Australia’s Random Soul Recordings is largely known for its quality soulful house output and is run by production duo Husky & Yogi, aka Random Soul. Whether the music is organic or electronic, chilled or energetic, vocal or dubbed out, one thing will always remain… the SOUL. DMCWorld checks in to find out more about Random Soul Recordings.
When did you launch Random Soul Recordings and what was your first release?
We launched in 2010 with Random Soul ‘It’s What You Got’ (incl. Jay J Mixes)
What’s the meaning behind the name?
You may think not much thought went into it but actually to the contrary, we couldn’t decide on anything so went with the most obvious.
Where are you based?
Sydney, Australia
How did the label come about?
To be honest we were tired of sending demo’s to labels and having no response. We wanted to keep up our output and also have the power to do what we wanted to with each release. Having the power to invest in a track via a remix or PR agency is something many labels don’t offer. They just want their % and do little else. So we felt the need to take charge of our art and present it to the world in our own way.
What is your core musical style and ethos behind the label?
Whatever we like as artists really. We never set out to only have 1 style of music on the label, and often explore various styles even per release. We are DJ’s individually and as a duo, so our music tastes vary. But you can expect any form of traditional House Music to appear.
Who does what at the label?
Yogi generally prepares all the pre masters, master files & podcast files – and Husky generally does the admin and socials. Anything that falls between, we both do together.
What artists are featured on the label?
Aside of our own Random Soul productions, we have released music from the following artists, Dante Tom, Spectoral, Delaforce, Jason Pascascio, C-Zens, Tonis & Narda, Lawrence Friend, Dutchican Soul, Stereosoulz, Ashley Benjamin, Withus, Roger Da Silva, Mark Maxwell, Arcade 82, Oliver Gunning, Dave Mayer, Danny Slim & DJ Burlak, Chris Howland, Vauguin, Nat Conway, NIcc Johnson, Set Mo, Matt Meler, Andy Ward and Lunabass.
Who else would you love to sign?
Anyone making good music. We generally don’t go after people to sign.
What have been your 3 most successful releases to date?
Random Soul – Everyday
Dutchican Soul & Stereosoulz – The Way
Random Soul – Mysterious (Richard Earnshaw Remix)
What’s your current release?
Random Soul pres: From The Vault ‘Music Inside’ (2024 Reworks)
What’s you’re A&R process and how can producers get demos to you?
Email is always best with a private SC link or Dropbox link. info@randomsoulrecordings.com
What’s the best about running a record label?
Seeing the results from a record you believed in which then returns revenue, and paying artists the royalties they deserve.
And what difficulties as a label have you had to overcome?
We think everyone now faces these, but the constantly evolving landscape of music consumption and royalty streams is a constant battle to stay afloat and not lose more money than we invest. Staying relevant and true to what you love when everyone seems to be jumping on a bandwagon is also hard, but it’s the long game and we always release music we are into and would play as artists. Even if that’s not the flavour of the month. 🙂
Do you host label events or plan to?
We used to do this quite a lot, with events in Miami for WMC, Amsterdam Dance Event and here in Sydney, but life gets very busy with kids, and we both have our own lives to incorporate around the label. Events are stressful and often not that rewarding for the investment and time. So we are quite picky with them now. We have nothing on the horizon for now, but are always open to giving them a go at the right location and event.
Where would you like to see the label in 5 years?
We are focused on putting out more music of our own and re-releasing some back catalogue with a fresh spin on it. We have so many original songs that we feel there’s plenty of music that can be shared. To add to this, we’ll keep creating and exploring new sounds and artists. As our music tastes evolve, we like to think the label does also.
What pearls of wisdom would you offer to those considering setting up their own label? Jump in headfirst, but also make sure you are registered for All possible revenue collection societies and neighbouring rights. Educate yourself on music ownership and who is entitled to what. Set up a business account and treat the label as a separate entity to yourself. If you have talented friends who work in graphics, try and get them involved in some of the process to reduce your set up costs, but also helping friends is also a great way to get more people excited about your label. Try and think of your label as an extension of yourself. Respect artists and the music you represent as if it was your own.
What’s coming up on the label that you can tell us about?
Random Soul pres: From The Vault ‘Music Inside’ (2024 Reworks) is out now. Then we have a nice release from Stereosoulz & Ida Flow coming after that, which we have also done a remix for. We might have 1 more vault series and then we will most likely start rolling out the first singles from the new Random Soul Album. We can’t wait to share this one.
Head to https://randomsoulrecordings.com/ to find out more!
