Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Diamond.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
To first understand Electric Dream Records one needs to understand “Synthwave.” More precisely, Electronic Synthwave music. Synthwave (also known as retro wave, outrun, and future synth) is a genre of primarily electronic music, heavily influenced by the sounds of the 1980’s (including 80’s pop music, soundtrack scores, and even video games). The roots of this genre can be traced to around the mid-2000s, with French house artists like College, Kavinsky, and Justice, who were creating music inspired by ’80s film score legends like John Carpenter and Brad Fiedel.
Then in 2011, came a film called Drive starring Ryan Gosling — and the genre exploded. Producers from around the world began making neon-soaked nostalgic 80s music, yearning to capture the essence of what it was like to live in the “Me Generation.” Fast forward seven years ahead to today and you can hear that 80s Synthwave influence everywhere from TV commercials and mainstream music (gag), to the popular Netflix series “Stranger Things” and even the recent Paramount Pictures big budget Marvel movie “Thor.”
So, now vinyl. About this same time vinyl sales were beginning to skyrocket. Most analysts didn’t exactly know what to make of it either because everything consumers were telling them was that streaming was the future and physical was dead. After all, where were the big chain record stores? The dustbin of history, that’s where. But what they didn’t know is that Millennials love their music on vinyl. In fact, vinyl album sales reached 14.32 million in 2017, a record-high number since Nielsen started tracking the sales in 1991. This is the 12th year in a row vinyl sales have increased, jumping 9 percent from 2016.
So, this is where my story begins. I was very late to the party in all honesty. On Christmas Day in 2014, I began my electronic music journey. I had no idea what I was doing. I began playing guitar around age 16 and when my friends were playing in cover bands I was locked in my room writing my own tunes. I just found some kind of escape in that I guess, and over the years I was in various different bands, eventually recording a three-song professional demo in Rockford, IL in 2003 with Karmatose, a grunge-influenced alternative rock four-piece. We played around town for a year or so but eventually, it fizzled and I went my own way, continuing to write songs but mostly just for myself. By 2013, I had composed well over 1,000 original songs.
And there those songs sat until 2014 when I decided to buy a keyboard, a Mac, and a microphone and begin my electronic journey. I decided upon the name Shadows and Mirrors, and my first release was a 6 song EP titled “Dangerous.” I was initially signed to WEATNU Records, and then Nub Music (UK) in 2016. The early stuff was very much darker industrial influenced. You can definitely hear traces of Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and Marilyn Manson on my 2nd record ARIA, released in 2016. But it was later that year that I began to listen to a lot of “Synthwave” music. Admittedly initially I really liked the darker synthwave (often called dark synth or darksynth), including Perturbator, Carpenter Brut, and Lazerhawk’s “Skull and Shark” album.
What I came to discover is that there was a whole subculture of musicians and fans who were (mostly) only interested in Synthwave. The other thing that I noticed, a lot of the music didn’t have any lyrics. But it did, however, tell a story. It had very distinct themes, from Miami nights driving down the coast, to deep space journeys, and even darker haunted visions. All I knew was I had found something very special. I knew this because I didn’t know anyone who was listening to this stuff and it was really incredible. I could not soak it up enough. So, of course, I had to write a Synthwave album next and I did.
This is where it gets interesting.
In 2017, I wrote, produced, and ultimately released my own Synthwave record titled “Summerland.” I hired a good friend Dave DeCastris (a.k.a. Andy Whorehall) to help with the cover art. One thing I knew right away was that if I was going to do a Synthwave album it had to have amazing cover art because aesthetic is very important to fans of Synthwave. It needs to fit a certain mood to really be accepted, Andy did an incredible job on what became a sun-soaked Los Angeles skyline mixed with his own original painting – which provided that dark haunting ambiance, and it fit the music just right. My girlfriend Mali lent me her stunning voice on a few tracks, and then (finally) came the vinyl production.
To make what’s turning into a fairly long story a bit shorter, Summerland released in June of 2017 and it was a success. But it would not have been a success without a Facebook group.
Huh? Yep, that’s right. There is a group on Facebook called “Synthwave Vinyl Collectors” and this group is dedicated to finding and showcasing only Synthwave releases on vinyl. And it was after a couple months of interaction here where I thought maybe I could be of some use in a larger capacity. There were so many amazing artists, but many of them did not have vinyl.
Thus Electric Dream Records was born, on August 17, 2017. When we started we were using funding campaigns and just trying to get enough sales to fund the audio mastering and artwork, then hopefully have some profits to split with the artist. Now, here we are, a year later and we are working on our 13th release “Dream Electric” which will be a 2LP gatefold special color vinyl featuring 17 tracks from Synthwave artists around the world.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s always difficult. I would say it is getting a bit easier, but there is so much work associated with a vinyl release. People have no idea. First off, you need an audio master specifically for vinyl. We use Jeppe Hasseriis for the vast majority of our stuff because not only is he has known in the scene (Dynatron) and people trust his work, but he has a flawless ear. Some people just do. There’s not much more to say about that, but it’s essential to have your music mastered by a professional. Next comes the artwork, for which we have used many different talented people over the course of the last year, but having someone really dedicated to your project is a must. Not just anyone can do artwork for vinyl either, there is quite a lot to it compared to a digital release.
So, in a way, each project has its own set of hurdles, but in the end, as long as you end up with an amazing looking and sounding record at a decent price, people will come back.
Please tell us about Electric Dream Records.
Electric Dream Records specializes in high-quality electronic vinyl releases. We work with artists to produce and ship records all over the world. We also use a vinyl specific mastering engineer and a professional designer for each product. We love special color combinations and use them as often as possible when it makes sense with the artwork. We also take a lot of pride in delivering a mint product. I’d say this sets us apart from many other labels in that we use built-for-battle Whiplash brand mailers to ship out all our products ensuring safe travels to the customer. We also make sure our artists are compensated in some way — whatever is agreed upon before we begin the journey. And of course, the sound! Using a professional like Jeppe for audio mastering is essential.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Well, the first thing that came to mind was sitting on my Yaya’s (Greek for grandma) carpet watching Cubs games. Yep, I’ll go with that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.electric-dream-records.com/
- Email: electricdreamrecords@outlook.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/electricdreamrecords/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/electricdreamrecords/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/dream_electric?lang=en
Image Credit:
All rights Electric Dream Records
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