Noble: Label Profile
Tobias FischerAbout the story behind naming the label „noble“
I like the sound of this word. And I felt that the attitude of being noble mentally (not economically) is suitable for the label's policy. Also, I wanted to pick an adjective for my label's name.
About the „boldness“ of avoiding clear-cut genre-definitions
I don't think my opinion sounds bold. From an objective view point, I felt many labels were focusing too closely on a certain genre. That's the reason why I have released a variety of different artists. So, on the one hand, you can find a wide range of musical elements in our catalogue. But I also hope you can find something similar in our music as well. I call it "a certain atmosphere." I don't actually know if all my artists share my positive impression of this approach completely. However, since they were determined to release their music on my label, I suppose at least they agreed with my idea in some form.
Fortunately, I've also received positive reactions from distributors and mailorders so far. I get a lot of proposals about distribution from all over the world. But generally, they don't seem to care about a label's policy so much. Their primary concern is the quality of the music.
About releasing music with a „personal colour“
I'm not interested in releasing high quality imitation-music. I think something characteristic in a piece of music is really important, if it is to retain its value over a long time. For each artist, this "personal colour" is something that I alone appreciate and judge upon - and it is thus totally subjective. It would therefore probably be next to impossible and probably boring to describe it. With regards to our first release, World's End Girlfriend's album "Farewell Kingdom", for example, I felt it an honour to publish it because to me, World's End Girlfriend was simply the ideal debut artist for my label.
About typical „Japanese“ or „Asian“ qualities in Sound Art
I really couldn't say because I'm Japanese, too. But on the other hand, I can imagine there may be some similar elements (melody? Chord progressions?? harmony??) in Japanese or Asian music. And it is often said that Japanese are very skillful and delicate. Both regarding our our background (ethnic and geographical) and character, you may find something of a typically Japanese or even Asian feeling in the music. But when it comes to managing my label, I'm not conscious of this idea.
About noble's showcase at Sonar
It helped us a lot to spread our music. Two of my artists, Kazumasa Hashimoto and Piana performed on behalf of all noble-artists, and I did a DJ-set only using material from the noble catalogue at the showcase in Sonar 2007. Fortunately, we received a lot of lovely and warm feedback from the audience and the media. After Sonar, some organizers contacted me to have my artists' perform shows in their respective countries.
About noble's irregular release schedule
Each artist has his/her own pace for creation. I don't give them strict schedules for their releases. Because of this, the schedule often tends to be delayed, If I want to make their works better, I must respect this. Another reason for this tendency is that I've only produced the artists/works which I felt were "worth releasing on my label." As you know, it's really difficult to keep on producing good works on a regular basis. "High quantity but only with high quality" is one of my aims.
About turning into a synthetic art label
We're shifting from a music label to a synthetic art label. In July, we'll release our 2nd animation movie as a DVD. In the future, we may produce picture books, motion graphics, etc. But basically, we still primarily focus on music. In addition to producing pure music works, we're interested in creating a kind of collaborative work between music and other forms of expression.
Homepage: Noble Records
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