DROP DEAD JOURNAL | The Cutting Edge of the Underground Sound

Label Spotlight: Zorch Factory Records

When we started the Drop Dead magazine we quickly got to know a French musician Manu (Sleeping Children, The Cemetary Girlz, Camp Z) he was one of the first writers to come on board with the Drop Dead Magazine. He contributed reviews of new French releases, wrote an excellent article on the current French music scene. Not only was this awesome for the our brand new magazine but also it was clear from day one, this guy is serious about promoting music and he is going to do something about it.

Fast forward to 2008 and Manu starts an online Label Zorch Factory Records. A completely digital record label with full free albums to download was something unique and revolutionary for the Dark music scene. Just like the first wave of self released records pioneered by punk bands and the tape culture, technology and organization have finally caught up to make something like this possible. The idea is simple release records online, bypass traditional record industry and the expense of physically self releasing, and what’s more label and all the bands promote each other.

Now two years later Zorch Factory Records digitally released seventy three records from fifty bands and scored more then thirty thousand downloads. Below is a small excerpt from a full interview to appear in the next issue of the Drop Dead Magazine. Enjoy and after reading don’t delay go through the Zorch catalog, download like crazy and join us in celebrating the new evolution of underground music.

DDM: how do you select bands for your label?

Manu: well they contact me or I contact them Manu now it’s more like 70% contact me

DDM: what are your guidelines for excepting or rejecting the new submissions?

Manu: they must fit the styles of the site, they must have a sufficient production level, and finally I must like what they do. if I like something a lot and is a little different than the trad genres it’s OK If they are in a classical genre and OK even if I do not adore it is OK too

DDM: what genres are the target ones ?

Manu: post punk in general from trad goth rock, batcave, Deathrock to more alternative stuff. Currently i am really in the widest definition of post punk: industrial, experimental, experimental electro, dark electro (minimalist one)

DDM: ebm?

Manu yes why not i am open

DDM: what kind of sound turns you off immediately, what genres you absolutely will not accept?

Manu Sound quality of the recording is really important

DDM: so if some one submits something you absolutely love but recoding quality is poor.. then ?

Manu if recording quality is poor I would maybe say OK for a demo otherwise I say, let’s wait next record

Manu Also everything that sounds too commercial. Example of too commercial things

there are dozen of editors like bands today everywhere in Europethey are good, good sound, but i find this boring I prefer more weird stuff: electro punk, electro post punk Things that are too mainstream goth, too metal goth, too rock without nothing weird are usually out

To listen and download all the Zorch Factory bands go to zorchfactoryrecords.com

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It’s all Greek to me

Are you curious about what post punk music was coming out Greece in the 80’s?  The odds are you never really thought about it, you never even wondered; but this is a shame a great shame my friend for Greece somehow managed  to have some legitimately exciting post punk and wave and at the same time to stay completely under the radar. Well… thank god for the internet . We are not in the dark ages anymore and to celebrate this fact point your self towards http://greekpostpunk.blogspot.com/

And there is thi[cr.JPG]s compilation Return of the Creeps, that you can download below. It quiet amazing just how varied and plain good these bands are.

Download this excellent compilation HERE (thanks to the above mentioned Greek post punk blog)