In this interview feature, we chat with Peter of Unearth Records to discuss music, his eclectic roster of talent, and much more.
Full Q&A, links, and stream from the Jason Marsh Band available below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
As far as the label Unearth Records is concerned, my original idea was to have eclectic music and to not be tied down to one style. Nowadays indie labels usually tend toward a particular direction or sound and I didn’t want that limitation. The only criteria is that whatever genre a recording is, it has to be a high quality example of that field. As far as my own music goes, that was always fairly eclectic anyway, so the gathering of other artists’ material is just a natural extension of that. A kind of retro flavour seems to hold it all together, but that wasn’t the initial goal, it’s just ended up that way and I’m rolling with it.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
I grew up in a family of musicians down here in New Zealand, started playing piano in ’71, professionally in ’82. So to go into it was natural. I did years of live playing as a keyboardist and have recorded pretty much constantly since 1983, either on my own things or as a player or producer for someone else. That word producer seems to mean something else now, but I use it in the old vernacular as someone who was responsible for steering a recording project from beginning to end whether that meant contributing musically or not.
The thing that drove me to form a label at what is probably the worst point in history to do so, was frustration. I’ve always been a big music fan and feel I’ve been let down as a consumer for a number of years now. The main responsibility for that lies with the introduction of the internet and the leveling of the playing-field that it wrought, which lead to more of a musical decline than we originally thought it would. So the idea of Unearth was to have a label that showed some kind of a return to real songs by people that can actually sing and play, not people just jumping on the bandwagon seeking fame or attention.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
Creativity, though somewhat of a superficial buzzword these days, in its most sincere expression describes the ongoing inner necessity to create stuff out of nothing, regardless of what else is going on in your life and often in spite of it. I think you’re born that way – It’s like a monkey that rides on your back. It’s not something you turn on and off, it’s just there. So as far as influence goes, I think pure influence can happen when you’re under thirty, where you might be so enamoured with something that you’ll sincerely copy it. I find the older you get, that disappears, or it should. Then you’re left with whatever you are. Anyone who does music or paints or writes should be able to do their thing at any time without any substantial influence. Music is a craft. If you’re relying on influence, you should probably do something else.
My musical tastes have definitely expanded over the years yes. When I was in my teens and 20s I was more elitist about it, fairly musically broadminded but a bit blinkered which is understandable at that age. Now nearly at 50 I find I’m way more open to almost any music. I go through periods where different genres are unlistenable to me, but six months later my interest will return. My taste is all over the shop.
Are you trying to accomplish anything specific with this label?
One goal was just to do my humble bit to expose high-quality music from around the world to whoever will listen, without them having to wade through all the mediocrity. I threw in a single of mine recently, but the label is really more about the other artists. I’m pleased with the variety and level of professional artist I’ve been able to assemble so early on. Amongst them are three Australian acts I consider to be at the peak of Aussie indie acts today – Singer/songwriter James Hampton, the Bowie-esque Fronz Arp, and the gorgeous-sounding R&B singer Lisa Spykers. On another side I have what I call the American genius contingent of Fritz doddy, John Tabacco and Riley Godleski. All freakishly talented in their unique ways and I’d recommend any reader to seek all these people out immediately. It was hard to choose a track for you to post so I’ve chosen the latest label release which is the single ‘Luminosity’ by the Jason Marsh Band of Minneapolis. They are, without putting a label on them, a rock band, demonstrating in their chosen field the values highly-prized by Unearth Records. And Jason is one of the nicest guys you could meet.
What was the last song you listened to?
A couple of hours ago in passing I heard ‘Life In The Fast Lane’ by The Eagles. Joe Walsh! Where are the young Joe Walsh’s of today? – Young guys that play and write to an extremely high level and demonstrate humour, irony and self-deprecation in their work, where are they?
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
CDs probably. But even then, when you spend days or weeks recording at higher than CD quality and then bring it down to CD quality at the end, you soon notice the difference. Vinyl/analogue is a purer form of audio, but you have to hold your tongue right too much in the pressing of it. You’ll never hear exactly what went on in the studio on vinyl the way you can on high-res digital, because there’s too much compromise necessary in the bottom end with vinyl.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
When it comes to those formats, Bandcamp wins every time for sound quality because you can sell high-res downloads on there. As for streaming, I find Spotify convenient. Hopefully one day all streaming will be high-res.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
To me the biggest hindrance in all this in addition to the abundance you mention is the sheer amount of people making music that shouldn’t be. That’s the worst thing for me. Thousands, probably millions of people just giving it a go because it’s so easy to make music available now, and they all just block the road for the professionals who have spent their whole lives perfecting what they do, not to mention a lot of money to get to the level they’re at. Then suddenly someone’s milkman who has barely played or sung before, if at all, has an album for sale alongside the professional’s work. There’s something terribly wrong with that picture and it needs to be rectified.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
http://unearthmusic.com/ is the label site where all the music can be bought including my own. The Unearth Facebook page is also a good connecting point. https://www.facebook.com/unearthmusic/
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
I’d just like to say thanks to you Josh for giving a fledgling label some exposure. I appreciate it.
