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Label spotlight: 8MM

8MM is one of a number of great new Italian labels offering up loads of diverse sounds from their homeland and abroad. I only recently discovered their output (which includes great CDRs from peeinmyfacewithsurgery, Pulse Emitter, and others and recent tape releases from Golden Cup and Kiwi masters, The Futurians!), but have been nothing but impressed. Not only is the music great, but Luca Massolin (who runs the label, and also records as Golden Cup) puts together unique and original packaging designs. Overall, everything is top notch, and those with a penchant for noisier wares will find themselves right at home. Viva Italia!
 

Who started the label and why?
I (Luca Massolin) started 8mm in 2002. Originally it was supposed to be a "speech" for the local punk hardcore scene and for obscure local bands. The label soon started becoming a home for folks from all around the globe. I live in Treviso, a small city in the northeast of Italy, with nothing but an active underground scene since the early ‘90s. It has been a great place especially for the noise industrial music projects like Teatro Satanico, Lunus and for labels like Ars Benevola Mater. But also for punk kids with good taste like the With Love. One of the early goals of the label was to connect these different scenes, with gigs and parties in taverns and old bars lost in the mountains, creating a link between the community of freaks here and the outsiders over there. I feel this is finally happening now.
 

What's the story behind the name?
My idea of music is strictly connected with the creation of images. As a music and cinema passionate, I'm always seeking the infinite relationship between sounds and visuals. That's what I'd like to do in my music with Nastro Mortal and Golden Cup, and that is the same suggestion I offer with the name of 8mm. At the same time 8mm talks about doing things at home, like making images with a super 8 camera or recording sounds with a 4 track. I think it still relates well with the things that I am doing and the things that I plan to do in the future.
 

What keeps you inspired to continue doing the label?
I'm a maniac listener and a gypsy. I love to play shows and see other people playing their music. The energy and the positive vibes I feel from friends and the power of meetings go beyond words and are the primal source of inspiration for all the things I do. I live close to friends that are beautiful people and artists. People like Giovanni Donadini (the other half of Nastro Mortal and the man behind the Canedicoda art studio that signs most of the visuals of the 8mm catalogue), Virginia Genta and David Vanzan from Jooklo Duo/Troglosound, Matteo Castro from Kam Hassah/Second Sleep, and artist/performer Nico Vascellari are all a community of people who help and support me and of course great musicians to play with. Also, in the last two months I've been playing shows in the Balkans, Turkey, Italy, Spain and France. All these travels made me think about the potential of 8mm as a vehicle of communication and they gave me a new energy that will be invested in the next projects.
 

What's the hardest thing about running an independent label these days?
There's nothing really hard I guess, when you work with people that you like and your releases look and sound as you desire. I mean, what's better? Of course sometimes it's difficult to deal with the money thing, but I like to think about 8mm as an entity out of the market. Money is shit; I think we should take it all and burn it. 8mm is not for the money. I like to do a decent amount of copies of each release even if I'm not selling all of them, and keep the price the lowest as possible, in order to make it affordable to everyone. Trading with other labels is a great thing because it gives me access to a load of new music, and it's an endless source of inspiration for my music and for the music I want to release.
 

If you could work with any one artist, who would it be and why?
Present: All the people I have worked with until this moment + Junko Hiroshige, Violent Onsen Geisha, Seijiro Murayama, Keiji Haino, Henri Chopin, Emil Beaulieu, the Skaters and Anla Courtis, because all of them are people that impressed me for their unique music and gentleness.
Past: Franco Battiato, Klaus Schulze, Lee Perry, Popol Vuh, Alan Silva, Nuova Consonanza, Demetrio Stratos, La Monte Young, Harry Partch, LAFMS, Sun Ra, Black Flag and Public Image Limited, because I think they would fit on 8mm and I loved their music for so many years.
 

What's your demo policy?
I don't really have one.
 

What do you have planned for the future?
I have new releases from Pumice, Junko, Ashtray Navigations, Golden Cup and Nastro Mortal. A lot of vinyl and tapes, and less CD-Rs 'cause they began to bore me. In January Nastro Mortal will be playing at Netmage festival in Bologna, which this year is particularly cool I think. I'm planning to travel alone as Golden Cup starting from February 2008, with some new releases on different labels ready for that time.

