Exclusive interview with Nathan Phillips of Basick Records

got-djent.com has conducted an exclusive interview with Nathan 'Barley' Phillips, director of Basick Records. The record company celebrated 5 years of its foundation last month and also held a birthday party which took place at Luton Uni, UK on September 25th.
Read the interview below.

Hi Nathan, this is the got-djent.com moderation team and we’re glad that you’re willing to answer our questions!

- First of all, how did you take the initiative to start up a new label? What were your motivations?
Well I can safely say, that our intentions right from the off were good ones. We started the label purely to get some exciting music we were involved with out to a wider audience. In the early days we were running the label as a hobby on top of our part time jobs, so there was certainly no financial motivation. It was all about the music maaann...

- What do you think is the mission of your label?
The mission of the label is the same as when we started – to find the most gifted bands and guitar based musicians and connect them and their music to today’s forward thinking and open-minded Metal/Rock listener.

- Why have you decided to be a genre specific label rather than an all around metal one?
I wouldn’t say that we are genre specific, but we’re probably not an all round Metal label either. Mainstream metal bores the hell out of me (and a lot of other people) these days, so Basick Records is here to offer the listener something different to Linkin Park or the same old regurgitated thrash and metalcore that’s been recycled for the last 20 years.

- Would you be planning on signing bands related to other genres like black metal for example?
We’ll openly listen to bands of all genres within guitar based music. We do tend to sign bands of a particular breed, but at the end of the day, Chimp Spanner is a pretty far cry away from Ion Dissonance – but we feel both artists are pushing themselves creatively in ways that others are not. Black Metal has it’s own thing going on without Basick getting involved, but never say never, right?

- What are the basic principles you take into account for signing a band?
The band have to show 2 things: Amazing musicianship/talent and a hard fucking work ethic.

- Ever said to yourself "I wish I had signed that band?"
There have been one or two bands that have got away, but that wasn’t for a lack of trying. I have no regrets though, and I never look back

- Are you planning on orienting the label more internationally? Most of the bands on your roster are British but seeing as you recently signed a deal with Ion Dissonance, does that mean you have big plans for the future?
We most certainly are. We started with humble ambitions to be the leaders of our genre in the UK, then spread to Europe which we’ve been doing this year, and then on to the rest of the world such as North America and Australasia which we’ll be doing next year.

- Are there any unsigned bands you have your eye on?
Yes, of course

- Did you know any of your bands or band members on a personal level before signing them?
Actually, no. I’m not lucky enough to have life-long/school friends that have as much musical talent as the people we work with today – but this has been a great way to make new friends over the years

- The depth of your label's roster of fine British tech metal bands is a testament to the strength of the scene. What would you say are the reasons for such a proliferation of bands playing this style of music?
Well, not all our bands are ‘tech’, but I guess the majority are haha! I just think that there’s a higher proportion of musicians and fans in the UK who are wanting more from their Metal. And good on them for being forward thinking enough to do something about it. Each year that passes, the bar gets higher. In this digital age especially, guitarists/bands are constantly pushing each other to become better musicians, year upon year. It’s awesome to witness and ultimately be a part of this exciting time for our music.

- What's your take on djent? Would you classify it as a genre or just as a new kind of movement?
For me, djent is not a djenre. But there is no doubt about it’s movement, as you guys are testament to

- In particular, what do you think about its marketability? The music business seems to steer clear of it even though reputable sites like Metal Injection and MetalSucks have started using it on a regular basis.
I think the marketability of ‘djent’ as a specific genre will be over as quickly as it started. The problem is, people are using it as an adjective in jargon terms, as well trying to encompass a whole raft of different genres within just one word. Eventually, it wont be enough for some people, and so the next buzz word will be born.

- How does the label deal with this new reality of widespread music piracy?
Well, we’re lucky in the fact that we’re only 5 years old, so we don’t really know any better. We’ve had to deal with all this current shit like torrents and downloads etc pretty much from day one, so we’ve factored it in to our business plans. Labels that have been going for 25+ years are generally now having to downsize, which is a shitter. But that’s the world we live in.
We’re never going to stop it, so all we can do is work with it as best we can and rely on the great relationships and morals of the listeners and community we’ve been building over the years. I think most open minded people know that for true talent to create music, there’s a cost involved. For that talent to then go on creating more music for you to enjoy, also bears a cost. For instance, I get sent records all week long, but that didn’t stop me spending 8 dollars on the new Cloudkicker album this week.

- If it were up to you, what would you advise newcomer bands in order to achieve success and a good place in the music industry?
Simple. To write from the heart and to be the very best you can be. Never, ever stop trying to write your best music. `Talent and hard work will get you everywhere.

- Anything you’d like to say to our community?
Actually, yeah. You guys have been so great to Basick and our bands, so I’d like to say a massive fucking THANK YOU to all the guys at the site and especially the people who take the time to comment on our releases and news etc. You are the people we are trying to reach with the music we are putting out. Neither us or the bands could do this without your unwavering support, so THANK YOU!

Thanks a lot for taking the time to have this interview Nathan, it was a pleasure!