LABEL OF LOVE
25 HOUR CONVENIENCE STORE RECORDS
Label boss: Gary Powell (The Libertines) Interview: Charles Donovan
Where are you based, what do you do, and why?
The label is based in my basement at home in Stoke Newington! I have a studio that I do all my writing and production in and, with the assistance of my business partner Eric Longley, run the record label from there. It’s pretty close to my kitchen and I have fairly large drinks cabinet in there as well so all requirements are taken care of…
Why the name?
The label is not about me being a Libertine and supporting music of an “ilk”; it’s about the fact that throughout my life I have loved music from all genres and I wanted not only to support it but also show my love for all music. I’m also Djing, composing scores and doing charitable work, all of which has to fit into a very short space of time – hence 25 hours, ’cause 24 just ain’t enough…
When did you launch the label and how have things changed since?
I started the label in 2010 and had huge dreams of shaking up the industry and its simplistic approach of deciding what the captive audience wants to listen to. I have since found that that’s almost like swimming upstream so you have to do what you can within your means. There are very few people within the industry willing to take a chance on something new without the knowledge of a definite pay-off in the not-too-distant future. You have to play the game if you want to survive – the industry gives you pieces of a jigsaw puzzle of their design for you to fill in, and your own pieces just are not allowed.
What were your influences?
I love everything. It’s a lazy statement, I know, or it can come across as one, but I firmly believe that in every genre of music in the world, there is at least one piece of music that even the most single-minded listener will be able to say, hey, I dig that.
Who are your competitors? Couldn’t tell you. I never got into setting up a label to compete, I just wanted to be there for those new artists who were being ignored by the industry, to help develop them, musically and otherwise, so that they could be the captains of their own destiny while having a safe space to call home.
Any advice for someone who wants to start their own label?
Remember why you got into music in the first place, stick to your guns and remember: EVERY DAY IS A SCHOOL DAY!
What’s been your highest high? That hasn’t happened yet. I have high expectations and I’m a dreamer.
… And your lowest low? I still wanna do this but there have been lows when the label hasn’t been able to satisfy the whims of the artists – and that is always hard to deal with but I always want to do right by the guys and dolls that come through the door. The day that I start thinking negatively about this, in terms of lowest ebb, is the day that I will pack it in. I’m way too busy to be negative.
What album, from any period, do you wish you could have released – and why?
I love James Blake because he not only sounds like no one else, but folks sound like him now. PJ Harvey for the same reasons, Tyler, The Creator, Fontaines DC, Yebba, (I just love the track The Distance), Keifer, J Dilla, Thundercat, and Mr Jukes and Lianne La Havas (plus a Miles Davis live recording thrown in for good measure).
Who would be your ideal signing? Someone like Leon Bridges, great vocal, great look, unabashedly himself. I’m also a big fan of Sade, whom I’d attempt to produce as well as release; she would then see me as amazing and want to marry me.
How do you find new acts?
I use every possible means. I was introduced to the Dead Freights – instead of waiting to see them at a show I turned up with Eric to their rehearsal. We chatted and then they played for us. To see a new band in an environment where they are playing a show in front of all their friends and fans can create a false economy in your head, because all those folks are there because they love them... But surely at that stage the only people that need to love and believe in them are the guys signing them, right? I love that leap of faith based on ability and personality – plus no one wants to work with dickheads. I was thrown into working with Bear Park in the studio first and foremost and they were just great, young guys willing to learn. Since then I think they have grown as adults and as musicians
and I am really proud of the fact that the label has assisted in their journey. (Plus their upcoming album will be killer!)
Where should an unfamiliar listener start with your label? Start with Dead Freights, and see where it takes you….
And what can long-time fans look forward to?
Music they love, music they hate, and everything in between, but first and foremost music.