Independently Blue

Releasing a Nina Simone Remix Album & Running a Small Label in 2016.

I own / run a record label and online music platform called Soundplate.

Running an indie record label in 2016 may seem like a strange career choice. Start-up founders are the new rockstars, but ironically this often does not apply to music start-ups. I’m not talking about the sexy, music tech companies, the next Spotify or Soundcloud. I’m talking about the ‘old music industry’; music journalism, PR and plugging services, record labels and even concert promoters. The landscape of the music industry is constantly changing. Indie record labels might sound like an old-fashioned business, but in truth these types of companies are helping to drive the change and innovation forward. That challenging idea of change in the industry is exactly what excites me and has presented huge new opportunities to us as a label, but that is a story for another day!

While working in such a fast-paced industry, it’s sometimes nice to stop and look back to see how far we have come. At Soundplate, we have enjoyed some success releasing singles from great electronic music artists like Bakermat, Nicolas Haleg and Zwette. I am incredibly proud of all of our releases and the artists we work with but to have the chance to work on an album by an artist as iconic and as important as Nina Simone is a real honour. It’s something I could not have even dreamed of when I first started releasing music just a few years ago.

Nina Simone was one of the greatest musicians the world has ever seen. Her music has been cited as a major influence by some of music’s biggest and best stars, just to name a few: Adele, David Bowie, Kanye West, John Lennon, Elton John and Lana Del Rey have all named her as one of their inspirations. Her debut album which started it all, ‘Little Girl Blue’ was originally released in 1958 by a small jazz label called Bethlehem Records. Now, in 2016, we have the honour of releasing an official remix album of that very record in the UK.

This morning I walked in to a London record store and found a copy of the CD. Thats right, a CD. Now that really is old fashioned but there is still something magical about seeing your music in physical form for sale in a music shop. We decided to produce physical copies of the album as Nina Simone fans will not all be part of the digital revolution, some will prefer to buy their music the way they always have done. It’s also great to have a real physical product, something to show for the hard work which goes into creating an album like this.

This is the first time I have worked on a release where my parents (even Grandparents) will know the main artist! What’s more, my parents love the record — and it’s not often that happens in my world…

There is a huge responsibility when working on a remix album for an artist as loved and respected as Nina, it’s something I really worried about when I first discussed this project but the artists who have worked on this album have done such an amazing job. None of them have strayed too far from the brilliant original music and they have all handled the originals delicately, adding their own unique style to the records without losing the original essence of the tracks. Maestro, the man behind this album, is a great DJ and producer in his own right but also a true jazz music fan. The care and attention he took in picking out the artists to remix each track really shines through. The artists were not picked using any algorithms, because they had the most Facebook fans or had topped any industry polls. They were picked because Maestro truly believed they were the best artists for the job. I personally think he got it right, I hope you will agree!

It’s a record I am immensely proud of and super happy to have on our little label and I really hope you will all get behind it and buy / download / stream a copy.

Nina Simone was one of the best to ever do it. It’s a privilege to be able to share this album with you and I really hope you love it as much as we do. Please download, stream or even be old-fashioned and buy a physical copy and let us know what you think of the album. We are a tiny, self-funded start-up with a huge amount of ambition but to grow we need people like you to continue to support great independent music. Record Labels are important, and sexier than tech companies ever will be. Please continue to support them.