German artist Daniele Di Martino has made a lasting impression on the European club scene over the past half a decade, with both his own productions and those of others by way of his MONO.NOISE imprint.
The label has seen appearances from newcomers and established names alike, with deep and progressive house cuts coming from names such as Lexer, Paul Ursin, MUUI, and more.
The Berlin-based label boss joins us for this months edition of Label Mates, where we discuss the early inception of MONO.NOISE, his approach to finding new music, and what he enjoys most about running a label. Get the full discussion with Daniele Di Martino below.
You first founded MONO.NOISE back in 2017, what made you want to become a label owner?
I already had a label before MONO.NOISE. Unfortunately, after some time it turned out that my label partner was not the most serious business person, so I decided with a heavy heart to end the label to prevent greater damage to myself.
Together we decided that all thee releases should stay online, though at some point I realised that all my releases from the last years were gone, so I had to think about a quick solution to get them back online.
After a weekend of brainstorming, I came up with a new name and logo and on Monday I started the new label with a new distributor. The label was born out of an emergency and today I’m more than happy that it worked out that way.
And what were some of the biggest hurdles you faced at the very beginning?
My biggest problem in the beginning was to find new artists, or in other words, new music. Because of the emergency launch, I had no time really to create a release plan in advance, instead, I only could search for new artists and their music after the label had started.
You’ve since released music from names like MUUI, Paul Ursin, Lexer, and Pavel Petrov, what do you typically look for when considering an artist for a release?
These are actually all artists who have done a remix. Sometimes the original artist suggests a remixer or I look for one. However, I mostly prefer to have only originals on a release. Personally, I think a remix could take attention away from the original.
So to answer your question, I choose the music based on what I like and if I would play it. This is not always a simple process with finding new artists, but this way I ensure that I stay happy with the label and the work.
What goals do you have for MONO.NOISE in 2022?
Before Covid, we ran 4 label showcases and had released 6 EPs per year. This year I’m slowing down to 4 releases and will work on 1 or 2 showcases.
What is your favourite label, besides MONO.NOISE?
I do not have the one favourite label. But I often check TAU, Oddity Records, ATLANT, microCastle, Stil Vor Talent, Innervisions, Watergate Records, and Afterlife Records.
From a business point of view, I would choose Afterlife Records. Their showcases, artists, and releases are for me personally on the highest level currently. Just looking at the light installation at their events. In my opinion, no one else can reach this level right now.
There are many different roles involved in running a label, what is one thing you really enjoy about being the boss of MONO.NOISE?
I like every role the same, but if I had to choose one, I would choose the A&R, because it’s the part that connects the people to the label.
And what is one role that a lot of people might not be aware of?
Maybe some people are not aware of how much pre-release promotion is happening. With MONO.NOISE we usually start that work 5 weeks before the actual release date.
Nina Hepburn – Away From Earth EP is the latest release from MONO.NOISE.