From Lyon to Paris, producer Pascal Rioux Aka Charles Maurice has been busy the last 20 years producing and reissuing quality music from deep house to disco, nu reggae to AOR, modern soul or French boogie! Time to go back to the complete story…

When did you start digging records?
As I am an “old-young” man born in 67, I started to buy records when I was 12-13 years old, around 1979, just like a lot of young kids. At that time, the difference compared to now was the format and I was also buying quite a lot of 7inches, most of them being commercial/mainstream Funk and Disco airing on radios before FM showed up in the 80’s.

What LPs did you buy at first? Do you still listen to them?
I remember my first 7inch was “Knock On Wood” by Amii Stewart! I can’t listen to that anymore, even drunk at a wedding. But I still have some records from that time, 70% were cheap commercial stuff, but some are good commercial music like “Take It To The Top”, “Ladies Night”, “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang, or bands like Earth Wind And Fire, George Duke or Gino Soccio. That early 80’s Disco-Funk sound was clearly commercial, everybody around me was listening to these stuff, however there were a lot of people more on the Rock side, with some stuff I liked by the way, but I was more naturally attracted by Dance music.

Do you have a particular style or favorite period?
My favorite period in term of production is the 70’s, when analog sounds reach the perfection not only in the US but also in Brazil, Europe and all parts of the world. I like early 80’s too, but only productions sounding and clearly infused with that 70’s touch.
The 90’s were also important for me, as it’s the period where, with Teddy Gilles, we started a record label call Disques Rotax in Lyon, getting involved in House production process! Both of us had our own home-studio then, and I did several 12inch on Rotax, but also some for Guidance Recordings (US), and 2 albums in 1999 and 2000 with Mr Day for Glasgow Underground (UK). 17 years later, I’m still working with Eric (Mr Day)! At that time, I was DJing pretty often, playing mostly Disco, House and Hip-Hop, but also some Brazilian productions (I discovered Brazilian music thru Patrick Forge and Gilles Peterson in 92-93) and Jazz-Funk. So I really start to collect records more seriously at that period.

Are you still digging, buying vinyl, visiting record shops?
Yes I’m buying records all the time, mostly second-hand records, but not only! In stores and also more and more through internet for stuff that are hard to find in some repertoire like Brazilian, AOR and some other rarities.

What was your first release on Favorite?
First Favorite Recordings release was a 12inch by Lee McDonald in 2005-2006. When I was producing music in the 90’s, we did a cover of a Lee MCDonald’s song called “Gotta Get Home” on our second album with Mr Day. I was a big fan of Lee McDonald’s album at that time, and I was buying a lot of this kind of Mellow Soul. Then I had the chance to get in contact with Ron Foster (who was playing keys in Ecstasy, Passion & Pain), the producer of Lee McDonald’s Sweet Magic album. So I went to meet him in Philadelphia in 2004, at a Soul music convention where I spent two days. He introduced me to some of his friends like Barbara Mason, Gene Chandler, Mandrill or The Escorts! Those are amazing ‘souvenirs’ and still in my mind like if it was yesterday.
During the weekend we had a long conversation and I asked him if he still had the stems of the Sweet Magic songs. The story started when he answered yes for the songs “We’ve Only Just Begun” and “I’ll Do Anything For You”. Thus the first release on Favorite was a single reissue of “We’ve Only Just Begun” with an exclusive extended version and a remix by TM Juke. That was in late 2005.

What could be your editorial/esthetic line?
My editorial line is very simple; there is no calculation, only music gives me the impulsion to do something. As long as I love the music, I’m keen to engage things and produce or release it. With that process, some of the records are selling well and some are not selling that much… But I’m always very proud of each release. So, music comes first of course, but sound quality is also very important to me. I give a lot of attention to drums recordings for example, and all the steps to the final mix. My goal is always to reach the sound quality of records I love. When vinyl was the only format, the “savoir-faire” and quality of the sound engineers reached the top! It’s quite hard nowadays to have that quality, but a few passionate (maybe a bit crazy) guys on this planet are working towards that. It’s the same when it comes to reissues. Unfortunately most of the time, the master owners we contact don’t have the tapes anymore. I’m also trying to bring the best from ripping the original vinyl copies with HI-FI high-end equipment, then doing mastering and cutting at the Carvery (UK) with Frank Merrit. He is really doing a great job in restoration, mastering and cutting.

