According to PROJEKT Records Founder and President Sam Rosenthal, PROJEKT has always been about satisfying his own artistic desire. It has been about creating a place where freedom is permitted, where he can creat his artwork without intrusions or limitations, and also, a place that permits other artists this same treatment. As you will see in this month's reviews of Sam's band, "black tape for a blue girl," and other artists on the PROJEKT label, he's accomplished his goal admirably. Although PROJEKT has a specific following in a narrow genre of music, it provides an important outlet for fans of this type of music (ambient - surrealistic - goth) where it would not otherwise be available. The same can be said for the range of twelve to twenty artists, with over seventy releases represented, to get their music to the fans.
Because PROJEKT recordings are mainly available by mail order, Sam has also developed a distribution company, "darkwave," to accomodate both his own artists and those on other labels such as TESS, RELIC and HYPERIUM. In an effort to acquaint and supply U.S. fans with popular foreign bands following the same philosphy, "darkwave" also distributes for "Cold Meat Industries" and "Dark Dungeon" in Sweden, "Dorobo" in Australia and "Amplexus" in Italy. Unfortunatly, the only major chain that is forward looking enough to carry PROJEKT releases is "Border's Books and Music." Although PROJEKT does well with it's mail order business, it makes things difficult for their audience to gain easy access to PROJEKT Artists.
Going back to the inception of the label, Sam created it originally as a cassette label to release his own solo electronic music in 1983. But personally, he considers the real starting point in 1986 when he released "the rope" - "black tape for a blue girl's" debut album. After moving to California at the age of 20 in 1986, "black tape . . ." was born when Sam began making warmer, more instrospective music, and is where the label really began to find it's direction.
A slow beginning, with two "black tape for a blue girl" vinyl releases, was followed by jumping into the CD world with 1989's "ashes in the brittle air" - a major step for this young label. Stores were slow to pick up on PROJEKT, but nevertheless, it was developing up a good underground following. When Sam realized this, he concluded that since he'd established a system for getting passionate music to an audience he could put out music from other artists he respected. First was England's "Attrition," then a compilation "From Across This Gray Land 2" featuring PROJEKT's first "discovery" - the band "LYCIA."
In 1992, PROJEKT was still a small operation, with just Sam working part time and releasing two or three CDs a year. With "Gray Land 3," the next compilation, came more new discoveries, and the number of artists on the label grew. PROJEKT signed "Love Sirals Downwards" (now one of the best selling acts on the label), "Soul Whirling Somewhere" and "Thanatos." For PROJEKT, it's always been satisfying to find artists who are working secretly in their home studios and providing them with an avenue for their music to reach a large audience. Compilations have always been used to introduce the listener to PROJEKT's latest discoveries, and 1995's "Escelsis: A Dark Noel" (reviewed in both the November and December issues of ACCESS to the MUSIC ZONE) brought in another artist, "Arcanta," already making a name for themselves with their highly personal combination of religious and world music.
The 90's have seen PROJEKT grow by leaps and bounds. RELIC (a sub-label of PROJEKT) was formed to reissue out-of-print albums from the pioneer artists in the field of darkwave music. 1996 brought new releases from all the major bands on the label - "black tape for a blue girl," "Love Spirals Downwards," "LYCIA" and "Vidna Obmana. 1997 is set to begin with new ones from "Eden," "Thanatos," "Soul Whirling Somewhere" and the "Obermana/Roach" team. PROJEKT will also issue a new compilation "Across The Gray Land 4," which will be live highlights from the "PROJEKT FESTIVAL" hosted in Chicago. The label is no longer in Sam's bedroom, and he no longer works alone. These days they operate from a new office in the LOOP section of downtown Chicago with a staff of nine besides Sam.
Sam has always considered the visual look of PROJEKT, right from the beginning, to be very important. Strong design, interesting printing and paper stock are an integral part of PROJEKT. The releases on this label are meant to last, and therefore an investment of time and money to achieve the high quality look for every album is a priority. Besides releasing his own music, Sam designs lots of postcards, album covers, flyers and ads.
Quoting Sam Rosenthal, "I am a pretty humble person. I think of PROJEKT as 'my job.' Gotta go to work, gotta get the job done, gotta fulfill the commitments to my artists who are all also my friends. Fans write of feeling part of 'the PROJEKT family,' and it's only natural. We have a very non-commercial approach to the music, and it has always been my desire to release art that is very personal without concerns of sales or 'hit potential.' Through PROJEKT, I have gotten to play the part of a businessman. Andy Warhol said the only art left is business. I don't know if I agree with that 100%, but businesss certainly can be an artform - especially when it is the avenue by which I get to reveal my own creations and the creations of other artists who I admire."
