Netlabel Profiles: Introduction
Welcome to Netlabel Profiles, the show that explores some of the best and most diverse music on the internet today. On this episode of Netlabel Profiles we visit a city
- that is often used as a stand-in for St. Petersburg, Russia in Hollywood movies,
- is over-run by bunnies and other furry creatures,
- was nearly sued for having a dog that imitated Hitler,
- has more women than men,
- is approximately 2/3’s sea and 1/3 land: this capital city is surrounded by 315 islands
So where is this city? We’ll find out right after this tune from our featured Netlabel…
Netlabel Profiles: The Profile
…and that was Forever and Always by Planet Boelex (featuring K) from our featured netlabel: Kahvi Collective.
Now, if you were wondering about the dog I mentioned in the opening, the story is that there was a dog that used to raise it’s paw in a similar manner to the salute used by the Nazi’s. It’s owner, not being too sympathetic to the German’s, named the dog Hitler. The German consulate in Helsinki considered filing a lawsuit, but was advised that there was no way to really resolve the situation so it was best to not pursue the matter.
Surprisingly, Kahvi Collective does not use this dog as the mascot for the label, however that does not appear to have affected the longevity of the label.
Established in 1997, they are one of the oldest surviving netlabels from the DemoScene days, and has amassed a catalog of 355 releases by 178 artists. The label specializes in releasing electronic music (ambient, IDM, chill, and occasionally drum-n-bass) by unsigned artists. This label is responsible for discovering many artists that have gone on to live gig circuit and built international followings.
The label was originally founded by Vae (aka Strala on Kahvi) and a few friends (Veera and Maza) to allow some of their school friends to release their own music. The guiding principal of Kahvi is: “Sound has the power to make the world a better place”, and current owner / operator Nik (aka 4T Thieves) explains:
The philosophy of the label is to release high quality audio, hand picked to showcase the best of the artists on a smaller independent website. A lot of time is spent searching for releases with the `kahvi style` aimed to enable any release to be played alongside the others to complement and enhance the previous. the entire archive is designed to be one massive audio experience – to be enjoyed from release 1 to release 355.
Currently they release mostly EP’s and Albums on a monthly basis, with a yearly compilation to showcase some of the best talent on the label. Their releases are available in MP3 and OGG format, and occasionally FLAC for special releases. All of their releases are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives license.
On a personal note: it is a great honor for me to be producing a show about this exceptional netlabel. The Kahvi Collective is one of the first Netlabels I encountered nearly ten years ago, and was a pivotal influence in my musical life. They were largely responsible for my exposure to newer styles of electronic music, and were one of the driving forces that lead me to being an advocate for the Creative Commons.
We’ve already heard from one of my favorite artists on this label: Planet Boelex. During the remainder of this show we will be hearing music from many others, including: bad loop, mosaik, esem, xerxes, abyssal plains, Lunarblues (with Opaeq). So, let’s get to the music….
Netlabel Profiles: Closing
Thanks for joining us for Netlabel Profiles featuring the Mars Melons netlabel. If you enjoyed the music on this how, be sure to check out Kahvi Collective at http://www.kahvi.org/
This show is released under a Creative Commons, Attribution, Non-Commercial Share Alike license. All of the music from Kahvi Collective is released under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives license.
Be sure to check out the enhanced version of this show on The CerebralRift (http://cerebralrift.org). The posting on The CerebralRift includes:
- Additional tunes from the Kahvi Collective catalog
- Links to all the music played on this show
- Links to the references used in preparing the profile of Kahvi Collective
- Links to the Mars Melons website, and social media sites
- A printed version of the profile
- And an exclusive printed interview with Kahvi Collective operator Nik (aka 4T Thieves)
Thanks for joining us for Netlabel Profiles. This is your host SndChaser signing off, and wishing you the best of free listening!
Kahvi Collective Links
Label: Kahvi Collective
Contact Name: Nik (aka 4T Thieves) Web Email: http://www.kahvi.org/contact.php Website: http://www.kahvi.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kahvi-Collective/45608720923 LastFM: http://www.last.fm/tag/kahvi%20collective BandCamp: https://kahvicollective.bandcamp.com/ Mixcloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/kahvi/Kahvi Collective Interview
1. Please introduce yourself.
My artist name is 4T Thieves, but you probably will find me on Facebook on the Kahvi fanpage using my name ‘Nik’. I’m the manager and owner of Kahvi Collective, the label is a one man operation. Apart from running Kahvi, I’m a keen photographer and enjoy long mountain bike rides around Helsinki during the summer months.
2. How did you decide that you wanted to run a netlabel? (Did anyone or anything inspire you to do this?)
The original founders were going to close down the label as they had ‘real life’ to work on, so I offered to take it over. The rest is history.
3. Why did you decide to release your works under a Creative Commons license?
As Kahvi originated in the demoscene, where all work was ‘public domain’, that kind of continued with Creative Commons.
4. How much time do you spend on running your netlabel?
Perhaps a day a week?
5. Have there been any projects (ie netlabel related, but not necessarily about a release, like maybe you set up a concert / festival / etc.) that are especially memorable to you?
I’ve been interviewed for national radio in Finland, mentioned on BBC World, we’ve taken part in Netaudio Festival London when Abyssal Plains, Xurba and Planet Boelex all played live sets, and also the Netstock Festival where I did a live set via Shoutcast.
6. Is there a long-term goal for your label?
To keep releasing quality music from unsigned artists and get it listened to.
7. Are you involved in anything else other than producing music?
Not really. I have made wallpaper occasionally, but usually the album cover art is so high quality, there is no need to make wallpaper
8. Any cool stories about projects / releases?
Kahvi tracks appear all over the place. Online radio, offline radio, on tv programs as background music, independent films, and many fan videos on Youtube.
9. What is your take on the future of music?
I hope the future of music will be with niche genres. The state of the music industry these days is shocking. Artists with no talent get all the money and artists with all the talent end up struggling and getting nothing for their efforts. I call the chart music ‘instant music’ as all you need to do is press one button, and some lyrics or vocals (that quite often don’t make sense) and then they just wait for the money to roll in. The sad fact is that the music industry is completely being run down by money grabbing labels who don’t care about the quality, they only care about the quantity of money coming in. The sooner this changes, the better. I think netlabels can go a long way to educate those who buy the chart music that there is other, far more diverse and interesting music available out there.
10. Any upcoming projects / releases / events you would like to mention?
Only netlabel day on July 14th, and the new various artists complication will be out later this year. Watch out for some really great release coming up on Kahvi
Research / References
- 5 Amazing Facts you Never Knew About Helsinki, Finland: http://www.travelbusy.com/5-amazing-facts-you-never-knew-about-helsinki-finland/
- 10 Amazing Facts About Helsinki: http://www.finnbay.com/media/homebred/10-amazing-facts-helsinki/
- Interesting Information About Helsinki: http://www.interestingfunfacts.com/interesting-information-about-helsinki.html
- Wikipedia: Helsinki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki
Playlist
planet boelex feat. K forever and always
bad loop lumme
budha building rain river sea *
Berestez Plokcity
diskreet origon vaihto *
mosaik papilio
esem microessen
xerxes my favorite kind of silence
madstyle being of nature *
abyssal plains when raven claws the sky
Voyager Imploder
Lunarblues featuring Opaeq Lunar Plains
* Bonus tracks were not featured on the #OO Stream version of the show.