What could be the label’s leitmotif?
Same thing I guess, the label’s leitmotif is quality music and great sound!

What is the Favorite LP you are prouder of?
All of them of course! More seriously, maybe some a bit less, but for the large majority I feel deeply proud and I’m even prouder to be friends with these talented guys, including some I’ve been working closely with for a long time now.

Did you have any references labels?
Clearly yes, but it would be difficult to name only a few as most of them are again from the 70’s. Quality at that time was the most important thing and many labels had their own studios and sound engineer, in order to do it better and faster. To maintain that cadence and that quality, you better have people knowing what they do. If you check musicians from many classics albums in that golden period (60’s, 70’s, early 80’s), they were often the same because they had to record an album fast and right… there was no possible digital recall or correction. So when the engineer pressed rec on the tape recorder, musicians had to be tight and together from the start to the end. To record each parts of a song on tapes, it takes you 2-3 hours a day just for the tape recorder logistic, so for producers, having the best musicians around was the best way to go fast in the recording process and to save money on studio costs. I’m also highly impressed and fascinated by most of the labels active at that time.

You’re working a lot since the beginning of the label with French producer Bruno ‘Patchwork’ Hovart (under his various names Voilaa, The Dynamics, …). What the next step?
Yes indeed and I think Bruno (Mr President, The Dynamics, Uptown Funk Empire, Voilaaa, Patchworks and many more…) is amongst the best producers from our generation in this kind of music. He plays almost every instrument and he produces fast and great, as he has his own studio, he can work whenever he wants. I sincerely hope that he will get an acknowledgment equal to his talent one day. There is not so many true producers like him nowadays.

Recently you re-released some AOR LP’s and compilations! what will be the next releases in that particular style?
Yes, I’m a huge fan of this style of music and period! We started the AOR Global Sounds series in 2015 and the third volume is coming out in a few weeks. The direction is still the same, 14 rare and obscure tracks influenced by the AOR and West Coast movement with a Disco and Soul flavor. Many of these great gems were produced through the USA, often by artists with a very short career. And it also includes some stunning tracks from Brazil, Sweden and Canada.
Otherwise, a new artist has been signed on Favorite under the name of Al Sunny, with a first album coming out in May. It’s clearly oriented in the same AOR/West Coast direction. I’ve met Al Sunny thanks to Florian Pellissier and I was immediately seduced by his voice and compositions. I think we’ve done a great job in recording and producing the album. It’s been mixed at studio “Question De Son” on an early 80’s SSL 4000. I’m pretty happy with the sound for a first album and hopefully people will feel the same…
Also in that direction and coming out this year is the third album of Lucas Arruda. The album is almost mixed and we also did it at “Question De Son”. Drums and others instruments have been recorded in Rio, by a guy who used to work with Lincoln Olivetti. To me, Lucas is a genius! He composes, plays and performs like very few musicians are able to do nowadays. You have to stay tuned on this album, it’s gonna be really massive!! I’m so proud to have this talented guy in our family.

Do you plan to extend you ‘boogie’ compilations to other countries (we’ve seen Brazil, France, West-Indies)?
There is no new country planned for now, but I intend to release ‘French Disco Boogie Sounds Vol.3’ in 2018 and I’d love to do another one on Brazil. I have already the track-listing in mind and I could think of many other volumes, but it’s a nightmare for the clearance. Anyway we have many other reissue projects in the pipes…

You are still releasing 12’’, is the market still big on that format, usually only bought by DJ’s ?
Yes DJ’s mostly, but anyway most of our records are sold to DJ’s, 12inch or LP. The single format is clearly not selling as it used to, following the explosion of digital and Serato. But when you have a great track and a dancefloor killer, there is still a market for it. Besides I think a new generation of DJ’s is getting back to vinyl format. Recently we’ve experienced some nice sales with 12inches and I hope it will continue…

