March 2015
Name: Sandro Gronchi
Label: Radical Matters - Editions / Label
City: Tuscany / Italy
Artists Roster: Various… actually around 200 authors involved in the RMEDL series (from various genres: from Art of noise, 20th-century classical music, to Avantgarde, Experimental, Black Metal, Electronic, Electroacoustic, Non Musical, Extra-musical, Anti musical... )
Websites: www.radicalmatters.com
Original Label Owner Interview with QRD
QRD – Any major changes to the label or your general outlook on running a label since last time?
Sandro – Radical Matters - Editions/Label (aka RM-ED/L) is an independent publishing house/record label directed by Sandro Gronchi (aka SG): focused on a transgressive design of ideas, objects, & media communication. The publishing line is characterized by limited collectable editions, designed & manufactured by hand, by SG, one by one. A publisher of unconventional Concept Albums, Sound Objects, & Artist’s Multiple. In the meantime are born two new “spin-off” (RMEDL | METASOUND & RMEDL | ESKATHON PUBLISHING):
A) RM-ED/L | META-SOUND is a brand new inner organization of RM/ED/L, constituted for the experimentation of conceptual/projectual methodologies for the production, communication & development of contemporary art events connected to the art of listening/sound art, through the construction of meta-curatorial artistic practices focused on extreme, transgressive, unorthodox, experimental & avantgardistic music researches, linked to many fields of human expressions & media art involved in new kinds of languages & settings of the communication.
B) RM-ED/L | ESKATHON PUBLISHING - Meta-curatorial doomsday project - is a spin-off mark of Radical Matters - Editions / Label [RM-ED/L] editorial’s activities. The core of this meta-curatorial platform, is exclusively focused on design, curate & publish a selected anthology of philosophical essays pamphlet & articles, regarding apocalyptical, eschatological hermeneutics, metaphysis & hermetic topics related to the RM-ED/L conceptual activities, characterized by conceptual, digital or fine art publications. Eschatological Hermeneutics of Doom Revelations | Catalogue series: 1) Artist’s Book (coming soon) | Philosophical Artist’s Books | A collection of physical Artist’s Multiples, published as limited editions, conceived as artist’s multiples, available on demand. 2) Apocalyptic Aperiodic | Philosophical working Papers | An E.book based anthology of philosophical essays, articles & essays in literary, non-literary & extra literary types, regarding apocalyptical, hermeneutic, eschatological & hermetic topics.
QRD – How do you feel labels are more & less useful to artists now than they were five years ago?
Sandro – I believe in the art of producing. In my opinion DIY is still for geniuses, not for all...
QRD – There are a lot less record stores than their used to be. How has that effected your model for releasing music?
Sandro – Continuing my research-based practices focused on the art of collecting, developing, & experimenting with new forms of transversal media distribution…
QRD – Spotify has become an undeniable force that has reduced download sales while (allegedly) fighting piracy. In the end what is good or bad about it for you as a label & do you embrace it?
Sandro – I consider social media as a sort of extra output for a release (whatever kind of release, physical or digital)… a control-panel to have a preview, a pre-listening, a dream…
QRD – Most labels are making a bit less money than they were a few years ago. What have you done to lower expenses or find new sources of revenue?
Sandro – Experimenting with new forms of production is the core of RMEDL forever….
QRD – What social networks are you active on & what ones aren’t worth the time & energy to you?
Sandro – Academia.edu, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Ustream… each social channel can pay, only if you can reach a creative awareness with the audience… the same for the reviews from the magazines: to me a good review is only the one that has involved creatively his author….
QRD – With the rise of social networks & trusted download shops, has your own website become less important than it was a few years ago?
Sandro – Absolutely not, because the social channels are only a teaser for my platforms…
QRD – Do you think fan funding (e.g. Kickstarter) is the future, a fad, or an awful thing for the music industry?
Sandro – Ah! A sort of social committence!!! I don’t like too much this form of business, I think it’s okay just for some kind of work & researches (for example for scientific researches), because this production method must request & activate a sort of “responsibility” in the audience, so I think it’s not good for all... This method applied to the production in art, to me, definitely removes the “magic” inside the process of a product’s design…
QRD – What’s something you leave up to bands to do rather than handling as a label?
Sandro – All the authors involved in RMEDL are free to manage by themselves, I only ask to not publish in social networks (like Bandcamp or Soundcloud) the content of the release…
QRD – Do you see albums, EPs, or singles more relevant than a few years ago or pretty much in the same place?
Sandro – My approach is different, each discographic format must be consider for specific concepts…
QRD – Do you have separate release dates for different formats (CD, vinyl, digital download, streaming)?
Sandro – No, it depends on the concept I’m working on.…
QRD – Anything else?
Sandro – radicalmatters.com …stay tuned!
