#paul devro

Mad Decent veteran Paul Devro, who only shows up every once in and while, has just dropped a most bizarre, but incredibly great Russian mixtape from some site that people upload on over yonder.

New Post has been published on http://beat-junkies.com/nicky-da-b-thrifty-tale-prod-paul-devro-mike-parvizi/

Nicky Da B - Thrifty Tale (Prod. Paul Devro & Mike Parvizi)

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Today's selection is a bit different for us..but we like it

Paul Devro- Nicky Da B- Thrifty tale

Paul Devro - Music’s Next Evolution (Acclaim Magazine, Issue 32, April 2014)

Being “ahead of the curve” and other such buzz phrases are the holy grail for those in the music industry. At a time when the grasp of social media and pirating is at a peak record labels are looking for something to gain back the reigns they once had when it comes to predicting and dictating the public’s tastes. The image of a stuffy older white gentleman chomping a cigar behind a big glass desk is the first many think of. In today’s landscape however listeners are far more discernable and have access to far too much content to be forcefed.

While major labels try to force it, Paul Devro and the ragtag gang at Mad Decent are setting the trends. Whether it was being one of the first major proponents of dubstep in the US, signing Riff Raff or helping unleash the Harlem Shake craze they have been there. While you may love or hate them for those cultural milestones, many ‘purists’ have made their opinions be known, you can’t argue with their track record or ability to push musical and cultural boundaries.

Developing his tastemaker sensibilities early on as a DJ, the Vancouver-bred Devro met his future partner-in-crime and Mad Decent partner Diplo through online beat and record trading. As the two developed chemistry and continued to geek out over music together the idea was eventually sparked to form a label to reflect their eclectic tastes and spread them to the world. Now almost 10 years and several cultural movements later, Devro is adding to his workload as A&R and creative director of Mad Decent to spearhead their latest intiative, Jeffree’s.

After some attempts to branch out into other genres through the Mad Decent brand the boutique-style label was born. Jeffree’s is focused on highlighting emerging artists and sounds, some of which are considered a little left of field for the main label. Speaking from the depths of the Mad Decent offices in Los Angeles, Devro spoke to ACCLAIM about the new label, trendsetting and the ever-evolving world of music.         

Tell us about the concept behind Jeffree’s. Are you looking at building it as a fully fledged label and will there be any crossover with Mad Decent? Jeffree's is in our mind the future of the music industry. We release something free about every two weeks and its high quality tunes. We work it for licensing to video games, trailers commercials etc. After a bit we put it up for sale, so if you’re an early adopter and on it you get it for free. But if you're a normal consumer who enjoys using iTunes you get it too.

How do you balance running Jeffree’s with what you’re doing with Mad Decent?

I just multitask all day. If something is more important it gets done first.

Do you see Jeffree’s as the next evolution of what you’ve been doing with Mad Decent, was there something you felt you couldn’t achieve with Mad Decent? Jeffree's began because things moved too slow at Mad Decent release-wise and I just needed something to go full-out on. There was so much great music out there and I wanted to release it.

Who are some of the artists you’re working with at the moment and have they received much traction yet? I'm working with at any given moment 10 or so artists, I'm sure they'll get traction. We've had people book tours from us doing a blog post on them or even get signed by a big label from releasing their first song with us.

How satisfying is it to work with artists from the ground up and help cultivate them?

It's one of the best parts of my job, I love sharing a vision with an artist and making it into a reality and continue the relationship once everything is released. It's just like making creative cool friends all day.

 You were a DJ first, did that prepare you for your role as an A&R, discovering new music and developing new artists? DJing helps because I understand what people want when it comes to dancing but I think my history of crate digging has prepared me more. I just do it all online now mostly and look for new tunes in odd places.

Has your approach to finding new artists changed, do you mostly discover artists through music submissions?

I think I've only signed maybe two to three records through our music submission emails. And I've probably listened to 10-20k demos I'd say. Most come from seeking out an artist that I feel has potential and continuing a conversation of receiving demos from them, and some Diplo sends along. The rest come from knowing people and they think I should check out their friend, or they are manage someone etc.

How did you first connect with Diplo and where did the idea for Mad Decent come about? I've known Diplo for over a decade now. We met on this record diggin’ site Soul Strut and had a lot in common. When he'd do shows in Vancouver we'd do ‘shrooms and make music under the name Yellowknife Dink.

How has the idea and direction of Jeffree’s evolved since you first launched?

Jeffree's will always be ever evolving to make it better, whether that's more or less releases or changing the roll out plan or how we present the music. We are always changing.

The internet is so overflooded with artists, how do you feel about that oversaturation, is it a good or bad thing?

 With the internet listening-wise the good music always rises to the top. Demo-wise for me it can be overwhelming. My demo email has over 3000 unread emails, sorry young producers.

How do you see social media affecting the future of music, do you think it will continue in the same manner it is now? The industry will slowly give in to the power of the internet. Lyor Cohen just went in on A&R venture with Twitter so that's a first step.

Do you think the music industry’s approach to releasing and promoting music will change?

Yes and it has. You need to do new creative things or your record will be forgotten. Beyonce's last LP was a great example of that.

There has been a lot of cross-pollination between hip hop and electronic music. Do you see more of that happening in the future or will things go in a different direction?  I think radio in the USA will be pushing more house sounds in 2014-15 which will be cool as you can only rave so long.  I think also music styles will continue to blend together till the end of time and also there'll be a ton of pure styles too.

You guys were early champions of dubstep and trap music, how you plan to keep evolving and staying relevant as tastes change?

We just put out what we like and we like music that is really different and really speaks to us in some way.

Has music licensing been a good revenue stream for Mad Decent? Music licensing has been really great to us, since you need to sell a lot of records to make what one average sync will get you.

Mad Decent seems to be on the cutting edge of or associated with a lot of pop culture moments (the Harlem Shake, twerking). How do you feel about that association and what does it do for the brand?

We don't take music seriously and it definitely shows. I love whatever happens and where people take it. We didn't start the Harlem Shake craze, Filthy Frank did the dance six months after the release and it took off.

Do you think Mad Decent attracts a certain type of demographic or is it more diverse?

We have a basic demographic I'd say but our catalogue is really vast so we hear from all types of people.

Mad Decent and Jeffree’s have done a really good job of balancing between being risk-taking while also appealing to a wider audience. How do you go about that balance, is it something you aim for does it happen inherently?

It just happens, we aren't really strategic. The record label is for us, we put out what we like so if you think its wack that's fine, hopefully you like the next record.

Produced By Paul Devro