Vinyl sales are at an all-time high and Barcelona’s Subwax record store and their distribution arm has always done their bit to help this cause. Subwax founder Jimi Disko has taken his years of experience and turned them to his brand-new project The Underground Music Network (TUMN). He is no longer part of the setup at Subwax, but as he explains his new project perhaps found him, “When my former employee Ramon found the warehouse available to rent it all came naturally. It’s a very special spot and it was impossible to not take it. It just felt 100% correct directly and there is nothing like it in Barcelona. As I’ve had the pleasure to own multiple record stores over the years I wanted to do something different this time.”
With Jimi being such a driving force behind Subwax the connection between his new project is unbreakable and as he describes the synergy between the two brands is ideal, “TUMN will stock all the new releases coming out of course but also host streaming events for the labels being distributed by Subwax etc. We will also help and support each other in all ways we can by connecting young producers wanting to start their own labels and starting DJ career’s etc.”
With such a special space at their disposal it is only right that there is a wide-ranging and unique collection of events taking place there, “We are currently building a DJ/Radio booth in the warehouse and from which we will do weekly streamings and interviews with artists, DJ’s, label owners and other music minded people in general. We will also do monthly events here in some clubs in Barcelona where we will invite both local and international artists. Furthermore, we will help the label Furthur Electronix to set up a booking agency and make some events with them around the world.”
It is impossible to discuss TUMN without catching up with Subwax owner Baldo Gallego and his business partner Paul Marele. With the pair taking the reins last year Baldo explains his joint vision for the future, “Paul and I took over the company in April last year, right when the pandemic started, which showed us that despite doing a good job with keeping the business solid and growing during all this period, it’s difficult to make big plans for the long term as nothing is really certain.”
Baldo rightly goes on to give insight on the current state of affairs, “The vinyl market is doing great, apparently, it’s at its peak, and we hope it will keep on the same line as now or perhaps even grow. At the same time, we’re keeping our feet on the ground and know that the vinyl format has some cons that will maybe make future generations lose interest in it, also due to the progress being done in the digital market, but it happened before that the vinyl was supposedly outdated by newer technological advances yet it’s true fans remained loyal to the format.”
Subwax Distribution and their place in the market is assured but even major players need to stay focused, “We’re dedicated to learning and improving in all areas, strengthening our existing relationships with labels and artists, as well as the shops we work with, and provide all with an unmatched service in the industry. For the moment, we are keeping our focus on vinyl exclusive releases, but we’re considering the possibility of expanding to digital distribution as well in the future.”
“While we’ll continue to distribute all the genres that Subwax is known for, we are also constantly looking to broaden our vision into other similar genres and provide opportunities for new labels to get on board. Besides that, we’ll dedicate more time to our in-house labels and push for more releases coming out on those.”
Of course, it wasn’t long before the conversation turned to the labels and releases that help to bolster their growing brand, “In the following weeks we’ll release the 3×12” compilation ‘The Sound of Limo’, from Gene On Earth’s Limousine Dream label, which in our opinion is a future classic release very representative of today’s sound.”
“Besides that, the artist behind one of our biggest records from this year (whose name we can’t reveal yet) is starting his own label and we’re going to distribute it. Another addition to our roster is Cartulis Music from our London-based friends Unai and Raphael, and recently we’ve signed deals with 2 classic 90s labels in order to repress some of their old catalogue. We’re sure many people will be happy to see these available again, remastered and reissued.”
As well as brand spanking new music coming via Subwax distribution and their in-house labels they are also responsible for resurrecting some of the best music from decades gone by, “We have some great reissues on the pipeline for our in-house label Curated by Time. The next one is another Mark Ambrose release, under his Skymaster alias: The Magic Gravity release from 1998, and it’ll be out in the following days.”
“Following this, we have another deep house underground gem originally released in 1997 from Yusuf & Loveys coming this late summer, also followed by another one from Affie Yusuf. Then there is a Len Lewis old release coming out on my label Physical Education and a couple more that are currently in production. Some labels from our roster: AGT Records, Sex Tapes From Mars, Transparent Sound, Euphoric State, and BinarySound’s new sublabel Arpanet are re-releasing great material this year too. Stay tuned for these!”
More info on TUMN
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More info on Subwax Distribution
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