Nate Schmold, who goes by the moniker Mantra, has been producing electronic music for 5 years, starting back in 1996 when he was 16 years old. Always interested in the experimentalist approach to things, Nate gradually worked at his electronic production techniques until 1998 when he released his first unsigned album entitled How Long ‘Till I Feel It? This gained him a bit of recognition as a local Calgarian electronic music producer. Following it up with his second unsigned album Mesmer in 1999 he gained even more recognition for himself in the local electronic scene by having it reach #1 on CJSW’s top 30 and #1 on their Electronica Charts for over 4 weeks.
Constantly looking for a challenge, Nate decided to move on in the music industry by establishing his own record label, Neferiu Records. With the idea in mind that he could use Neferiu to promote talented artists from around the world, he started working on the first compilation release, the Neferiu Sampler CD.
This compilation featured cutting edge electronic musicians from Germany, Sweden, Finland, France, USA, and even featured Canadian artists including Nate himself. This CD, released in September of 2000, was a year in the making and the kickoff for Neferiu Records. It showed his family, friends, and the artists he worked with that he was serious about his plans of establishing the record label. It was well received by local Calgary newspaper “FFWD” when they published a fine review on it, as well receiving excellent reviews from Radio Stations and Internet Magazines worldwide. With only one year since the release of the Neferiu Sampler, Neferiu Records has 6 quality releases under its belt, including the Mantra, After 10 EP and his side project as Muscadine with the release entitled upanddown EP.
In June 2001, Nate Schmold joined forces with Kyle Hodgson for the sixth Neferiu Records CD release entitled Stereo. Kyle, who was born in Lahr, West Germany, produces a much softer, melodic version of electronic music than his partner mantra. He releases under the name Ecotone which in itself holds a natural mystique, which also occurs in his music. The melodies he is able to create using computers, and sophisticated sampling techniques, are drawn from his earlier musical background. He studied classic guitar for four years before he progressed into the band scene in Ottawa, Ontario. He played in various punk bands as a guitarist and a lead singer before he switched his interests to Jazz, switching between bass guitar and drums throughout the course of several jazz bands. One of those being the live Jazz ensemble that played at The Pot Lounge in Ottawa every Thursday night.
It was during his first year at University, where he was majoring in music Theory, that Kyle then began his experiments with sampling, and using samples to create electronic music. His interest in electronic music progressed to a love and he began to DJ ambient electronica at local Ottawa clubs and raves in his spare time. As his skills in production developed, he was noticed and signed by the (now-defunct) Clown Records, where he released his debut self-titled album under the name Fallen8. It was when he moved to Calgary in late 2000 that he started to release his more intricate works as Ecotone, including his two-track demo entitled Arbour which received airplay from Bip Hop Radio in France, Radio100 in Amsterdam, and in multiple instances on Audio::Nimbus in Windsor and Detroit. Ecotone’s Arbour also received wonderful feedback from labels and online magazines worldwide. It was then that his Arbour demo fell into the hands of Neferiu Records.
When he met Nate Schmold, and as they both realized that their interests and goals within the music world were so similar, it was a natural progression that they began to work
with each other. The way their separate styles and
influences came together worked out nicely and they were very pleased to put their name on Stereo and offer it to the masses. Kyle will be coming out with a solo release on Neferiu Records in the near future, and it looks like the professional relationship that they have established will prove to be quite a strong one.