Nowadays, there are many LP labels who follow this model, I mean more quality even if it’s more expensive… but in same time, there are also another « new » LP market, with major companies come-back and other labels, who prefer to sell cheaper. Is it the (re)creation of two camps for the LP?
Indeed, quality costs more, especially when you do it the right way, with official licenses, real treatment, quality mastering and proper packaging. These kinds of expenses have to be impacted on the price. Major companies don’t have those expenses, as they don’t have to license the music, they still have mastering and artwork, etc… So of course they are able to sell records cheaper. But I don’t see the point to reissue a classic album when you can get the original copy in great condition for the same price. So it’s not the same target. They are selling their reissues in chain stores, we are selling ours in independent record stores. DJ’s and collectors don’t go to chain stores anymore and that’s a good thing.

There are more and more reissues of old LP’s, and more and more record labels (major or indie) now release their new artists on LP, or EP. Do you think that the LP reissue market could ever reach saturation point?
No I don’t think so, as long as people buy turntables, they will need to put something on it. What I expect from them is to be addicted to vinyl format, which is the case most of the time when you realize that the sound is much better. Besides there is a kind of ritual with vinyl and it participates to the addiction. We are in a niche, but when the quality is here, it’s clearly possible to reach a few thousands of listeners and buyers. Independent record stores usually have good taste, so they need and keep on buying good quality music. The only marketing working in that niche is the quality, so a good LP will always sell.

Girl…

What are your other next releases?
Additionally to AOR Global Sounds Vol.3 and Al Sunny, which I mentioned earlier, we’ll release the first album of Joao Selva. Joao is a native from Brazil who’s now based in Lyon and has been involved in various projects. He and Patchworks have quickly met and connect through their passion for music and they then produced a great album together. The album is titled ‘Natureza’ and it’s a trip, with influences of Jorge Ben and Caetano Veloso Tropicalism period, the intoxicating Funk of Tim Maia, and the social poetry of Vinicius de Moraes.
We’ll also reissue a rare self-titled album by Arian from the 80’s. He’s from Serbia and recorded this LP in New-York. It includes a track called “Your Love Makes Me A Winner”, which I love for a while.
There should also be a first single release from Lucas Arruda next album, and, just a few days ago, we’ve released the second album by Voilaaa, titled Des Promesses. Voilaaa is the Afro side of Bruno “Patchworks” Hovart and, as I said earlier, everything Bruno’s touching is gold!!
And however it will not be released before the summer, I’m also very excited about the new and third album by Andre Solomko for Favorite. He’s currently recording and mixing it and all the demos were just great!! It’s been now more than 4 years since we’ve started our collaboration with Andre and I’m genuinely honored to have him in our roster. His writing and composing skills are amazing and he’s also a real kind of geek when it comes to engineering (he’s an engineer himself), even building his own preamp and microphones. He grown up in Russia and has been fed during all his life with the analog production paths. I think he’s not able to produce and imagine his music another way.

What is the LP you dream of issuing/reissuing?
My dream is more into issuing great original music and trying to approach the quality sound of the golden analog years. Favorite will keep on going in that direction, aiming to do better and better with our own music. Reissue is cool, but you don’t own it and you cannot build something strong that will cross decades. I hope people will consider some of our own productions as classics in the future. It would be the best reward I can think of.

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At Pourville, the beach where Jean Rollin ended most of his film

Andy Votel, appart from being a great DJ (check him when he’s in town, always worth it!) and a serious vinyl addict, is also at the head of forward thinking label Finders Keepers! Check and share the story of one of the busyest guy in the record bizness!

 
 
 

When did you start digging records?
Records were a forbidden fruit when I was very young, I wasn’t allowed to touch my parents records at all. But almost overnight they switched to cassettes (K7) and the records went in a cupboard. When I was around 8 years old my folks divorced and the records became plastic orphans! One day I took the LPs and did silly experiments like gluing toy cars to them and playing them backwards or painting them with Tippex or making loops by taping a lolly stick to the platter to make the needle jump, after that I used to ask everyone i knew if I could have their old records. Once I got a bin bag full of ex jukebox records including some early rap like Rhythm Talk by Jocko. I instantly identified with early hip-hop being about record abuse and from then it snowballed. I’m not entirely sure that I even liked music at this point.

