Kütu Folk Records, the stitched music label
With the departure of cds, some labels take the time to put things into perspective to restore the original values and aesthetics of this fading art. This relativism is a breath of fresh air to the overweight industry and tries to reconcile the music lovers with a physical object, rather than being stuck in the manufactured furrows of the current musical institution.
The director of the label Kütu Folk Records, Alexandre Rochon has managed to build a unique home with yarn and a needle. With a sewing machine, passion and a maternal know-how, Kütu Folk has sown carefully and combined crafts with smooth musical trends to produce album covers.
Meet the man with his strong and bold artistic mind.
Hi Alex! How are you?
I’m really well thank you. I have just returned from a week’s holiday and I have rediscovered all the projects that are in progress. It’s both super exciting and totally scary.
So everything started at birth. Tell me a little bit about your record label?
Kütu Folk Records was born with the creation of the first musical project called “20206”. We wanted to self-publish a few copies of a disc to sell locally so we designed the cover of the box and connected both the sides with some thread. By doing this, we unintentionally created a label.
It is well known that your label’s particularity is to sew the album covers of your artists, leading to an ethical, original and authentic identity. Family passion, love of crafts, traditions …? Where did this idea come from?
My mother has always loved sewing and so I had a sewing machine available and the know-how!
You signed a partnership with Singer in 2011 which is quite a particular approach for a record label although legitimate in practice. Can you tell me a little more about this association? What does it consist of?
Singer gave us two sewing machines that are robust enough to sew on cardboard (this is a great design feature) and from our side we promoted their brand from our videos. This is a fairly simple and logical partnership.
Soso, Evening Hymns, A Grave With No Name … Several artists from different backgrounds and styles have already signed to your label. How do you target this? Is eclecticism important for you?
I try to capture the sincerity in music creation. All this is obviously very subjective and sincerity is not always enough to produce a good record. Some prescribers help me a lot to work on this, for example on social networks in particular.
Promo photo for the new album EITSOYAM of The Delano Orchestra (November video here) – Credit : Alexandre Rochon
I didn’t know before but I now understand that you were the leader behind The Delano Orchestra, a post-rock jazzy group that you produced, published and distributed via Kütu Folk. Is this somehow a way to combine passion and business?
Yes. Or maybe to combine passion and a dream job. It’s also because I’m afraid of falling into the bracket of ‘full-time artist’. Working for the label gives meaning to what I do, it allows me to promote the bands that I love, to understand the environment of the music industry and sometimes to experience days of manual labor when manufacturing cd covers and sleeves (this is very good for the mind).
Oh by the way…why Kütu Folk? Where does this name come from?
Couture records – Kütu (re) cords – Kütu Folk Records. The term ‘Folk’ however has less and less meaning to us.
At a time when downloads are in full swing the sewing must be a way of saying “Stop! ” to the physical disappearance of the object which is the cd right?
It is a way of saying that we continue to take care of the discs that we bring out. When we spend a week making them, we want to defend them. We also pay a great deal of attention to the artwork of the sleeves, carrying out the work with care and relating to our artists.
The music industry, though somewhat shaky at the moment, has some big labels like EMI, Universal and Warner who monopolize over 70% of the world market. How do you manage to stand out with an independent label? It must have been hard when you entered the market?
I think that you should create your own rules and ignore what others are doing. Any craftsman who works well is rewarded.
Finally, if I asked you what the perfect Kütu Folk visual would be on an OLOW t-shit, what would you say?
I would want to create a new visual especially for Olow. This might be with two quality craftsman.
Thank you to Alexandre for his commitment
Official website of Kütu Folk | Facebook Page
Interview par © Julien Catala
