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The Tall Poppy Interview – Craig Coles, Indie Label Owner and Musician
Craig Coles started his first music label with Matt Parker about the time The Dears and Broken Social Scene were first getting big. But instead of starting a label with a few unknown bands, his unknown label started with an established group. Shipbuilding Records’ first release was Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique by The Dears. Since then Coles started a band called Lewis, and started a brand new label with Damian Valles call Music Made By People.
How did Coles managed to sign an established group to an unknown label? What is his band all about? What happened to his old label and where the new one is going? Torontoist sat down with Craig Coles to get some answers.
Your first label was Shipbuilding Records and you worked with The Dears. They’re pretty big now, but Shipbuilding Records is pretty much closed. What happen?
We did what we were there for. They were always going to be big; we were just the last stepping stone in their road to larger fame. We agreed to put out 2000 copies of the dears EP Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique and we did, that was always the way the deal was with The Dears. We were in no way prepared at that time to take the label to the next level, and that is mostly why it fizzled out the way it did.
Signing The Dears for their OPNR album was your first release. How did you release an album by an existing band without any experience?
Seriously – we just had to ask! But actually it was more a case of being extremely lucky and being in the right spot at the right time. We asked Murray (lead singer of The Dears) to be on our planned compilation (that never came out) right when he got in a relationship ending fight with their old label, that is when…and this is true…he approached us about putting out the EP!
Tell me about your band Lewis.
We are a band that is somehow in a serious transition phase, but also recording a lot more material than we have in the last 6 months. We play mostly electronic type sounding music, but we are using a lot more organic elements now. We don’t sample anything except for our beats, so we aren’t really the typical ‘electronic’ band. So far all our songs are instrumental, but that may change at anytime. We basically just play and write whatever we feel like.
What kind of equipment do you guys use? How do you record?
At the present time we use a laptop to make our beats, and we use various keyboards (both analogue and digital ones that model analogue). We record on a Pro Tools Mbox hooked up to the laptop. We also use guitars and Digital Delay pedals.
One of the problems with “laptop” music is the dull live show. What do you guys do to get around that?
To avoid the typical boring live show “laptop” bands usually put on, we always create new video projections for each show, and we also try to incorporate as many organic instruments like guitars and real drums into our live show as possible. We are also trying to add more people to the live show so that we can have every instrument in the song played live and not pre-recorded, this also allows us to improvise the song as well so you aren’t just listening to what is on the record.
What’s the last record that really impressed you on a production side?
This is such a tough question because I like so many things for so many different reasons that it is hard to say just one record that really impressed me. But lately I have been listening to Brian Eno’s Music for Airports almost non-stop, so I guess that is one that is the most impressing, but I don’t really listen to records for their production value, I just pay attention to how much I like the songs on the record. The recording quality isn’t usually a factor with me.
How did the label start? Where’s the name from?
The label started because I really wanted to start up another label after Shipbuilding sort of disintegrated. I just had no records to release. Then one day I went into Penguin Music (2 McCaul St.) to look around, and I heard this amazing album on the store stereo…turns out it was Damian’s record that he had just finished. Then I asked him if I could release it on my label that was then called “Records Made By People”. He said “yes” and started telling people his record was coming out on a label called “Music Made By People.” Then he asked me what my plans were and when his album would come out on “Music made by people” and I said “Actually it was supposed to be called Records…but I like Music better!”
Why did you start the new label?
I started the label because I like to put out music that I like…so other people have a chance to hear it too!
Tell me about the electronic music scene in Toronto.
It’s OK, but the community here just isn’t that tight when it comes to ‘electronic music.’ I find that the people that do like electronic music only really like one type and are completely closed to other forms of it, so you start to get these little pockets of different types of electronic musicians that don’t like anyone else’s stuff. Also Toronto is more of a rock city for the performance side of things. But Toronto does have some really amazing electronic bands and musicians, it is just a matter of bringing them all together.
What bands are on your label? What albums have been released and where can we get them?
So far we have these artists: Arc Lab, Crossbow, Fast Moving Clouds, Greater Explosives, Lewis and Pakku. We are especially excited about Pakku because he is from Iceland. All these bands have strong electronic elements to them. We have released two albums so far, they are: Greater Explosives – the construction of this is the destruction of that and Pakku – Violent thinking happy camper. Our records are available in Toronto at all record stores through Sonic Unyon Distribution. Stores that have them currently in stock are Rotate This, Penguin Music and Electron Music, so basically we have Queen st. west covered.
Tell us about your next release?
The next release is going to be by Arc Lab and it is amazing. You can hear some of it on our site.
Any advice for someone trying to start a label?
Don’t expect to get rich really fast, you have to do it because you love music. If you just want to make money, get out of the indie level. Also, like any business you have to be willing to take a huge risk, and work really hard on the promotional side of things to see any results.
Where are you hanging out on a Saturday night?
The Tap is by far the best place, but the Queenshead is slowly taking over. They have board games!
What is your favourite Toronto building?
Anything in the Distillery district.
What’s the best place to buy records?
I like Rotate This, mostly because I have been shopping there for so long.
What’s the best place to buy equipment?
The BEST place to find stuff is on 20 hz, but in terms of stores I would say Song Bird Music.