Nick Garcia makes his debut appearance on PUZL Records with an exciting new EP entitled Stepmode.
The young producer’s musical prowess is undeniable and as his sights turn towards this latest body of work we see him venturing deeper into the experimental and leftfield narratives.
After releasing his Fenix EP on Night Vision in March, which dabbled mainly in funky, left-field house, Nick Garcia looks toward the world of techno for his follow up – the Aalto EP. Rightfully released on Boston’s versatile and club-focused label Lifted Contingency, the EP is inspired by the digital modular Madrona Labs synthesizer of the same name, which is responsible for most of its sounds. All three tracks feature intense, fitful patterns bred from heavy tweaking of Aalto’s labyrinthine and unconventional user interface.
The release begins with “DivSeq,” which sounds like Basic Channel on steroids. One brazenly distorted 2 bar sequence is stretched out and warped over seven tumultuous minutes of knob-twiddling goodness before dropping into a sonorant and stunning climax around the five-minute mark. Then there’s “Aalto,” an unabashed exercise in resampling. The track constructs an ecology of minute, fractured elements that dance over fluid, resonant-heavy bass lines, making an unbelievable impact on big sound systems. We are happy to be offering the exclusive premiere of this track for you today.
Guest post by Nick Garcia, label manager of Sharam’s Yoshitoshi Recordings.
For all it’s chocked up to be, the DJ/producer lifestyle is usually not as glamorous as it sounds, especially when it comes to money. For every uber-successful artist with a Porsche and a villa in Ibiza, there are countless more who don’t know where their next rent check will come from. Performance, remix, and licensing fees don’t just fall from the sky, and chances are those streaming statements can barely pay for a cup of coffee. Therefore, I’ve compiled five tips for artists who find themselves struggling financially to maximize what their money can do, both now and in the future.
What is the role of record labels really and how do they operate in today’s industry? Over the last couple of decades, and especially so with the arrival and boom of the internet, the duties and functions of record labels have changed a lot.
Towards the end of last month, Suara’s big cat Coyu took to his Facebook page to lament on the current state of record labels, in particular diving into how label releases from smaller less-known artists seldom get the recognition and sales they deserve, despite often being higher quality productions than those of established producers that sell far better. In essence, Coyu stated, nowadays who makes the music matters more than the music itself. He also went on to explain how the catch-22 begins with local DJs and promoters who themselves veer towards purchasing tracks from names they know and trust rather than digging deeper into label catalogues to support music releases from other smaller producers like them.
With the ever-changing role of record labels in mind, we sat down with Nick Garcia, the label manager of Sharam’s Yoshitoshi Recordings to discuss the subject in detail.
