Posted on January 3, 2010 - by Mark Zonda

Vulpiano Records

Cloudberry, Trattoria, Rough Trade, 4AD… what EMI would have been  an “Indie” label for skiffle and classic music if not for G,P,J & R. Not sure where did it all start, telling the truth. What I sure do know is that Vulpiano Records started… right here right now! Internet, file sharing, iTunes, creative commons and stuff: promoting bands and good music must be quite confusing nowadays. Still I’m sure that if there’s one person who’s meant to conquer the World int that way she’s Marily Roxie for sure. Here’s our little interview with Vulpiano Records owner.

Mark Zonda: Dear Marilyn. It’s a great moment: a new star in the firmament of the indie univers is ready to shine bright on 2010. Please introduce yourself and the label to our readers

Marilyn: I’m Marilyn Roxie, a 20 year-old electronic composer and music blogger (at A Future in Noise). I’ve recently set up Vulpiano Records, which is an artist collective label based around offering freely downloadable, Creative Commons-licensed music. When we have an on-line shop set up next year (with Select-o-Hits distributed releases – thanks to help from Pete Johnson, who also has his own label: Surely Music), anything that costs money will be special in some way – compilations, limited editions, exclusives, albums with extras, and so on.

Mark Zonda: What about the artists you’re gonna promote and which ratio drove your selection?

Marilyn: Most of the artists that are on Vulpiano are musicians that I had previously featured at A Future in Noise that I had come across through Last.fm, MySpace Music, Rate Your Music, or Tumbr and been in touch with and gotten to know for awhile. Some of the first artists who have had releases on the label (see first 5 releases in Label Feature: Vulpiano Records) are those I had collaborated with musically before (Tiny Tide, Zapa, Ian France), and the other two are from a couple of my favorite artists I’ve ever covered at AFIN (Le Fils des Trois Mousquetaires, Calvin Markus from Dead Times). When I realized that I wanted to go about setting up a label, I just went over in my mind all the best unsigned artists I could think of that I thought would benefit from being in a collective and having some extra promotion. 2010 will have a number of new releases from our artists, including Anton Rothschild (also affiliated with Dainty Records) and Pi.o.tr (who has also remixed a track of mine). I expect to add more artists in the next year, though never too many since I want to be sure to give all of them adequate space and probably gear towards the specific sound that is developing around the label – most of Vulpiano consists of electronic or acoustic-oriented solo artists so far. It is a bit surreal, and I’m astonished and glad, to have all of my very favorite unsigned artists be part of this project!

Mark Zonda: Does a label still counts nowadays?

Marilyn: I think independent labels are more important than ever, especially if they are structured as a sort of collective where the participants involved check out each other’s music and there are common goals. So much suspicion has arisen around the role and purpose of the major label, it seems that many young artists out there choose to remain ‘unsigned’ and might not realize the benefits that being on a label can bring.

Mark Zonda:  Do you have any special Record Label or manager to take as example or model?

Marilyn: For current labels that I’ve found inspiring: Family Records (rather “an independent artist management and artist development firm, with full record label capabilities”) and Engine Room Recordings. I found out about these two through submissions to my music blog – I liked that they sent personalized messages and had a good attitude as compared to so many of the generic press submissions that I get, plus I’ve enjoyed all of the artists I’ve heard from each of them. For older record labels, the music and design aesthetics and spirit of Factory Records and Rough Trade Records very much appealed to me.

Mark Zonda: How will you promote Vulpiano and how do you see your label one year from now?

Marilyn:I plan to promote Vulpiano Records through getting in touch with different music blogs, continuing on through social networking sites like I have been for A Future in Noise (via Twitter and Tumblr, for example) and especially Last.fm. I hope for it to spread by word-of-mouth as well, so that the artists will tell their fans / friends and so on. Since it is based around free releases, sharing is absolutely allowed and encouraged!

Further Links:

• A Future In Noise
• Select-O-Hits
• Surely Music
• Tiny Tide
• Zapa
• Ian France
• Le Fils des Trois Mousquetaires
• Calvin Markus
• Anton Rothschild
• Danity Records
• Pi.O.Tr
• Family Records
• Engine Rooms Recording

Tiny Tide – “The Smiths & The Cure”
Le Fils des Trois Mousquetaires – “Invisible”
Marilyn Roxie – “Fair Music Box”
Nathan Rich – “En Route”

Let it ring on...

• Fran Healy – Buttercups (0)
• Partybenders (0)
• Getting Ready For Indietracks 2010 (0)
• Ant Matters (0)
• Travis – Ode To J. Smith (0)