Microrave Records join Beatport: EXCLUSIVE Grand National single!!!

Microrave Records join Beatport: EXCLUSIVE Grand National single!!!

31 March, 2009 | 10.56AM

• Written by: Microrave Records
• Filed under: Music News : emotiquon, grand national, microrave, modifier, voltergeist

Microrave Records is a new dance music label based in Ayrshire, SCOTLAND. The label was set up in October 2008 by musician and producer Shaun Dowse (Voltergeist) initially as a means of releasing his own music commercially. With several releases planned for 2009 by other talented local producers the label looks set to expand quickly.

Here, he explains how he began his label and divulges a little of the history behind the new exclusive Beatport release; Grand National - “Cut By The Brakes: REMIXED”.

Microrave Records is a new dance music label based in Ayrshire, SCOTLAND. The label was set up in October 2008 by musician and producer Shaun Dowse (Voltergeist) initially as a means of releasing his own music commercially. With several releases planned for 2009 by other talented local producers the label looks set to expand quickly.

Here, he explains how he began his label and divulges a little of the history behind the new exclusive Beatport release; Grand National - “Cut By The Brakes: REMIXED”.

“After nearly a whole year of hard graft, near misses, awkward moments, close calls, penny saving, making new contacts and a very steep learning curve… I’m pleased to announce that the new Grand National single “Cut By The Brakes: REMIXED” (cat# MRR001) is out TODAY on my label Microrave Records, available EXCLUSIVELY at Beatport.com!!!

I first met the Grand National boys in April 2008, when they invited Emotiquon (the band I was in at the time) over to Meribel in the French Alps to support them on the main stage at The Altitude Festival. It was the biggest gig we’d played as Emotiquon and it was truly an inspirational experience. We got hold of the parts to “Cut By The Brakes” (our favourite track on their last album) and set about remixing it, purely for our own enjoyment.

When they heard the finished track, they were very enthusiastic about it and encouraged us to have it professionally mastered, which we duly did. John Dent at Loud Mastering polished it all to perfection (no mean feat due to the complexity of the remix), and we set about contacting their label Sunday Best to chat about the next stage…

At the same time, I was growing tired of depending on other labels to release our music. Emotiquon was getting harder and harder to keep going due to our individual personal commitments, and so I decided to concentrate on a solo project, Voltergeist. Concerned about a lack of creative control and an industry which was growing increasingly nervous about backing new music financially, I decided also to start my own label, Microrave Records. Sunday Best were incredibly helpful, and were happy to license the original track to Microrave…

I’ve been involved in various roles in the entertainment industry from an early age, but had NEVER been involved in running a record label. So as you can imagine it was quite a steep learning curve! I wanted to make sure that everything went smoothly with the Grand National release; the vast number of online stores each have different methods of uploading your releases to them, and consequently take different lengths of time to process all of the information you deliver. This makes things very difficult to organise. Add to that the administrative work which goes into releasing music, obtaining ISRC codes, barcodes, informing PRS and MCPS of the release, membership of PPL, chasing up contracts, collecting and organising receipts and opening new bank accounts, collating email addresses for promo mailouts, setting up new websites, MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, blogging… honestly the list is endless!

Then of course there is the expense… Mastering music professionally costs money. Promoting music professionally costs money. Buying a license from another record label costs money… Nothing is easy to pay for, and everybody is struggling financially at the moment. I was working 7 days a week as a full time landscape gardener during the day just to get the cash together to release the Grand National single, (I also have my own flat to pay for and of course I need to keep the refrigerator stocked up with ice cold beers… ;)

The more I thought about the risks involved in throwing money into a new project with no chance of being able to afford an advertising campaign or clever marketing, the more I realised that I needed some help from other producers in order to create a product which would appeal to a wider group of customers. Thankfully, I had met a very talented duo from Glasgow at a recent gig. Modifier have a burning passion and enthusiasm for creating extremely high quality sounds and complex rhythms. They were the perfect choice for another remix of the Grand National track, modeling it on the work of Sasha and creating a fusion of breaks and deep house.

I put a spooky Voltergeist remix together to darken the release up a little, contacted my good friend JK Dodd who designed the sleeve, and got in touch with PromoOne to promote the release… And then an extremely lucky thing happened to me!

Sunday Best got back in touch with me at the start of the promotion campaign to let me know that The Japanese Popstars had a remix of “Cut By The Brakes” and were keen to have it released. Incredible!!! With the possibility of guaranteed exposure to some of the biggest DJs and club soundsystems immediately heightened, the release was good to go!!!

I’m excited about the future, and feel that all of the hard work has been worth it. Having the label releasing music on Beatport is a dream come true for me, and having such talented musicians backing Microrave is an honour. Of course, the learning curve gets steeper every day, and the hard work is by no means over. But with a release schedule which is positively blossoming with fresh and diverse new music… it’s going to be an interesting first year for Microrave Records!”

Grand National - “Cut By The Brakes: REMIXED” is out now on Microrave Records, and is available EXCLUSIVELY at Beatport.com. The release features the original track, and remixes by Modifier, The Japanese Popstars, Emotiquon and Voltergeist.

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