Can you tell us the story behind Hardjazz7?

It started up in October of 2012. I had some money saved aside from my job at that time and I had already set up a Bandcamp page a year before that, for some early instrumentals I had made. So it was just a matter of me learning how to write emails to blogs, pulling together artwork etc. I sent an email to a blog and one of the editors asked what HardJazz7 Music was. At the time I wasn’t aware of many other netlabels, I thought most labels were fully focused on physical distribution, with digital on the side. So with the netlabel title there was a focus on the music being released digitally but not excluding physical.  As time went on, there was a need for one central hub of information about the music being released, so I put the HardJazz7 website together. As far as the name, the “hard” part stands for an expression of something being very good. The “Jazz” part stands for art music of Black origin. The “7” is a distinguishing number.

  What motivated you to start it?

As a fresh face on a scene like this, part of you knows that you haven’t yet reached your full potential, part of you wants to be as creative as possible, the other part of your senses that there isn’t interest in your music from others because there’s no familiarity with someone else’s style. As much as you’ll hear people scream “be original”, music audiences really aren’t taking to a lot of original music. I don’t know If that’s a subconscious thing, but I don’t feel it’s completely bad as a lot of great music has been quite derivative of something else. So I think creating a solid platform for, both artist development and innovative hip hop, jazz, soul, funk etc. influenced music was really at the heart of it. Any label can take an already established act and put out their music to the audience they already cater to, I think it’s much harder to take/come out as a new act and find an audience with great new music.

  What do you think is the most important thing to do when starting a music-related project?

It’s important to plan, analyze and budget. You want to be able to do research into what sort of strategies are working best for like-minded artists, while doing it in your own way. Most importantly you want to make sure that the music sounds undeniably great to yourself. If you don’t enjoy listening to the music you’ve made before you release it out there, don’t you think others will notice you never really gave it your best shot? That sort of question is always important.

  How do you assemble (build) your roster/line-up?

The main roster consists of artists (Producers, DJs etc.) that have directly released music on the label. The affiliate side covers artists that are not directly releasing music on the label, but create music that relates to what we’re doing. I listen to all demos sent to my inbox and reply accordingly. It’s important to do that as I might get lots of demos and there might be that one gem in there. Other times, myself or a relative or a friend will have found an artist that has flare for their craft.

  Since a large portion of people's lives are now being spent online, how has the internet played a role in developing your community?

If we’re talking about consistent supporters of the music we’re creating, I would say the internet has played a huge role in reaching people globally. Whether via newsletters or social networks we’ve been able to reach and communicate with people from all over the world. That’s why the net neutrality rule changes are likely to affect many indie artists and labels the most. On the flipside there’s been a sort of disconnect from the real world. Many indie hip hop producers for example, are now not local artists by default. There’s little or no presence for many in the local scenes even If you’re doing regular live events. If I go up to a person in the street that “based on statistical data” might like certain music and ask them do you know who ________ is? Do you know ________ song? They’d be like “Who?” Several years ago in the UK, people had to go through their local scene before going global, which had sort of solidified their lane but also meant they might not end up being globally renowned.

I've seen a lot of progression in the music scene these days. There are far more interesting labels and musicians out there than there were 5 years ago. People are eager to produce their own music and embrace their uniqueness. What do you think drives people to go into that direction?

As far as self production that can come from a variety of reasons. If you’re a vocalist it makes sense to want to minimize your losses. Producers’ fees vary a lot; at times you’ll get a reasonable price, at others it’s way out of your budget. Sometimes only a vocalist can think of the sound their looking for, so by making their own beats they can work that out. NY rapper, Roc Marciano is a good example of that with some of his solo material.

In terms of embracing uniqueness, I reckon that’s based on audience demand. If there’s a market for it, people will do it. Quite a while back there were a lot of global hip hop acts that would rap with faux North American accents, because that’s what they believed there was demand for. Now we’re seeing more and more acts embrace their own voice or rap with the same accent they talk in. That’s dope because then your core audience knows it’s authentic and people from a similar background can relate to what you’re saying.

  Where do you see your project fit into the scene?

It’s difficult to say where HardJazz7 fits into the music scene right now. We’re much smaller and younger compared to some of the more established labels that have been around for years, with a lot of experience. I think as time goes on more people will see that we’re more driven by the love of good music.

  What do you think sets you apart from these like-minded people?

Strategy is going to be a major difference. The same strategy doesn’t work for every artist, even If you’re like-minded.

Finally, what are your hopes for the future? 

