What’s behind the name of your label? How did this name come about (by accident, a word game)? Or does the name express or reflect the philosophy of the label?
When we first thought about a name for our label, it had to represent the essence of the music we planned to release. So we decided it to be addictive, seductive, unusual and rememberable. In short, we came up with Dope.
When was the label founded? And who started the label?
Theoretically the label started in 2002, when we met for the first time during our service in IDF. "We" are Fareez Suleiman and Anatoly Grinberg aka Tokee. Back then Anatoly was already experimenting with sound and released one album on the small american label BedroomBrain Records.
Practically, the label came into existence five years later after the fateful phone call to me from Anatoly. Although he was a succesful sound engineer, he never stopped his experimenting with music and was eager to cook up a record. The quality, and quantity, of the material were terrific. It was a crime not to start a label.
What was the intention behind starting a label? Did it start as a "witty" response like, "Let's try out to run a label," or was there kind of a business idea right from the start?
In order to answer this question, the whole Israeli electronic scene should be considered. For several years Israel was mostly represented by trance music, popular then and slowly dying nowadays. So it created a sort of vacuum, the perpetual predecessor of renaissance we still hope to contribute to. And sure we will be pleased to earn some money out of this.
Do you also run sub-labels? Why and when did you add them to your label roster?
Currently we do not run any sub-labels. We are still too young.
How would you describe the style/sound of your label (sublabel)? What are the musical boundaries? Which musical "drawer" do you like to fit most of your label's music?
We prefer not to fit ourselves into any particular "drawer", but the main direction is experimental electronic on the basis of so-called IDM music, and indusrial. We plan to experiment with new sounds, fusion of genres, and unusual elements in our music.
Which kind of media do you use for your releases (MP3, CD, Vinyl...)? Are there any plans in the near future to add new media formats? Which media formats are definitely uninteresting to you?
Presently we release on CD's. Free MP3 samples are available on our website, since raising money on MP3 is mean and unfair towards the customer. MP3 sounds simply horrible compared to CD.
Very soon our records will be available as lossless FLAC files, so check it out.
Do you own/run a shop or web-shop? How important is owning a store for you?
We have one on our website. By now it's the only place to buy our records for those abroad Israel.
In which countries do you distribute your records? Do you work with a Distribution? Or do you manage the distribution by yourselves?
We distribute by ourselves through local music shops and our web-shop.
How do you become interested in new artists?
First of all, we are not bounded by any specific sound or style. Anything new and fresh, anything leading far beyond everyday and routine experience, anything thrilling and awakening the very best and the most disgusting sides of human soul is welcome. Second of all, as a small label, we can't afford ourselves to be interested in flat music.
What do you think about the range of artists a label should sign? Less is more? Or does a big range of artists help to get more attention?
In our opinion everything depends on the size of the label itself. Big labels can freely afford themselves working with broad range of artists, small ones can't. What does matter is quality. The range is not crucial.
Do you have a demo policy? Who listens to the demos and decides to take new artists on board?
We do not have any particular demo policy. Artists can freely send us their stuff in any format, we listen to their records and then decide on farther collaboration.
What about the number of releases in one year. How many releases do you usually have in one year? And how much ahead do you plan your releases?
By now we release twice a year, but we're planning to enlarge our productivity up to 3-4 in the near future. We have plenty of material to release.
Is there a connection between the hometown of your label and the label itself? Do you think if you would move to another city your label probably would lose his identity?
There is no connection with our hometown, but there is with our country. The purpose is to affect the local electronic scene, which is hard to do living abroad Israel.
Which of your releases would you name as the most successful release?
We released two records by far, so it's too early for us to name the most successful.
Besides the sales figures which one is your personal number one?
Undoubtedly our personal number one is "Plus", since it is the first one. In a way this is our cornerstone. We put a lot of efforts to release it, and it's been a long way to go.
Nobody likes to talk about failures, anyway, how much time must pass until you would call a release a “flop”? Any records which hadn’t any success in the beginning and after you named it a flop it became successful by accident?
We are not afraid of "flops". Our number of issues is too small to have wide distribution, so even if it is a flop we are hardly going to be affected.
Your feelings about the music market: Would you say things are getting harder for record labels through things like p2p, mp3….?
Frnakly speaking, MP3 has a shitty sound. Someone who is interested in music and does love it will buy original CD or lossless FLAC files to enjoy the quality sound. Those who are pretty happy with MP3 quality is not our target audience. We love music, and we release music for people who love music.
Which kind of medias/press do you use for promotion? How do you select the media you work with? In general; how important is the press for electronic music? What makes you really upset when you work with the press? A bad review, no response…
We use wide range of media including internet( our website, social networks etc.), radio, and for sure, ancient "word of mouth" techniques really help us. Using press is less likely, since there are no any local editions willing to take risk on publishing about electronic music. Electronic scene is considered as marginal, therefore it is not profitable to write about it. Basically this is the most upsetting thing in working with the press.
Music is business, like every other business. With that in mind, how important is "friendship" and "trust" to you when you work with artists, promoters or distributors? Or do you separate things?
Of course we separate things. There is no place for "friendship" or "trust" in business. Business is about money, friendship and trust are not. However there is place in business for decency and honesty.
Although your whole day is centered around the music business, do you sometimes walk into a recordstore to buy a record?
Sure I do. I am a passionate collector, so if I get into the record store, no way I'm leaving without big package of CD's and vinyl records.
http://www.doperec.com/
Interview Michael Mück/Summer 2009
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