LABEL LINK
Mar 1, 2001 12:00 PM, By Martin Brown
REV Records is nestled in a relatively remote corner of Scotland, but the music it releases is anything but quiet and quaint. When label owner John Pauley began making his own records back in 1995, his main goal was to bring his music to a wider audience. Starting as a Web-based business, REV has expanded into a full-fledged label and is about to release a pair of compilations: Beats, vol. 1, and Chill, vol. 1.
Pauley describes the label's musical personality as “mostly electronica in dance, ambient, and low-beat forms. We prefer instrumental dance music leaning toward trance or Jarre-esque ambient music. We like tracks that have a solid melody and develop into an anthemic uplift. Our low-beat and ambient stuff leans toward classical influences, again with a strong melodic content.”
REV artists are actively involved in the U.K. and world club scene. DJ Dave Lewis, who records as Audio Pressure, regularly plays 16-hour DJ sets at Scotland's hottest dance clubs, and Virtual Sunrise (aka Darren Hewer) often plays live hard-trance sets in England. Pauley credits the Internet for the label's success and existence: “The Internet has given us the opportunity to bypass radio stations, conventional labels, and the usual run-of-the-mill dross and runarounds.” Needless to say, the label defies the music business's corporatization and gladly awaits the demise of the major labels that many of us know and loathe.
REV is always looking for new artists and projects, but the label is very discerning about the types of unsolicited material it will accept. “We like to get CDs or tapes with a finished, produced quality,” says Pauley. “No unpolished demos, please. We ask for a biography, gig details, photo, and track or album info — the usual stuff.”
Pauley mentions that the biggest mistake that artists make when submitting material for consideration is “not providing us with enough information, or telling us to visit some Internet site to listen to their music. We just don't have time to visit individual sites and download files. The more information we get, the better — 3-track demos are okay, but if you have more songs or tracks of interest, then send them on.”
REV hopes to develop a distinct identity by releasing efforts that complement the music of artists already signed to it. The label encourages you to listen to its acts, so you can determine whether your music fits in with its current direction. REV is not interested in music whose only attribute is commercial appeal, regardless of style. Submit demos to: REV Records, P.O. Box 10315, Insch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland AB52 6YE; Web www.rev-records.com.
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