I hope the masses of genuinely talented artists/labels/media that are passionate about pushing great music get their dues and appear on the forefront of the music scene. I would also say I hope our core audience continues to enjoy what we’re doing, they are really the only reason I continue to keep the label running. I have seen a lot of labels lose sight of their original goal or have to change what they were doing great at before, because either it wasn’t financially rewarding or wasn’t attracting a huge audience fast enough. I’d like to think that HardJazz7 could be an escape from all that and at the same time be aware of and avoid not developing what we’re doing already (stagnate).

    Check out more of Orion and the rest of HardJazz7’s crew via links below:

http://www.hardjazz7.com/

https://twitter.com/HardJazz7

https://www.facebook.com/HardJazz7

How was Bali? Did you have a good time?

Well, Bali is a very beautiful and spiritual place, with big, small and micro temples everywhere on the island.  The amount of energy going out of this island must be crazy, and you can feel it as everyone’s smiling here.  It’s a good place but I must say I am a bit worried for the future of this island.  I have a feeling they’re trying to build the whole island with resorts and hotels, and the purest form of nature is slowly disappearing, on the coastlines are hit by waves of businessmen taking over the charming environment.  That’s just how I feel about it.  There are still many places to go without being surrounded by concrete and businesses.

  Care to explain to us who LeFtO is in 5 words?

Simple

Complicated

Curious

Lover

Traveller

  How did you first get into DJing?

I got introduced to the art of using the turntables by my friends in school.  Some of them were really into hip hop and the turntable is a central piece in the culture.  Vinyl is a part of the whole scene, from 12” releases to the art of scratching, it’s all there and that’s how I got really interested in it.  I tried not to kill my father’s turntable and jazz record collection so I practised most of my time at my friends’ place.

You are by far one of the most prolific individual on the scene; DJing, curating, filming and the list goes on. Imagine being in a parallel universe where you can only choose one job to work on, which one would it be and why?

It would be curating, so I could invite many DJs and filmmakers to that universe, and that way I would convince the leaders of that parallel universe that it is possible to have more than one job. And maybe after I would be able to DJ too in that parallel universe.

  How do you pick and curate your selections? How do you think the internet has played a role in your selections?

I just listen to a lot of music.  I buy a lot of records too, I check out a lot of stuff on the internet.  I would type in one record and many others would show up, making my journey looking for a record super interesting.  Internet is a really good place to find out about records as there are a lot of music lovers out there sharing their thoughts on records. 

  How has your hometown (Brussels) influenced your music?

Oh well, Brussels has always been that city away from the hypes of cities like Amsterdam, Paris or London. It’s a big city with a proper character, it is not playing the game other capitals play, Brussels is not trying to be the best, the leaders of the city don’t try to make it look better than other cities, the city is living because of its citizens, and our citizens are from so many different countries that it is giving it its own identity. Isn’t that exactly what I’m doing in my DJ sets? Ha.

  Do you, by any chance, keep your eyes peeled on Asian music scene? Do you have any upcoming talents from Asia that are under your radar?

For Asia, it is really hard to say but every country has a scene, some might be very small and others might make more noise on the internet but what I think is important to Asia is to try to sound like Asia, and not like Europe or the US.  I mean, it would be so fresh to have an artist making beats with the influence of the music of his ancestors; that would be interesting. 

  Lastly, do you have any hopes for the future?

There’s not much hope left because we’ve been too far already but if there’s really one thing, I hope that our children will do it better than our ancestors, for the sake of our planet.

LeFtO has just celebrated his 15th anniversary on the radio airwaves! Be sure to check out his last show of the season below: 

Can you tell us the story behind Darker Than Wax?

Dean (D): It all started when my partner Kaye and I met each other almost like 12-13 years ago. He was a saxophonist wanting to learn more about electronic music and I have always been collecting vinyls for a long time. We started DJing and then got together playing in Singapore during the late 90s. Since then, we’ve always been stuck together as a unit. I went away to Australia for some time but we’ve always kept in touch with each other. I think all these times when we performed together, we realized it’s quite important to have a platform in Singapore to sort of “push” the music to get them out there.

Darker Than Wax started out as a label to release our own music and represent people that we want to [promote] within the region— within Singapore, but then I think it has always been very “organic”. We didn’t actually have a glorious plan that within 5 years, this thing could be something else. We saw it as a very organic movement and it’s not even a label, to be honest. It’s more of a movement of ideas; it’s more like jazz, where it’s very freeform. It’s going to [be] up to you how you want to interpret the movement. But still, the roots are in Black American music, from jazz to soul to hip-hop to funk, to Chicago house. So, diversity is what we really emphasize within the label. You can hear that in our shows; it wasn’t just one kind of music. That’s the essence of what we do, but mind you it’s a very freeform movement. Aside from label, we also have visual artworks and I personally designed artworks for Darker Than Wax, so it’s really like a complete brand.

Marco (M): Yeah, we even do music consultancy with brands and curate music for their stores.

