Introducing Terabyte Records, a grassroots start-up with a penchant for the dark, techy vibes. Their latest release – Neumax’s Ancient Ritual / Singleness – comes our way this week and they’ve thrown in an exclusive label showcase mix for good measure. We sent the label co-founder Auzi a whole load of questions to find out more…
Tell us a bit about yourself…
I’m James Austin, I’m 21 and I’m one of the two founding members of Terabyte Records. I’m better known to my friends as Auzi (don’t ask, something to do with Ozzy Osbourne when I was very young) and consequently that’s the name I take when I DJ.
What inspired you to set up Terabyte Records…
I first really got into drum & bass between 16 and 17. At the time I didn’t DJ or produce, but wanted to be involved in the music in any way I could. It naturally transpired two years later that I’d set up a label with a friend from school which never really got off the ground because we didn’t know what we were doing and got into a bit of trouble with Steppa. But that’s another story! Anyway, I didn’t want to abandon the idea and so a year on I took on a new project with another friend, my current friend and business partner Sam Gartside (Altered Perception) and since then we’ve been trying to work up through the gears!
Describe Terabyte’s sound in three words…
Grassroots. Neurofunk. Minimal. Wow that sounds boring! Doesn’t quite do it justice haha!
Now describe it in a few more words…
That’s more like it. Basically we’re all about that techy influenced moody D&B here. We’re by no means a one trick pony, as you’ll see as our release catalogue unfolds. We’ve more strings to our bow like our planned Liquid Technology series kicking off later in the year. But yeah, for the mean time were about plucking new or small time producers and trying to give them a step up in the scene.
Do you reference or look up to any particular labels/releases
In terms of the sound we’re trying to establish as our own, it’s fairly obvious we take huge influence from Dispatch, Metalheadz and Critical etc. Those guys have got it locked down in terms of the standard they set, every release that comes through is nailed on quality! On a personal level, big reference points for me are the guys that manage to run their own label not only as an outlet for music but also as a brand; Andy C, London Elektricity, Friction are my tripod of idols, even if some of their release catalogue is no longer my cup of tea.
So according to your bio you’re based in Leeds, Birmingham, St Albans and London – do you think having a broad cross-national base help give you strong foundation? (as opposed to a specific one-city regional base)
Difficult question! The reason we have so many bases (according to our Facebook) is because when we started, that is where we were based in varying amounts. Sam and I are both students, I am in Birmingham for another year, Sam is in Leeds for the foreseeable future, and St. Albans (Welwyn Garden City to be more precise) and London are our respective “homes”. Hopefully it will mean that people are more likely to recognise us or come to us but to be honest I can’t see that…we’ve already signed tracks from Russians and Ukrainians who I’m sure have only heard of London from that list!
It’s time to big up your talent – who’s on the label and why?
Obviously Sam and I will feature as often as we can seeing as it’s our label. Sam took our first release, my production skills aren’t quite near releasable material yet ha! Rhys aka Tephra had a huge debut release with us, expect to see big things from this kid and his new co-lab partner Arkose. Automate, and Zach Herer are two longterm friends of the label and expect to see more from both of them this year. M:Pathy is a Birmingham based DJ and producer who has plenty more in his locker. Neumax & A-Cray represent our overseas heads, and expect big things from a Norwich based duo called Volatile Psycle. They’re all a part of the family in part because they put their faith in us. All of them have explicitly expressed they share the same vision as us, so why wouldn’t you have people like that on board? I hope I haven’t missed anyone! We try to run it like a family and give everyone equal dinners haha!
Tell us a bit about Neumax’s release – Ancient Ritual / Singleness…
Neumax already forged his sound on the Syndrome Audio, so when we came across him we knew we were in safe hands. Max has a real way of creating a visual scene with his music; Ancient Ritual really plays on the shamanistic drums of a prehistoric sacrifice, while Singleness gives you the impression of what it might sound like to be afraid and alone. I’m sure this release will be very appealing to the Dispatch-esque market we target.
What have you learned about running a label during these releases? Care to share any critical advice for anyone brave enough to run their own label?
Lots of things! Firstly, don’t release material that is second rate. Our quality control method is “if we don’t think it’s worthy of our own money, don’t expect others to buy it either”. Being students makes the job easier because we have little money to throw around anyway! Second tip would be to make acquaintances with as many people in the game that you can think of. It’s really helpful for promo for starters, as often you can get helpful feedback without paying to get companies to do it for you, and secondly you never know what may come from the conversations you have with people! Be prepared to take even the most daunting of routes and opportunities, time waits for no man.
What’s been the best big up you’ve had from peers in the game?
To be at Outlook last summer and hear Onset (Vagabonds resident and adopted member of the Dispatch family) dropping Tephra’s release late at night at the Beach Bar was really special. It went off! Also got some really feedback and opinion from people I half expected wouldn’t have time for us. Script and Octane always listen to stuff I send them and give me really honest opinions, so got to thank everyone like that really, that’s as much a big up as anything.
The best thing about running a label is…
The excitement towards what we have ahead of us. Each demo we get sent gets better and better, so at least you can hear a progression of the recognition we are beginning to receive, if only initially from other artists. The best thing really for us is the next step, whatever that may be. This release has been really good for our exposure on online blogs in particular, that can only be a good thing.
The biggest challenge running a label is…
Juggling all the different balls at once. While your PR and marketing campaign might be about one release, in the background you’re signing contracts with future artists, sending away pre-masters, getting release dates for forthcoming material. There’s a lot to do but fortunately it’s never a chore. Actually having said that, financing the whole thing is just as difficult, if we had a bit more money we could really kick on, but it’s pretty evident at the moment that getting jobs and bringing home the bread is harder than it sounds.
What’s coming up from Terabyte in the coming months…
We’ve got our release catalogue sorted until September, and our tenth release will be a compilation album hopefully with a few more familiar faces involved as well. We’re also looking to get around the UK doing events and room takeovers so any promoters reading this we’d love to hear from you! We’re also looking to get onto the wax as soon as we can, we appreciate we’re leaving out a large chunk of the market as a digital only label.
Anything else you want to add?
Few quick things. TB005 drops today. Go buy it as soon as! Also a quick thanks to everyone for supporting us so far!