Then I'd really want to take a long trip to middle east Asia, in order to collect materials for future projects.
 

What's the best record you've heard in the past year?
The reissue of Wizzardz by JD Emmanuel on Dreamtime Taped sounds. The Astral Social Club LP on Qbico, fucking amazing. The whole Sublime Frequencies catalogue, with a special mark to "Proibidao", forbidden funk from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, a mesmerizing collection of tracks assembled by our dear friend Carlos Casas. “Through the Panama” from Sightings and Pissed Jeans marked my 2007, together with the Qbico LPs from Jooklo Duo/Trio and Neokarma Jooklo Septet.
 

Any closing advice?
I'd like to thank all the people that hooked me up with shows in 2007, especially the guys in Istanbul, Sofia, Barcelona, Paris and Rome. It has been a wonderful year. Stay tuned on my website for the next projects. 2008 is gonna be huge!
 
-- Brad Rose (15 January, 2008)

8MM release reviews....
Golden Cup "Eye Mith" Great tape from the head of 8MM Rex... review :: by Brad Rose (12 February, 2008)
contacting 8MM....
Via Canova 1
31050 Ponzano V.to (TV)
Italy

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1 September, 2010
Bis auf’s Messer Berlin’s Bis auf’s Messer emporium has all bases covered. From two rooms in the Eastern borough of Friedrichshain, Robert and Stefan run a store and a mailorder operation, they organize gigs, and not one, but two labels... feature :: by Jan-Arne Sohns

Neon Marshmallow Fest Recap More so than perhaps any festival on the radar, the lineup itself was truly the draw of Chicago’s inaugural Neon Marshmallow Fest, the four-day cornucopia of experimental music of all stripes.... feature :: by Travis Bird

25 August, 2010
Little Fury Things Padna’s own Nat Hawks runs a rad micro-label out of Brooklyn with an even radder name! .. feature :: by Dave Miller

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18 August, 2010
Donovan Quinn Donovan Quinn has already proven himself to be one of the more gifted folk-pop songsmiths of the past decade through his work with Verdure and The Skygreen Leopards... feature :: by David Perron

11 August, 2010
Operative Many readers of Foxy Digitalis will be familiar with the respective work of Scott Goodwin, Spencer Doran, Alex Neerman, and Jed Bindeman... feature :: by Jordan Anderson

Marc Manning Marc Manning is an artist and musician living and working in San Francisco... feature :: by Dave Miller

4 August, 2010
Trembling Bells Over the last several years, drummer Alex Neilson has developed a reputation as a brilliant musician... feature :: by Jordan Anderson

Eggy Records Eggy Records (and Eggy Distribution) is the brainchild of Portlander, Raf Spielman. .. label-spotlight :: by Brad Rose

28 July, 2010
Mother of Fire Burn your guitars, Mother of Fire is on the move... feature :: by David Perron

TRD W/d Belfast, Maine's premier source of total weirdness... label-spotlight :: by Brad Rose
10 August, 2010
Early Women Composers A collection of tracks from some of the best female composers this century... podcast :: by Brad Rose

5 August, 2010
Hobo Cult #1 First set of tunes from the man behind Hobo Cult/Hobo Cubes... podcast :: by Frank Ouellette

15 July, 2010
LAFMS Podcast #1 A selection of tracks from the might Los Angeles Free Music Society.. podcast :: by Andrew Murdock Livingston

3 July, 2010
ALPHACAST A collection of songs from the mighty Colin Ward AKA Alphabets in celebration of the ALPHABOX release... podcast :: by Brad Rose

26 June, 2010
Early Electronics A collection of various electronics from the last half-century... podcast :: by Brad Rose
 
 
menu
1 September, 2010
Various Artists "I'm Going Where The Water Drinks Like Wine" A must have compilation... review :: by Crawford Philleo

Mark McGuire "Tiding/Amethyst Waves" Recommended reissue on Weird Forest... review :: by Anthony D'Amico

Skjølbrot "Maersk" CD-r An absolute gem of a CDR... review :: by Matt Blackall

Zola Jesus "Stridulum" Another massive entry in the Zola Jesus discography... review :: by Dave Miller

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