Here’s a short online interview with a cool webzine, foxy digitalis + there’s a few things in the pipeline release wise so be patient.
Who started the label and why?
I, Shaun, started the label around the end of 2003.
I was working with Jochen as a part of Hinterlandt, which was essentially an anything goes live improv unit of between 3 and 23 musicians (and on recordings just as Jochen solo!). Jochen and I shared some similar musical interests and we were both European immigrants, he from Germany me from England, to Sydney. He was on his way back to Germany and I felt that I couldn’t really contribute much to anything else here not being a particularly talented musician in any shape or form but I still wanted to be involved with music somehow.
Being a big fan of file sharing and always on the lookout for new, interesting and exciting music I decided I could give something back myself and hopefully expose others to some of the music I was discovering.
What’s the story behind the name?
Hmmm…it came about a long time ago – I used to write a lot of lyrics and would enjoy playing with language – it’s really just a by-product of that. tenzenmen also released an extremely rare and sort after piece of vinyl back in the early 90’s.
Unbelievably someone else had come up with this name for an album later in the 90’s too – the way I found this out was that the domain name http://www.tenzenmen.com was already taken, hence my website being http://www.ten-zen-men.com
What keeps you inspired to continue doing the label?
Simply – music. The internet has made it so easy to discover fantastic new exciting underground music from people just strumming guitars in their garages in the USA to whacked out craziness in the colds of Finland and through the usual bizarreness that comes to be expected from Japan.
I wish I had more money and time to get this music that is so exciting to me out to the rest of the world. I know there are people out there craving more than the mainstream provides, even when the mainstream claims to be providing the alternative as well.
What’s the hardest thing about running an independent label these days?
Distribution is my biggest concern at the moment. I’ve been trying to counter this with the Eccentrics series which is basically a 3 band split CD and trying to get bands from different scenes and parts of the world to be involved so that they each get exposed to the others.
I also offer extra discs to the artists at my cost price because I feel that live shows is where a band will sell more CDs these days and they can control the price and distribution themselves. This has had some success but I would still like to get my CDs to more outlets just so people have different options.
If you could work with any one artist, who would it be and why?
Hmm…no – I don’t think there’s an artist in particular that fits this criteria…probably it would be any new musician or group that strikes me as totally original and interesting and to be able to expose them to a wider audience. I’d love to be able to pioneer music in much the same way John Peel did in his time.
What’s your demo policy?
No policy – people should send me their music! You would do well to check out some of the previous tenzenmen releases so see if you might fit the criteria of music that moves me – I mean I’m not into straight forward straight up music. I’ll check out any genre so long as boundaries are being pushed and I don’t expect everyone to enjoy every band that I work with.
What do you have planned for the future?
I’m continuing on with the Eccentrics series and always approaching bands to contribute to that. I have a few other possibilities on the boil too. Not trying to be vague here but plans are always changing. I’m a very patient person and I know good things will come when they’re ready.
What’s the best record you’ve heard in the past year?
There’s just so much! I mean I’m still discovering bands dating back to the sixties. For new-ish bands there seems to be this kinda odd scene on the west coast (I think) of the US with bands like the Mae Shi, Rapider Than Horsepower, Alarmist and 400 Blows.
I’ve been amazed by some of the music on a Japanese label called Usagi-Chang, especially Plus-Tech Squeeze Box and Eel – it’s a perfect example of what I was talking about before about musicians pushing boundaries within a genre. The genre here is electro-pop I guess and these guys are just going nuts with it!
I also actually listened to all my own releases recently (by choice!) which showed me the power of the music that it could still appeal to me even after hearing it so many times in preparation for release.
Any closing advice?
Always keep an open mind whatever you’re doing. Thanks for your time and this opportunity – it’s really appreciated.
1994ever 