By Luigi Santosuosso
Q: Tell us a little bit about the history of your label: When was
it established, what were your motivations, how did you choose the name.?
F.G.: I had been thinking about it for a while, but in the summer
of 1981, I was so fed up with my musical situation that I felt there were
only two choices: to give up or to start on a more serious path. This way I
decided to record a solo cassette: my friend, the musician Eivin One
Pedersen, and I realized that we had to produce some music and send it
around to let people know what we were playing. Stavanger, where I live, is
a small town with around 100,000 people and not very many musicians were
into the music we were into. So, inventing the label was one of the step
towards getting some kind of recognition. Getting gigs was another one.
As far as the choice of the name for the label is concerned, it was
really silly. I had been drinking some wine with some friends and one word
led to another. We were drinking Italian wine and one of our friends had
just come back from a visit to Italy where he had picked up some Italian
words. He started talking his very rotten Italian and all of us got
involved. During this ecstatic moment, the name was borne! Afterwards, we
felt it was OK because it was a made up name that belonged to no real
language, but it was understandable for most people: we wanted a 'total
circulation'; we wanted the musicians we knew to record for us and to mix
with each other as much as possible, making new combinations in every
possible way. As it turned out, most of our friends did not like this idea.
And they definitely would not want their music to be released on cassette.
We were a bit optimistic and not very sophisticated. All our cassette
recordings were done live to two-track.
Q: Were you influenced by the experience of other musicians that
had established a label before you?
F.G.: Oh yes. ICP, FMP etc. had done it. They presented a
different way of releasing stuff. Also different covers etc. Very much
"controlled" by the musicians.
Q: There are certain labels that are immediately associated with a
specific style or "sound" think of '60s Blue Note or today's HatHut, Winter
& Winter, ECM etc. We have all at one time or another ended up buying a CD
by an artist unknown to us at that time just because /her/his CD was
released by a label we greatly trust. What is the idea that you would like
your CDs to be associated with? Do you pursue a specific artistic idea that
all the CDs on your catalogue should share?
F.G.: Well, not really. But I definitely want real music. No
overdubs etc. I also prefer live recordings because the musicians seem to me
to concentrate more in front of an audience. And these days with portable
digital recorders, you can get a good live recording without too much
hassle. I have some mikes and an Adat, plus a Mackie mixer which I have used
a lot. I mix on my Mac and get a reasonable result. Good enough for
release - if the music is OK.
Q: What were the initial difficulties? Apart from finding name,
headquarters, personnel etc. was distribution your main problem?
F.G.: When I released cassettes only, I did not have any
distribution at all. People would write to me after reading an article or a
review. But when I started doing CDs, I hooked up with a Norwegian
distributor. They have no idea how to sell this music abroad. And that's
where my market is. So I have contacted some local distributors. One
important distributor is Cadence. They have a mail-order service which serve
people from all over the place.
Q: Should a major label offer you a record deal, would you accept
it or would you rather stick with your label to preserve your freedom of
choice?
F.G.: I would go with them. No problem. The reason why I still
stick out a CD every once in a while, is that I need a lot of copies for
promoting my bands. And it is easier for me to finance those copies through
selling the rest of the CDs than having to buy a few hundred copies off a
record company. Also, in certain places, you can make a bit of money selling
CDs off the stand after concerts....
Q: What are the best selling CDs on your label?
F.G.: "In Time Was" by Detail and "Remember to forget"
Q: And what are your favorite CDs on the catalogue?
F.G.: The same two.
Q: What are the 5 CDs that you wished you had produced for your
label (this question is just another way to ask you what are the 5 CDs you
would take with you on a secret island, the 5 CDs that have changed your
life...)?
F.G.: My label is not for anyone outside. It is my projects that
might end up there...
So, I would like to release these 5 projects:
- a duo with Hamid Drake
- a trio with Borah Bergman and Hamid Drake
- a new recording by my Orchestra
- a duo with William Parker
- a trio with Paal Nilsen-Love and ÃÂyvind Storesund, my Norwegian trio.
ROSTER OF ARTISTS: John Stevens, Johnny Dyani, Bobby Bradford,
Barry Guy, Paul Rutherford, Eivin One Pedersen etc.
DISCOGRAPHY on CD:
Detail, In Time Was
Frode Gjerstad, John Stevens, Billy Bang, Kent Carter, Less More
Circulasione Totale Orchestra, Enten Eller
Circulasione Totale Orchestra, Recycling Grieg
Frode Gjerstad, William Parker, Hamid Drake, Remember to forget
Frode Gjerstad (solo), Ism
This article is published courtesy of the Italian music webzine Musicboom.
