Hello, first of all a big greeting to the entire BRC Label showcase team on behalf of the Suza Records team.
We are very pleased and honored that you invited us and we are looking forward to this interview.
We hope you enjoyed the mix of our releases.
My name is Aleksandar Markovic and I am the label manager of Suza Records, with me in the team is our chief designer and one of the founders of the label Luka Grozdanic and our driving force Marina Todorovic as well as Milos Zdero and Igor Davidovic who are an integral part of our family.
What made you create this label? Why? What is the idea and inspiration behind it?
The creation of our label happened as a result of dreaming for many years and a set of events that originated from our organization, because in addition to everything we have achieved and done in these five years, the next logical step was the establishment of a label with which we somehow rounded off this progressive story of ours.
Why?
Because we really love progressive and we wanted to do even more with the label when we talk about promoting this type of music
The inspiration lies in the music itself, which is why we started this whole story and why we always want to do more in order to bring all the fans of this sound closer to what they love in the best possible way.
How long had the idea of a label been on your minds before its official launch? What were the challenges running up to its launch?
The idea of ​​a label has been floating around in my mind for many years, with the help of Progresivna Suza and getting to know all these people from our family through the period we spent together all these years, we talked about this topic many times and we realized that we have to roll up our sleeves. and let's get down to work in order to turn our dreams into reality
Well, there were really many challenges that we faced during the establishment of the label because we had never done it before and we lacked experience.
But that didn't stop us from learning about everything along the way. Challenges were all around us, from finding the right distributor of our releases to mastering engineers, deadlines and everything else that comes with this job.
What is the inspiration behind the log and artwork?
The artwork is in charge of Luka, who has been involved in design and inspiration for many years, as well as in music, and discovers it in various places.
The logo itself represents a progressive tear as an emotion that we feel towards music because we believe that in that form it culminates in that moment when the music hits you where you are most sensitive.
What genre of music the label hosts and what do you look for specifically in a track that gives you that sense of belonging in a track to release it on your platform?
As for the genre itself, my personal opinion and what I always try to express is that I always remain open-minded when it comes to music. Progressive has developed to the extent that today every artist has his own distinctive style, and we try to give the artist that complete freedom to express himself in his own way.
After 23 years of listening and growing up with this sound, I think that feeling has simply developed when you hear a track, you know that it is something you are looking for and that belongs to our label.
In terms of demos, how do you accept, review and reject from all the thousands you receive? What are the challenges in sifting through the boatload of demos you receive for releases and the communication you maintain with aspirants?
Well, we still don't get thousands of demos, I hope that number will increase as the label itself grows, but for now we get quite a number of requests for releases on our label and each one requires careful listening in order to choose the one that fits best.
For me personally, the best way to maintain communication with candidates is through social networks, because that way I can reach an agreement with the artist in the best and fastest possible way so that we can finish everything to our mutual satisfaction.
How many VA and compilations do you release in a year and what kind of tracks you choose? What kind of artists do you select for the VA? Basically what purpose does a VA serve to a label?
For now, we still haven't had a VA compilation on our label, but we have big plans for it in the near future, so it's something we're carefully preparing, and I can't reveal all the details about it yet, but we're certainly preparing something very nice for all lovers.
Which one has been a highlight release and why?
Considering that we are still a young label that is breaking through for these 15 releases that we have had so far, a few of them stand out as something that left a mark on the scene and that found great support from the biggest names in the industry and that were played at some of the biggest events in the world.
We are very proud of all our releases and here I will name a few of them that left their mark.
Hobin Rude with his Dies Melor EP, Andres Morris Runes Of Chandra EP, Federicho Monachesi Eternal Return EP, Luman Pinamar EP, Partenaire Strangeways EP, Rockka Spark Plug EP and Will Dekeizer Space Dream EP are just some of the really strong support. which means a lot to us.
What do you expect from new talent when you sign them? What makes you reject them from releasing on your label?
We think that when it comes to new talents, our expectations are only related to professionalism and dedication, that the music they send us is something that they really want to be on our label, and I think that is the key to success. We get various releases, some of them are simply not something which corresponds to our criteria, so we have to reject it because we want to preserve the essence of the progressive sound.
From your country, which other label is pushing the same music as you are and how do you think everyone is helping push the local producers?
First of all, I would like to single out our dear friend, great artist and true professional Marjan Raskovic aka Jelly for the Babies and his three labels One Of A Kind, RYNTH & The Purr who does a really fantastic job when it comes to promotion and releases. There is also Milos Miladinovic and his Balkan Connection, which has been doing a very successful business for many years.
I think that we are all doing a very good thing together when it comes to promotion to push local producers and I think that we will do a lot more in this regard in further joint cooperation and support.
What kind of support do you look for from artists and other parties in promoting your music worldwide? What are the challenges in promoting music to corners of the world where you may not be as popular as in your home country.
Any kind of support is very welcome when it comes to the promotion of artists and other parties, both in the region and on a global level, and we hope that with joint efforts we will manage to do the best for progressive so that as many people as possible will accept and love this truly unique musical direction.
Challenges are all around us in this business, generally speaking, the progressive scene in Serbia is not as pronounced as we would all like it to be, and for us, the primary goal is to improve that image on our field so that we can leave a deeper mark on other parts of the world.
We are pleased with the fact that our releases are receiving great support and listening in some distant parts of the world, and this gives us the wind at our backs to continue even stronger and better, to choose and market only the best that progressive house has to offer.
Thank you for your trust in inviting us to do this interview with you, it was very interesting and fun to answer your questions.
On behalf of myself and the whole team of Suza Records, a big greeting for you team and everything you do, we wish you much success and we hope that this is just the beginning of a wonderful friendship and that together we will do great things for progressive.
Aleksandar Markovic Suza Records Label Menager.