What Lps did you buy at first? Do you still listen to them?
My dad had a flat that he rented out. One day a tenant skipped town and left his records behind. There was The Misfits, The Brothers Johnson and The White Album. I think that awkward mix has contributed to my eclectic taste. My first self-funded purchases were hip-hop albums but i almost instantly started buying the original samples… Cymande and Mandrill marked one significant early shopping trip in Manchester. Records were the absolute cheapest form of entertainment. I practically lived on car boot sales in my teens, but i grew up in a very white middle class area so the best i could muster was Funkadelic, George Macrae, James Brown, Bill Withers but i also saw expensive folk and easy listening. I learned to DJ using old turntables and speakers rescued from the tip / dump. Then started DJing at the school discos.

Do you have a particular style or favourite period?
Not one in particular, I would say 1972… but pop music progressed at irregular rates in different countries so it’s pointless reading dates any more. People used to be obsessed with dates but its all changed. I have a few specialist subjects now, Post 68 French concept albums, Turkish pop, female punk, i’d like to add Italian library to that list but it’s becoming progressively unaffordable. There’s no punk attitude in antique collecting.

Are you still digging, buying vinyl, visiting record shops?
Yes, it’s the only thing that keeps me out of the pub. Record digging is like smoking a cigarette for me, it makes me feel secure.

What was your first release on Finders Keepers?
Jean Claude Vannier’s – ‘L’enfant Assassin Des Mouches’ in 2005. Although I did a compilation called Finders Keepers a few years prior to starting the label… and the same people who run Finders Keepers also did a compilation called Folk Is Not A Four Letter Word at exactly the same time. I previously started Twisted Nerve Records in 1997.

Jean-Claude Vannier
Les Gardes Volent Au Secours Du Roi

Why did you choose this name: Finders Keepers? A kind of double hat?
It’s obviously based on the popular phrase (Finders Keepers – Losers Weepers) but i’m never sure how well that translates globally.
I was a rapper in my teenage years and this was the title of one of our tracks. Boney Votel (Mark Rathbone) and myself basically rapped about digging for records and not much else. There was a bit of arrogance with the age and culture, now I guess the label should be called Finders Sharers but it doesn’t have the same ring to it does it? To be honest none of us have the physical space to “Keep” anything anymore.

What could be the label’s leitmotif?
Well our slogan is “Making Global Sound Local” so I guess that means putting very obscure music in a palatable context (or making it widely available). I decided at an early age to simply stop buying English or American records just as a form of discipline and this turned into a bit of a religion. There was a time quite recently where there was a lot of xenophobia in pop music. For example The annual English TV coverage of The Eurovision song contest was borderline racist year after year. Even since the label started the climate is a lot different, people have alway loved Brazilian (Portuguese) and French language music, but releasing Welsh and Hungarian music 20 years ago seemed insane to some people. The other phrase is “Making Old Record Feel Young” which is also about recontextualising old records (old records that actually sound more progressive than most modern music).

How do you decide on the choice of reissues?
We are at our most successful when we find a recording that is like nothing else in your collection, which is increasingly difficult but very rewarding. People think we make up these absurd genres for fun (Krautsider / Welsh Rare Beat / Turk Jerk) but we genuinely search for records that are free from any pigeonholes. Obviously there is a stylistic thread that involves loud drums, fuzz guitar, primitive electronics and female vocals but as the label gets older these kind of trends, alongside rarity or dance-floor compatibility, become irrelevant. One thing we are passionate about is not physically manufacturing records that are already available which is why we mostly release very rare records by default or totally unreleased master-tapes that have never been pressed before, in this sense we are not technically a re-issue label anymore.