After listening to several artists on PROJEKT, and related labels, I believe I have experienced the quality, professionalism and heart that Sam Rosenthal has poured into this label, and how he has stayed true to his goals and music over the past 10 years. May this label continue to produce the music that the fans have grown to love and respect for many, many years to come.
Interview With Sam Rosenthal Conducted by Mary Ellen Gustafson 2/4/97
AMZ: In your Profile, I read that you started PROJEKT to record your own
music, and operated by yourself from your bedroom. How did you go about
getting the music out to the public so they were aware of it? To this day,
as I understand it, Border's is about the only Music chain that consistantly
carries PROJEKT releases.
SR: PROJEKT has always been founded on a "grass-roots"/direct contact with the
fans basis. Mail-Order has always been a core of our business, and it has
allowed us to weather all the storms caused by distribution bankrupcy and
the "fickle record business." I personally think that the audience isn't
fickle, it's the general greed and evilness in the music business that
causes these ups and downs. Anyway, we publicize and promote our music to
the people who are into our genres . . . and this has built up the interest
in our bands. Yes, Border's is pretty much the only chain that has been
forward-looking enough to stock our music. We also sell directly to a lot of the
"mom & pop" stores who are aware of /supportive of PROJEKT's music.
AMZ: Don't you need special equipment to create a quality release? How did
you manage that in the early days?
SR: I think it's artistic integrity and ingenuity, over high-tech gear. All of
"black tape for a blue girl's" releases have been recorded on 1/2 inch
8-track (except for the first album which was cassette porta-studio in
1996). I hear of these lavish budgets that major companies throw into quite
awful albums, and I wonder what they are thinking. I can record a "black
tape for a blue girl album" for the cost of two round trip airplane tickets.
I think that people forget that it is the IDEA and the SONG that is more
important than the equipment.
AMZ: You talk about developing a good underground following in 1989, and
establishing a system for getting the music to the audience. How?
SR: Like I said, we have grown as a mail-order company. This has been gradual.
It really wasn't until 1993, that I hired other people to work for me.
People know that the best way to get PROJEKT releases as soon as they are
out is to buy from us. We now have an 800# (1-800-CD-LASER), so people can
order with credit cards. It has been the quality of the releases, I feel, that has
let us grow as we have.
AMZ: So far, from what I've listened to and read, PROJEKT stays pretty much
with goth, dark wave and surreal music. Is that intentional and will it
always be that way?
SR: PROJEKT has always been about releasing the music that I enjoy. I try
to stick to a pretty direct vision, so the fans know they will enjoy a new
band, even if they are unfamiliar with them. So, yeah, it will always stay
within a certain area . . . I consider it ethereal - ambient - gothic sort
of stuff.
AMZ: When did Darkwave Distributing come about, and what is your
relationship with Dark Dungeon Music and Cold Meat Industries? How many
labels are under the "umbrella" of PROJEKT?
SR: Darkwave Distribution was started in 1993, as a means to get these other
labels out to the fans of PROJEKT. They are not "under the Umbrella of
PROJEKT" really, because they are NOT on my label. They are just labels I
feel have a strong artistic vision, that I feel good encouraging. The main
ones we work with are Dorobo (Australia), Dark Dungeon and Cold Meat
(Sweden) and Amplexus (Italy). I also distribute a label named Tess, from
Santa Barbara. The idea behind it was that with a mail-order network established, it
would be easy to pick up other music, and make it available to the fans.
So, in that sense, my relationship is NOT that I have any say in what those
labels do, just that I help them out, by making their music available
in America.
AMZ: Obviously PROJEKT has grown over the past 10 years - with up to 20 artists, a
staff of nine, your own offices, etc. Do you also have a studio where your
artists record, or are you still using outside studios?
SR: One of the great things about PROJEKT is that almost everyone records in
their own home studios. That gives us all the luxury of perfecting our art,
without a clock ticking and the dollars racking up. I think professional
studios are limitations, really. I mean . . . if you are a young rock band
who doesn't know how to convert your live sound to a record, than having a
professional behind the board makes sense. But most of the PROJEKT artists
have been home-studio musicians from the beginning -- and the live aspect
is recent. So, it makes sense that we each get to work on our own.
AMZ: Where is your biggest fan base (both for "black tape for a blue girl"
and PROJEKT), in the U.S., or in Europe?
SR: The U.S, is actually bigger than Europe - although I think that could be
swapped if we were to find better overseas distribution (which we are
working on).
AMZ: I understand you wrote a book that was published by PROJEKT. What's it
about and is it still available to our readers if they're interested?
SR: The book is "the first pain to linger" -- which is a novel that comes with
a CD. It was released in early 1995, and is still available. The story is
about betrayal. About being in love, being confused, getting hurt . . . the
themes of "black tape for a blue girl" (laughs). It is taken from my
journals, so it is very real - although it also includes sections that
deal more with reflecting on love, or the confusions and delusions that one
sometimes create while in love.
