LABEL LINK
Apr 1, 2001 12:00 PM, By Martin Brown
Celestial Recordings — a haven for hip-hop and drum
‘n’ bass.
It took until 1998 for someone to name a record label Celestial Recordings, and that's especially surprising in the electronic dance-music scene. However, the name is an appropriate description of the music that this L.A.-based label puts out. Owners Hive and Daddy Kev established Celestial Recordings in June 1998 when they released the hip-hop single “Zimulated Experiencez,” which they produced for Phoenix Orion. They intended the record as just a one-off release, but thanks to its success, Hive and Daddy Kev quickly became involved with running their own record company.
Hip-hop remains Celestial's main focus, but the label has branched out into drum ‘n’ bass releases on its sublabel, Vortex Recordings. Celestial promotes its artists at the street level through various means, such as the label's involvement in a weekly club called KonKrete Jungle L.A., which Rolling Stone voted the best dance club in the city. But the most significant element of Celestial's success is its Web site. “We've had over 500,000 hits on our site since August,” says Daddy Kev. “We're selling an insane amount of product online now. People from all over the world can hear our music through RealAudio links before they buy it. That's helped out a lot.”
Because of the label's Web presence, many aspiring artists send Celestial their music as MP3 files. According to Kev, this is one of the biggest mistakes they can make. “None of the office computers are hooked up to a stereo system,” he says. “Consequently, we can never hear the music properly if they send it to us over the Internet in MP3 or another digital format. Another big mistake people often make is sending us several CDs at once, which is too much music for us to listen to. Please send only one CD or tape of your best stuff.”
Celestial's current artist roster includes B-Boy 3000, Helmet Kidz, Naptron the Meta Predator, Shapeshifters, and UFO. “We are one of the only labels in the world that releases quality underground hip-hop and drum ‘n’ bass,” says Kev. “Most labels specialize in one or the other, but we focus equally on both styles. Celestial and Vortex are artist-owned and artist-run labels, which means we really understand and stand behind the music we put out.”
Submit tape or CD demos to: Celestial Recordings, Attn: Panther, A&R, 155 W. Washington Blvd. #1111, Los Angeles, CA 90015; Web www.celestialrecordings.com.
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