Ten years ago, you did a lot of reissues about Anatolian scene in the 70’s. What motivate this choice ? And what was for you the most amazing artist?
For me ‘Selda’ was by far the best record to come out of that scene. She was well respected by the younger community and all the best musicians assembled to help her create that amazing first LP. I naturally always gravitate to female musicians and there are far less female composers in the the domains of Eastern music (as well as electronic music or library music) but she was special and much more important than the many female pop singers who followed. The synth and saz combination was the huge cherry that tilted the cake. When I first heard Turkish music I was blown away by the incredible FUZZ, it was much bigger than that of Big-Jim Sullivan or Micky Karoli from Can but then I realised it was actually a Saz and not a regular guitar so I was hooked. We also admire that the music scene was in no way reliant on the Western major labels, it was genuinely independent which is rare (even Greece, Pakistan and Israel had labels like EMI and CBS attempting to control the market). We managed to meet all of our heroes in Istanbul within 12 months and they all agreed that it was the first interest they had had from the West EVER! We could have released 50 further Turkish albums but the trend went through the roof and the bootleggers started chasing all the trophy titles and spoiled things a bit. We try not to repeat our selves too much, but i still buy for personal use. About twice a year i do a 5 hour Turkish-only DJ set just to flex that muscle.

Mustafa Ozkent
Burçak

You have released also such iranian productions, recorded at the same period. An objective link between those two scenes?
In some rare cases the same songs have come out in both Turkey and Iran, but its mostly the Arabesque stuff as opposed to the Anadolou pop. The main thing with the Persian records were that they were forbidden and often destroyed. The Iranian records have a more bitter-sweet story surrounding them and from my perspective they are more soulful whereas the Turkish stuff is more psychedelic and funky. Googoosh is quite possibly my favourite female recording artist of all time.

And was it difficult to obtain rights for those Lps ? How did you find all the people who owned rights?
Since the start of FK Doug and Myself have always had a wish-list and schedule that would keep us going for the next 5 years so we have never needed to bring other compilers on board. The two exceptions are Chris Menist and then Mahssa who runs the Finders Keepers office in Los Angeles, both of these people are mad vinyl junkies but understand the very important fact that it’s more important to connect with human being as opposed to pieces of plastic. Mahssa is Iranian and her family is part of the Iranian community diaspora in L.A. – The label owners were family friends.

Another part of F. K. catalog is more focused on early electronic stuffs, another global movement, like psychedelic. What is the unity between all those productions, from Lollywood soundtracks to T.R.A.S.E. (Tape Recorder And Synthesizer Ensemble)?
The Lollywood and Kollywood scenes were the poorer cousins of the huge Bollywood industry, so instead of huge orchestras they had to experiment with studio trickery, tape sampling and synthesisers. A lot of those ancient sounding strings are re-cycled off other old tracks which is why you find mono strings agains stereo synthesisers, it’s better if you don’t analyse it but there is a direct common thread between Massiera, Joe Meek and Ilaiyaraaja… in fact there is no difference apart from language, the indigenous influences are arguably the smallest detail. TRASE was a teenage synthesiser inventor, and an uncompromised one-man-band who worked on a pocket-money budget in a home studio… and there lies the unity.

You became one of the experts of French free jazz band avant-garde music developed in France. How can an Englishman dare?
It might sound a bit silly but I very rarely buy American or English records, I much prefer records manufactured in smaller economies. It’s really just a matter of paper and plastic. America has some of the greatest diggers in the world, living in Europe i’ll never be able to compete with people like Dante Carfagna, Johan Kugelberg and Egon on their own turf so I don’t bother. When I got interested in Free Jazz this became difficult so i turned to labels like BYG Actuel, Palm and Futura and then got a bit obsessed. I love the fact that bands like The Art Ensemble added the words “Of Chicago” so they could get gigs in Paris, i believe that France and the Pan African festivals played a huge role in free-jazz providing an appreciation that was not available in America and an unrivalled first hand inspiration for French musicians. I came to these records with French pop knowledge. I first heard Gilson because he worked with Gainsbourg’s drummer Pierre Dahan. I first heard Tusques because of his Jean Rollin films. AEOC via Fontaine. Also France’s history in musique concrete lead to the best electronic jazz music albums like Jacques Thollot and François Jeanneau (from Triangle). In a way French records have taught me about American music. You can also learn a lot by looking at all the people who Don Cherry has worked with on a global scale without having to buy American pressings

Googoosh
Talagh

What about your collaboration with cult producer Jean-Claude Vannier? And François Tusques?
When i was younger Vannier resembled The French David Axelrod, a few years later Tusques was like a French Mal Waldron. Axe and Waldron were staples of my teenage record collection, so after buying all their records I upgraded to French models. ‘L’Enfant Assassin Des Mouches’ is my favourite album of all time, it was the first record that Finders Keepers released and remains a benchmark for all of our records. He has also become a close friend. It feels like our relationship with Francois might go the same way.