AMZ: Moving backwards a few years, how did you go from a solo artist of
electronic music, to forming the group black tape for a blue girl? Were you
looking to form a band all along, or was it necessary to do justice to your
instrumentals?
SR: The "band" formed because I was recording material that required others to
fully realize it. As my songs grew more complex -- or perhaps more emotional,
it was a natural progression. I finally felt confident enough with
my lyrics (at the time time I was recording "the rope") that I decided to
incorporate Oscar Herrera on vocals. It had to do with my maturing as an
artist (though I was ONLY 20 then).
AMZ: As far as "black tape for a blue girl," are today's members the same
musicians that started with you in 1986?
SR: No. "black tape for a blue girl" has never functioned like a normal band. Let
me explain. Most bands start off with four guys jammin' in their garage and
then eventually hit the local club circuit. Eventually they record, get
upset with each other and a few people quit and get replaced. With "black
tape for a blue girl," it has always been my vision . . . my project. I
would incorporate friends who played or sang in a manner that fit the idea
I was trying to express on that particular record. Oscar has been the only
consistant member on every album (he sings and plays guitar).
Paradoxically, "black tape for a blue girl" has been the exact opposite of
the "rock band example" I described above . . . because usually there would
be fifteen different people on each album, which gave a sort of varied
feeling from song to song. But on "remnants of a deeper purity," the same
five people were on every song. So instead of falling apart, the band has
come together!
AMZ: "Remnants of a Deeper Purity" seems to emphasize instrumentals. I
haven't had the pleasure of hearing "black tape for a blue girl's" earlier
releases, but is this usually the case? I found the album to have a very
meloncholy, surreal quality with lyrics to match. Does the music come first,
and the lyrics follow, to fit the sound and mood?
SR: The format for "Remnants . . ." is the same as all "black tape . . .," in so far as the
percentage of instrumentals vs. lyrical songs. I would say, however, that
this one has the most strings . . . which DOES give it a different mood.
Once again, back to the "rock band example" above: I am nothing like the
normal band! I improvise all of my songs, with my keyboards, in my studio.
I work them up to a certain point, and then create the lyrics. 99.7% of the time,
the music comes first. I think this makes the music and lyrics more cohesive,
because I get direction for the mood of the words from what the music sounds
like to me. For example, on "With my sorrows," I knew that I wanted to
write a song about the "imaginary blue girl" that could be the quest of the
male character. The song was taking on a very spanish/sephardic feeling.
So I wrote the character into the lyrics, to accomodate that mood. I see the
songs as short stories, in a way. They are about the mood that is created . . .
what it conveys to me. In a way, I am like a director of a play. I have these
actors (Oscar / Lucian / etc.) who bring my characters to life. To me, the music
and lyrics are both important to the whole . . . although either could stand on their own.
AMZ: From what I've read, it appears that each album is a purging of the soul
and a search for happiness. Do you think this will ever happen, or are you
constantly looking for "the one love" that will last, and perhaps even change
your music to a lighter tone?
SR: I have a significant other - Lisa - who I have been with for just about a
year. The albums are, like you say, more of a purging than perhaps
anything else. It is where I am at, at the time it is written. I am more
"down-to-earth" in person. You probably wouldn't recognize me as the same
person. I don't think that finding "the right one" will change my music.
Even though I am happy on the surface, the deep down person is still
questioning and searching for answers. In answer, then, I have found "the
right one" - but I doubt I would adopt a lighter tone. That's just not
where I am coming from.
AMZ: What do you see in the future for PROJEKT? Will you continue to
basically stay out of the mainstream and cater to a specific audience, or
do you you eventually plan to make the label at least a little more
commercial - as the "artform of business" you refer to pulls you in that
direction?
SR: Well, I don't really think that I could make any nods to commerciality
within my own work, since the tangent it is taking is certainly further
and further into a pretty obscure area of post-classical minimalism. I know
what you mean, about the desire to get SOME return on the investment - I
have been at this for over a decade now. It is a constant struggle to
see a way clear of all the financial obstacles that work to hinder someone
who is more dedicated to art then getting rich. So, I really don't have a
very good answer for you. The thing I see, however, is finding a way to
seperate out the CORE of what matters to me, from the STUFF that I do
everyday that probably is nice and necessary, but not really "Relevant." I
don't know the answer to that question yet, but I am searching for it.
AMZ: Sam, thank you very much for the interview. It's been very informative.
SR: Thanks for interviewing me. I hope that people get in touch with us.
For a free catalog; send your name and street address to:
catalog@projekt.com
or
Write to:
PROJEKT
Box 16155
Chicago, IL 60616
If you're interested in finding out more about PROJEKT, and their artists, here is a
direct link to their Web Site:
