Turbo Records going into overdrive for 2012

Last year I interviewed Tiga, owner of Canadian label Turbo Records, about his ZZT project – which he spoke about with me for the first time since it had been conceived. The label has gone from strength to strength since its inception back in 1998, with plenty of the artists on its roster doing remarkably well on a global scale, Azari & III for example. This year Turbo looks set to be even bigger than it has ever been with label head Tiga and his brother Thomas pushing the gears up a notch (I’m tempted to say into Turbo-drive)… with that in mind, I spoke to Thomas as he and his brother took a break in Goa ahead of their huge year. (Thomas also recorded an exclusive mix for this interview, which you can listen to at the bottom of this page).

How did Turbo start? What was the initial trigger behind getting the label together? How long did it take to get it off the ground?

Tiga started the label back in 1998. He’d come off successful ventures opening a record store and a nightclub in Montreal, and it was a natural progression for him at the time. With his residency at the club, he was booking a lot of his favourite artists, among them guys like Adam Beyer and Jesper Dahlbäck, whom he recruited for the label’s first releases. I think what got things started was that Tiga wanted to put out a mix-CD representing the music he was playing at his club, and that spawned the Mix Sessions series.

What’s the label’s ethos? What was the idea behind the label, who was the label aimed at?

The label’s ethos, if you can call it that, is pretty straightforward. Release music we love, wrapped up in beautiful graphic design and packaging. I think it’s always been a very personal project for Tiga, and now for me as well, in that we are comfortable with crossing genres and being idiosyncratic with our choices. We’ve never done things specifically FOR our audience, and so far doing this for ourselves has earned us a good cult following.

Sei A – Flux (Martyn’s Electromagnetic Mix) by Turbo Recordings

I see… and how has the label’s output changed over the years? And how have you, as the owners, changed? In terms of business-sense, perspective, approach to seeking out new talent and so on..

It’s changed a lot, though I think the essentials have stayed consistent. I’ve been involved since 2005 when the label re-launched. The industry has seen a lot of changes, obviously, and necessitated a lot of shifts in how we work as a label. Some of them don’t mean that much – for example whether you get a demo through MySpace, Facebook, SoundCloud, EarFriend, or WordOfMouthCloud, or whatever people are using now, all that matters is that you actually listen.

What have been the best moments you’ve had as label owners? And any low points?

Talking publicly about low points would be a low point. The first run of Planet Turbo shows in 2010 was a memorable time, signing Proxy, Gesaffelstein, and Azari & III were all big things for us and each one of those artists have brought some big highs. Moving into our new office last year was a major thing, a concrete but also symbolic upgrade for the operation, and how we operate within that operational rubric. Another high is being here in Goa with Tiga on holiday.

ZZT – Work (Nautiluss Remix) by Turbo Recordings

Haha, yeah I bet. Now, 2012 is shaping up to be a big year – what’s on the agenda?

More than I can mention here. We have a really fresh crop of new talent that I’m very excited about. We’re putting together a new compilation to showcase a lot of these newcomers: Clouds, Locked Groove, Gingy, Bordello, Nautiluss… it’s exciting to find a bunch of new artists with a fresh sound all at once. We have some amazing remix packages coming for two album projects we did last year in Tiga & Zombie Nation’s ZZT, plus Finnish-duo Renaissance Man. Also, a really cool EP that’s a side project of Marc Houle’s, kind of an electroclash-style vocal pop record that features a brilliant cover version done by the new Visionquest guys Footprintz, who happen to be good friends of ours from Montreal. Duke Dumont has a great new series of EPs ready for us. There’s new stuff from Azari & III. AND… there will DEFINITELY be a Proxy album this year as well.

Sounds like you have a lot on your plate then…. Why is so much coming together this year? Had you always planned to make 2012 a big one?

The roster keeps growing year upon year, so it feels like a pretty organic development. That said, we put out loads of music last year (35 releases) so it’ll be hard to top that for sheer volume. And that is what I’d planned to say in February of 2012.

Before I let you get back to the beach, one final question… what excites you most about running a record label?

Finding and curating great new music. Occasionally helping create a star and changing stars’ lives. Makin’ stickers for the stars…

You can listen to Thomas’ mix below…

Thomas Von Party DJ set – Le Bain, NY by Turbo Recordings

Renaissance Man’s remix album (featuring Paul Woolford, Matthew Herbert, Teeth and WhoMadeWho, plus more…) is released on March 19, for more information visit the Turbo Records website: www.planet-turbo.com

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