In terms of making the label stand apart, the main push has always been about taking a curatorial approach to the catalogue. We believe there is a universal HSR sound. It is by its very nature multi-faceted, yet it is whole in a way. (Cam Merton, Hidden Shoal)
Igloo Magazine :: When did Hidden Shoal Recordings start up and what was your inspiration?
Cam Merton :: Hidden Shoal started back in May 2006 and the original inspiration was to release the amazing music being made by our friends and colleagues, as well as some of our own material. We had no money and while we’d all been involved in lots of other art and media projects we’d never done anything like run a label. So to make things work we decided the label would have to be digital only. That way we could release what we wanted and access a global audience. We needed to remove the traditional hurdles. We learnt as we went along and started to attract international artists almost straight away. It all snowballed from there really.
Igloo Magazine :: What were some of the challenges (if any) starting up a label? …and how did you envision the label to stand apart?
Cam Merton :: The biggest challenge (which is an ongoing one) is the continual push needed to keep things moving. It means that we often have to work nights to keep up with it all, as all of us have some other form of income that needs attending to. I love all the work involved in running the label, but it means that the Glassacre album (one of my musical projects with Chris Mason of My Majestic Star) keeps getting pushed back and pushed back. We’re about two years overdue on that album! In our meager defense we did manage to put out an EP and a single a few years ago! I’m also a video artist and would love to be making music videos for our artists, but it’s hard to find the time to do that along with running the label. Slowly but surely.
In terms of making the label stand apart, the main push has always been about taking a curatorial approach to the catalogue. We believe there is a universal HSR sound. It is by its very nature multi-faceted, yet it is whole in a way. It’s there because the decisions we make on what we release are all based on all of our varied yet mutual tastes. We all listen to and love an extremely broad selection of music. Also, we’d never release something because we thought it would move units or make the college radio charts or because it sits in a specific genre. What ends up happening is that we’re releasing a cross-section of our record collections. If most people selected their favourites from their own record collection it would have a “sound” that would hopefully be in some way unique to them. We all have a background in the arts, so I think the power of curation is of keen interest to us.
In terms of finding our artists, most artists seem to find us, which is wonderful in a number of ways. For one, it generally means that they know the label and dig what we do and release, so if we dig their music there is already a two-way connection. We have been incredibly lucky to have the most amazing music landing at our doorstep.
The basic plan, when you strip it all back, is to get this music into as many welcoming pairs of ears as we can.
Igloo Magazine :: Who were some of your initial artist relations and did your physical location (Australia) hinder any progress?
Cam Merton :: The very first incarnation of the label meant that we had a purely Australian roster. The label began because we had all this wonderful unreleased music around us from bands and artists we knew or knew of. Being a digital label allowed us to transcend geography – we were never interested in being a Perth label as such, rather a label based in Perth. Our aim was always an international one rather than a simple domestic one. Once the label got up and running and people heard this stuff, we started to be approached by bands outside Australia, such as Slow Dancing Society (USA), Dilatazione (Italy) and Sankt Otten (Germany). These artists came to us based on our initial catalogue and our approach.It snowballed from there, with artists like Wes Willenbring (USA), Colour Kane (Belgium) and The Hero Cycle (USA) coming on board.
Our very first release was by then Perth-based artist Wayne Harriss (also of Motor Eye), with his absolutely stunning album Aerospace. Straight after that was the amazing debut album by My Majestic Star, Ideas Are The Answer. Both these artists, along with Tangled Star and Toby Richardson, were the key reasons the label got started. All of them apart from Wayne are still releasing amazing music via Hidden Shoal.
Igloo Magazine :: What is your motivation in keeping the label moving forward into the next decade?
Cam Merton :: At the end of the day it’s the music. We’re all in love with the music we release. Then, of course, it’s the challenge for us to do better for our artists and find new opportunities and new audiences. The basic plan, when you strip it all back, is to get this music into as many welcoming pairs of ears as we can. We’re excited about the growth of our licensing arm and the opportunities that have come from that already as well as the future possibilities that stand before us. We’re all film nuts, film makers and lovers of visual art, so the idea of bringing the catalogue to film and TV is a natural one, but importantly for our artists it brings a whole new audience to the music, who also get to experience the music in a much different way than someone who hears a track on the radio or buys a CD. Added to that, of course, is that our artists can actually earn some decent money from their music.
Igloo Magazine :: Tell us more about how you (and your staff?) take the label’s “sound” to the listeners and fans. Distribution, campaigns, word of mouth etc.
Cam Merton :: This is a good point to explain who makes up the Hidden Shoal team. Apart from myself there is Stuart Medley, Malcolm Riddoch, Tim Clarke and Jamie Barrett. We work as a team in terms of the larger label decisions and then we all take on specific tasks as needed in the running of the label. Myself, Stuart and Malcolm are based here in Perth, Western Australia and Tim and Jamie are based over the other side of Australia in Melbourne.
In terms of publicity and promotion – we do fairly large US college radio promotions, getting the releases to as many reviewers as we can via CD and digital, having freely downloadable singles for all releases, free compilation albums, and of course all the organic stuff through fan word of mouth, forums etc. The best thing that has happened over our four years has been the network of fans and friends we’ve built up in press and radio. It’s amazing when we actually get Music Directors from big US college stations following us up about our releases that they are really digging. Same thing with reviewers. That all comes from consistently pushing the music and getting it in front of all these people. It’s easy at times to feel like you’re throwing things into a void, but then the reviews come in and the radio play happens and we’re reminded what all the work is for. We advertise across a number of music sites and also dabble with social network advertising here and there. We distribute our CD’s through the ever-wonderful n5Mailorder,which is the distribution arm of the n5MD label. Mike Cadoo, who runs n5MD/n5Mailorder, is a complete gem, as anyone who knows or deals with him would testify.
There are a bunch of other methods and avenues we utilize where appropriate. We just try to be open to any possibility for publicity/promotion and getting the music heard. It is always a delicate process of balancing the budgets while getting the largest spread possible and also learning how to get the most from our promo dollars.
For more information about Hidden Shoal, visit the Hidden Shoal label site and Hidden Shoal store
Hidden Shoal audio visual media ::
[audio:http://igloomag.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Slow-Dancing-Society-…and-to-the-dust-we-shall-return.mp3|titles=”…and to the dust we shall return”]
[audio:http://igloomag.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Liam-Singer-The-Brief-Encounter.mp3|titles=”The Brief Encounter”]
[audio:http://igloomag.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Jumpel-Wien.mp3|titles=”Wien”]