In fact, do you believe this eclecticism of editorial line is a part of your force, of your identity?
Yes, I really don’t understand why people create specialist labels. It seems too calculated, too business-like.
The beauty of an independent label is you DON’T have to act like that. Our goal is for Finders Keepers to stand up as its own record collection which covers a lot of musical bases and hopefully for no two records to sound the same. I also think some FK records, like L’enfant Assassin Des Mouches and Holy Mountain, are almost like entire record collections in just one release. I love the way jazz labels like Futura and BYG randomly released experimental rock LPs like Gong, Ame Son or Jean Guerin’s ‘TACET’.

What is the Finders Keepers LP you are prouder? why?
The eclecticism makes this difficult so i’m proud for different reasons. I’m instantly proud of any album that was previously unreleased, that’s especially gratifying and life affirming for the label. Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders soundtrack and the Czech releases that followed are really important. Selda ticked a lot of boxes. Belladonna and Holy Mountain were both holy grails for the label and it took us 10 years to release them so i’m still very proud of them. We have lots of grails coming out in the next 18 months.

Most of your previous reissued LP’s are sold out. Do you plan to repress them?
Yes. There are just 1 or 2 artists that decided to double their fee so we had to let them go to other labels. And there’s even a couple of bootlegs of our FK albums out there!

Martial Solal
Electrodes

You work to release some tapes (K7). On one hand, we can consider that it is still about the vintage mode, on another hand, we can however consider it is the possibility to hear of the other unpublished sounds … Do you feel there is a specific market for that? And don’t you believe there is a kind of irony to publish K7 on vinyle in 2015?
The compact cassette was a great format for all types of DIY music from post-punk to PINA and allowed people to release music without too much financial speculation. If it wasn’t for the cassette a lot of music would have remained in the minds of constipated genius’. Most people we licence cassette masters from comment on how they always wanted to make vinyl but it was unaffordable or they couldn’t get a record deal to pay for it. My friend owns a successful cassette duplication company near my house, he has lots of vintage dead-stock raw material from all over the world, its a treasure trove. I sometime s DJ with cassettes fro special occasions.

Do you still discover a lot of unearthed obscure records these days? Where (on line, record dealers, flea markets…)?
Yes. I try not to buy records that are well known at all and don’t really buy records that Doug or any of my friends have. I’m aware that I have more records than i’ll ever get chance to properly listen too so there has to be certain disciplines. I rarely use dealers or boutique shops unless they are friends who are willing to trade, i don’t do much digging in the UK but i buy records every time i travel and mostly from that specific country. I much prefer messy unorganised shops to showrooms. The best place to dig is other peoples houses, or artists collections (including master-tapes). I also enjoy finding records in my own house, its always a good party trick!!!!

You had published many compilations, selections… Is it harder to sell this kind of issues today ? How do you think the market has evolved on these compilations?
Compilations belong with mix-tapes. They are an important staple in the history of record digging but are now virtually impossible to do legally without losing money, the accounting process is also a long-haul commitment. I was brought up with Ultimate Breaks And Beats and later compilations like The Folk Funk Experience and Nuggets Of Funk shaped the way i continued to buy records. Regardless of legitimacy I still have A LOT of respect for the people behind those releases but sadly that era has passed. I agree that the process has evolved a hell of a lot. I regard the process of finding the artist and knowing their story first-hand as an integral part of collecting in 2016… diggers who release compilations without getting the rights are not doing the full job. Anyone with money can find records in the internet age… now it’s all about the social aspect… in my opinion. From a buyers point of view i think the age of the “tastemaker” has faded along with DJ worship, as a record seller i know that people are no longer comfortable buying into another persons opinion/taste, they prefer to find an original artist and focus on the work as intended… and probably make their own compilations, so FK caters for this need. Today compilations really have to have a very strong concept, or focus on a particular studio or small label or micro-genre. Various Artists DJ friendly pic ‘n mix comps simply don’t sell enough to cover costs.

