LABEL OF LOVE
PELAGIC RECORDS
Where are you based, what do you do and why?
We’re in Berlin, world capital of techno, but we release music that is anything but techno, because although we listen to techno, it’s guitar music that fills our hearts and souls with warmth and meaning.
Why the name?
Pelagic refers to the open sea, any body of water far away from the coast, and also to different depth zones in the water column. My band, The Ocean, released a concept album called Pelagial in 2013, a conceptual musical journey from the surface to the bottom of the sea.
The label was founded four years before that album was released, but the idea for the album was already there at that time... so the label name is a reference to the album.
When did you launch the label and how have things changed since then?
We started in 2009. Initially I just wanted to reissue an old album by my band. My second release was a total fail financially; I still have hundreds of CDS in my basement (I have a problem throwing things that I made away). Then I picked up God Is An Astronaut and it was starting to become fun.
For years, Pelagic Records was a one-man operation. I was packing parcels in my basement. But then it gradually grew into a company with six employees and four permanent freelancers, and a schedule of 2025 releases per year. Of course, that’s great but it also comes with a lot of responsibility. I can no longer say, “I’m not going to release anything in the next two months, I’m going on tour with my band…”
What were your influences? Subpop, Ipecac and Hydrahead Records. Though they’re probably the least known, I owe a lot to Hydrahead. They were not only releasing truly cutting-edge heavy music in the 90s and early 2000s, but always with excellent artwork and packaging, often designed by the label boss Aaron Turner himself.
Who are your competitors?
I don’t like to look at music as a field of competition. It’s music after all, not sport.
Any advice for someone who wants to start their own label? Only do things you absolutely love to death, so that failure won’t beat you down because you can always say to yourself and others: “It didn’t work, but I don’t care and I would do it all over again!”
What’s been your highest high? The Ocean – Phanerozoic wooden box set featuring eight LPS in four gatefolds, three authentic prehistoric fossils, an engraved slate rock plate and other crazy shit. One of the two main albums contained in this box also made it into the Top 10 German album charts in 2020. Being in that band and at the same time also wearing the label hat, that was a nice double score.
… And your lowest low?
I scored our first distribution deal in 2009 with a bigger indie company that worked with national subdistributors in each country. Soon after I shipped thousands of CDS to them, they went into bankruptcy and I had to chase after all these CDS in all these warehouses in different countries.
Some smaller releases that totally bombed were tough, too. It always sucks to look at stock of a great album that doesn’t sell shit… but it’s an unavoidable part of the game.
What album, from any period, do you wish you’d released?
Lots of 90s hardcore records. It’s the scene that I grew up in. With anything before the 90s, I only have a relationship built in hindsight, which can never be as intense.
Who would be your ideal signing? I’m happy to say that a lot of our actual signings are ideal signings. Releasing bands such as Mono, Envy, Year Of No Light, PG Lost and Lustmord is a huge honour. I wouldn’t trade these releases for anything else, no matter how big.
How do you find new acts?
At boutique festivals such as Roadburn or Arctangent, and through recommendations from friends in bands and other trusted people. And, I’m hesitating, but occasionally the algorithmic playlists on Spotify are so damn good that you find yourself wondering, “What is this? Why am I liking this? I shouldn’t be liking this (but I do).”
Where would a newcomer start with your label?
A subscription – a monthly flat rate that gets you everything we release on vinyl (two new albums a month). It’s a great way for fans to discover new bands and for bands to reach a committed audience. And for us it’s great since it brings in steady income and keeps us independent. It also brings down manufacturing costs because, even for small or new bands, we no longer have to press less than 1,000 copies.
And what can long-time fans look forward to?
A steady two-per-month schedule of awesome new post-rock, shoegaze, noise, kraut, post-metal and heavy experimental music!
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