How can our readers contact the label with suggestions, comments and praise?
SS: I love hearing ideas from collectors and music fans. Please visit our website at www.nowsounds.co.uk.

So, there you have it. Another great label offering plenty of great music. Check out some of the artists already released by Now Sounds!

Colours

Cowsills

Five Man Electrical Band

Golden Gate

Mark Eric

Janis Ian

The Parade

The Peppermint Trolley Company

Roger Nichols And The Small Circle of Friends

The Sixpentz

Tina Mason

The Tuneful Trolley

The more I connect with these folks behind the labels, the more I want to fulfill my dream of starting up my own '80s reissue label. The more I look at my bank account, the more that dream slips away!

Curses! Foiled again!

Stephen SPAZ Schnee

SPAZ's LABEL PROFILE: el Records

Welcome to the first in a series of blogs where I turn the spotlight away from the artists and the releases and focus on the indie labels responsible for their existence.

Today's label is: el (distributed by Cherry Red in the UK)

According to their website, “el is one of only a handful of genuinely original and important record labels in the history of popular music” and I do wholeheartedly agree. There have not been many labels that have a ‘style’ that is instantly identifiable and yet each and every release is different from what came before and what came after. To classify the label is like trying to sum up your life experiences in three words or less: it can’t be done!
Over two decades after Mike Alway started el, they remain everything that a label should be: unpredictable, unafraid and unashamed by anything on their roster.

Here’s what others have had to say about the label:

"el records is a world where The Avengers' John Steed forever seems to be creative controller and Emma Peel works the A&R department."-Record Mirror
"The melodies, the phrasing, the enthusiasm and ambition are all here plus a mysterious sexuality, a tropic of Ruislip classy vulgarity."-Andy Darling, Melody Maker, 1988
"Alway is a man out of time-part Kim Fowley, part Kim Philby and el is his unashamed indulgence."-Bruce Dessau, NME, March 1988
"Alway is that rare breed - a man who knows a record should always look good."-Jane Solanas , NME, November 26 1988

Luckily, I was able to catch up with el’s Mike Alway and dig a little deeper into the label’s psyche…

SPAZ: Before starting el, were you an avid music collector? If so, what types of music were you collecting?
MIKE ALWAY: Music captured my imagination in childhood. The first record I purchased was “She's Not There” by The Zombies in 1964. Its light jazziness rubbed off on me; an underlying style that stayed with me for decades. I was always inquisitive about music (without actually being a record collector) and suddenly found myself as the boy in school with the hip, alternative albums.

SPAZ: What inspired you to start up el? Was there a label you admired? Or perhaps a music genre that you felt was not well-represented on the market? MA: Verve was the label I most admired. I was impressed by the eclecticism of their mid-‘60s roster. There seemed to be a little of everything, all of it daring. The Mothers of Invention, Astrud Gilberto, The Velvet Underground, Gary McFarland and Ella Fitzgerald, all under one roof, struck me as remarkable and I sought to emulate that expansiveness in my own work.

SPAZ: How did you go about picking the name of the label?
MA: I wanted a word that was completely neutral. a word that meant nothing. A word that suggested possibility and that might look good as a graphic. Perhaps a word rather like dada? So, inspired by Luis Bunuel’s film about a Spanish aristocrat driven mad by jealousy, I decided on el.

SPAZ: When did the label first start operations?
MA: 1985, whilst still within the bosom of Blanco Y Negro. Within a year, el became owned by Cherry Red and remains that way today.

SPAZ: When you first set up the label, what were your initial goals? And do you feel you've achieved those goals so far?
MA: By the mid-‘80s, I was convinced that traditional rock music had run its course and had nothing more to say. So I determined to create a new vernacular and a completely original look and to project it through el. The emphasis of the songwriting was on Mediterranean culture, food and drink and forms of escapism through art and travel. I was heavily influenced by the Technicolor fantasies of Powell and Pressburger and the patrician and sometimes absurd comic humour of Terry-Thomas, Richard Briers and Leonard Rossiter (the latter specifically in the role of Reginald Perrin).
As for the look, we borrowed from the photographer Angus McBean, the cinematography of Jack Cardiff and the designers, Charles and Ray Eames.
I approached music as a director might film and, yes, we were successful in creating records that at very least could not possibly have existed on any other label. Choirboys Gas by Bad Dream Fancy Dress and The Camera Loves Me by The Would be Goods are two of titles of which I am most proud. They are quintessential el.

SPAZ: How do you go about picking the titles that you release?
MA: I would dream up a song title (say, "Cecil Beaton's Scrapbook"), offer a framework for a scenario and a suggest musical context (maybe a pastiche of Hermans Hermits with a touch of flamenco guitar or the Doors plus schoolgirls) and the writer would bring it to life.

SPAZ: Is there an elusive album out there that you have been eager to reissue but haven't been able to get the rights to?
MA: I’d love to properly restore, in all its glory, Dudley Moore’s brilliant score for the film Bedazzled. It simply IS the ‘60s.

SPAZ: Is there a particular artist (or artists) out there that you would love to have on your roster?
MA: Scott Walker, Robyn Hitchcock, Van Dyke Parks.... Keith Floyd (spoken word recipes with one song at the beginning of the album and one at the end)

SPAZ: If you had a choice, would you prefer to reissue an album as it was originally released or do you like the opportunity of adding bonus tracks?
MA: So long as the centerpiece of the restoration isn't obscured, I like to be as expansive as possible. Most el editions are of generous length. It's not merely the offering of value for money but the wish to bask in and celebrate the art of the subject

SPAZ: Which format do you personally prefer? (CD/Vinyl/Cassette/MP3)
MA: Much of el's reputation is based on the attractiveness of it's vinyl presentations.but CDs can also be beautifully realized.

SPAZ: As a collector and music lover, how do you view the current music scene?
MA: Today, the industry needs individualism more than ever. There should be more emphasis on creativity (of joy in arts and culture) and less on "attitude" and "celebrity".

SPAZ: How do you view the idea of a future filled with download-only releases? Don't you feel that collectors will always want to physically own the music that they purchase?
MA: There will always be a market for a superior three dimensional product so the design aspect of what we do is going to become ever more important.

SPAZ: Do you see the resurgence in the popularity of vinyl growing?
MA: As a nice artifact to have around the house. why not?

SPAZ: At the end of the day, do you have a particular personal favorite amongst your own label releases?
MA: Of the records el has re-issued, the 2008 anthology, Sketch for Summer by Gary McFarland and Gabor Szabo embodies much of what matters to me and is certainly up there amongst my favorites. Of the records we have created, the Bad Dream Fancy Dress album. It's intelligent and full of humour. It's like nothing else on earth.

SPAZ: What would you like people to know about the label?
MA: That an el record is primarily a sensual experience.

SPAZ: How can our readers contact the label with suggestions, comments and praise?
MA: Via el's parent company Cherry Red: infonet@cherryred.co.uk . I reply to all communications personally.

Other recommended el releases:

Too Good To Be True: The Very Best Of el Records

And here are just some of the great artists you can find on the label:

Anthony Adverse

Andres Segovia

Antonio Carlos Jobim

Bad Dream Fancy Dress

Baden Powell & Vinicius De Moraes

Brigitte Bardot

Chad & Jeremy

Chet Atkins

Cowsills

David Axelrod

Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart

Gilberto Gil

Serge

Ventures

Vincent Price

And more! Click here for the complete el discography

Your roving reporter,
Stephen SPAZ Schnee