Have you received many negative answers on some of the LPs, artists, unreleased tapes, you were trying to reissue?
I am very persuasive and always willing to visit people to share our enthusiasm. In the early years people were sceptical… many artists thought we were ridiculing them but when they look at our website and discography they begin to understand that we have very solid relationships with over a 100 artists. The only time when things have not run smoothly is when middle-men or major-label execs have tried to position themselves in the deal. Holy Mountain took ten years to release after Abkco had said NO five times… I just kept asking and asking like a child and offered to send them flowers. They have since thanked us for giving them the impetus to retrieve the masters. Some people just say YES so I’ll go away!

Mehrpouya
Soul Raga

There are more and more reissues of old LPs, and more and more record labels (major or indie) now release their new artists on LP, or EP. Do you think that the LP reissue market could ever reach saturation point?
Yes, when teenage clothes shops are selling £30 180g re-issues of classic records that are already available in charity shops you know you are at saturation point. The fact that small labels who have always been faithful to the vinyl format can’t get any records made for 4 month leading up to Record Store Day because of Ghostbusters coloured vinyl picture discs proves that we are at crisis point. I have known new artists that insist that their music has to be on vinyl, later to find that they don’t even own a record player themselves. I think it’s important to think responsibly when mass producing vinyl. Projects should be era-specific and genuinely unavailable before people add to the pollution. 180g virgin vinyl doesn’t really suit what my kids are taught at school about recycling and protecting the environment.

Price for rare records go crazy these days. What do you think of this trend?
Vinyl used to be a punk gesture, a throwaway creative format which matched table-topping at buying clothes from thrift stores. Now it’s got more in common with antique dealing. The culture has been gentrified. Sadly i’m addicted to vinyl so i sometimes have to pay through the nose to complete circles that I opened 10 years before the gold-rush… and with this i often think i’m contributing to the problem. But I’m also not going to sell my rare doubles for half the price of everyone else am I?. Its a catch 22.
I know alot of people who have been in this game for 20 years plus, many of whom initiated niche-buying trends in Punk, Library music, Iranian 45’s, dance-floor psych, folk funk, Krautrock and paved the way for further generations of collecting – sampling – and influencing modern music… but nowadays they can no-longer afford to be part of the game. There’s no respect. MAny of these new vinyl antique dealers push the prices up for fun from the comfort of there well paid 9-5 jobs… they remind me of The Duke Brothers in Trading Places. It’s in danger of becoming elitist, less creative and eventually a bit lonely.

What are your next releases?
Unheard out-takes from Jean-Claude Vannier’s ‘L’enfant Assassin Des Mouches’ 1972 session with different arrangements and extra instrumentation. A totally unreleased electronic jazz soundtrack by Swiss composer Bruno Spoerri about Zurich’s Red Light District. The incredible unreleased score to Jess Franco’s Les Demons recorded by French Library cognoscenti. Unreleased Buchla synthesiser exhibition performances by Italian American composer Suzanne Ciani. A comprehensive collection of Italian soundtrack work by trio Frizzi/Bixio/Tempera who recorded with Goblin musicians under the name The Magnetic System. Some mesmerising unreleased new age synth explosions from a Hungarian animation soundtrack. An entire LP of unreleased electronic / mechanical / folk from the UK 1983 version of The Moomins. Some very rare François Tusques music. Some unknown electronic Don Cherry soundtracks…. And a particular unnamed Gainsbourg/Vannier holy grail x 2!!!!

What is the LP you dream of reissuing?
There are so many but it’s probably best to keep them a secret, there’s much more competition now. I’ve been speaking to Francois Wertheimer for almost 10 years trying to release his Popera Cosmic LP, I came to visit him in Paris and he signed our contracts… unfortunately another well known French re-issue label also cut a deal with Guy Skornik (the co-writer) for the same record at the same time so we were stuck in checkmate! For a small fraction of time the music was almost liberated, but I think it might have slipped back into the clutches of a major label now… i really hope not. I think you’d agree that Finders Keepers is a good home for that record. If you don’t know Popera Cosmic well Finders Keepers are trying to Make It Local.

http://www.finderskeepersrecords.com/

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