D: I also do A&R for the label, and I find it interesting how we can keep contact with international artists around the world and we only form this community based on music and mutual respect. There’s very little ego involved in our movement.

  What motivated you to start it?

D: The motivation behind is just to connect and create a very distinct relationship with people. I think music is just like food, you know. It’s raw and yet universal; breaks down the language and race barriers. The closest things to compare music with are probably food and sports; they have the power to bring people together regardless of the circumstances.

Another reason would be that I wanted people to know the roots of songs. Guys like Justin Timberlake, Mayer Hawthorne, they learned it from the older generations, soul music from the 60s/70s. This would be essential for people to know more about, you know, how current music developed or where it comes from, so that you can see how much it evolved throughout the years and thus gaining insights on quality music.

  What do you think is the most important thing to do when starting a music-related project?

D: You have to be real to yourself. You have to question yourself, what your intentions are, what the objective of your project is and what you want to make out of it. Those are key points right there, because if you have no clear idea about it, then you basically don’t know what you want to achieve out of it. You can absorb anything along the way, but you’re not going to move forward, career-wise. We’ve always talked about it and I think that is one of the major roadblock for most labels out there; focusing on reposts and likes (on Soundcloud), being popular, basically doing things just because you know there are people out there that are paying attention to you. We’re not trying to say that that’s a bad thing, but that shouldn’t be your main motivation. And we’re not interested in that, most definitely.

  How do you assemble (build) your roster/line-up?

D: Very organic. First there were Kaye and I, producing as Cosa Nostra, and then the second was a good friend of mine from Paris. Oh and also, Ta-Ku was actually one of our first signee before he became big. But yeah, to answer the question, there weren’t any plans when we choose our artists; just the music we like, that’s all.

  Since a large portion of people's lives are now being spent online, how has the internet played a role in developing your community?

D: It helped a lot.

M: Yeah. Soundcloud, for example, it’s where most of our followers come from. Nowadays, without the internet you can’t connect with people from all over the world.

D: This represents the digital age where digital labels are creeping in. Digital labels have more control because they relate directly to the end user. So, with DTW, Soulection and the likes, we are part of the internet culture as we are using social media and whatnot to represent our views and ideas.  I think without that, it’ll never work. I came from a vinyl background and back in the days you need to send demos in black/white label vinyl by post, but that doesn’t exist anymore. It turned out to be pretty interesting for me personally, as a 30-something born in the 70s in this transitional period, seeing the younger generation having all these tools. It’s very cool.

  I've seen a lot of progression in the music scene these days. There are far more interesting labels and musicians out there than there were 5 years ago. People are eager to produce their own music and embrace their uniqueness. What do you think drives people to go into that direction?

D: I think most of the people these days are doing music not for the right reason anymore; basically just doing it for the fame. That’s one negative manifestation of social media: contaminating music culture. It’s all about the latest kicks, the latest this and that. Music has become the latest tool for people nowadays to become somebody else. Then, my question would be: why are you in music then? What’s your real agenda? Now, I’m not suggesting that they are wrong, but the emphasis has changed. You see, music as a medium has shifted and some forces have changed the way people consume music as well.  Journalism – online journalism being the very part of that, controlling people’s minds. It influences how you wanted to produce your music. But then again, is that the kind of music your soul is really looking for? Hard to tell.

  Where do you see your project fit into the scene?

D: We are the scene (laughs). Man, we are the game.

  What do you think sets you apart from these like-minded people?

D: To be honest, I don’t think any of us are consciously trying to be different from anyone else. In fact, we just want to attract like-minded energy. What’s interesting is that I can’t even define what Darker Than Wax is to myself, but when we’re in the mood of creating or DJing or communicating or making a piece of artwork, that’s when you know something else takes over you and you’re just a tool in the greater movement. And then when someone else understands, that’s very important because that’s when everything ceases to exist all at once. Sometimes you understand it and sometimes you don’t; you just don’t have to define it all the time. It’s like architecture, for example, or space and nature; you don’t know why it exists but it exists. It’s abstract.

  Finally, what are your hopes for the future? (Either personal goals / hopes for the scene).

Archie (A): Keep moving man. Keep moving. That simple.

D:  To participate in living as a human being, that’s it. To get better and better in what you do each day.

.One of the most sought-after selectors, LeFtO is staying true to his roots which include jazz and hip-hop, but tracks on his mixes are often not limited to that part of the spectrum, either. Ranging from future garage to afrobeat, he is one of the chosen few who can seamlessly mix Marvin Gaye and Flume, or Googoosh (who?) and Night Slugs’ signee Jam City. Long story short, you can’t really grasp how mental this guy can be unless you listen to his mixes, and don’t say I never give you the chance to. Alrighto, off you go.