Label Feature #15: Hi-Tide Recordings

Our label feature series returns after a long hiatus as we catch up with longtime clients Hi-Tide Recordings, an indie label powering the resurgence of Surf Music since 2016.

Whether it’s UK Garage, Disco or in recent years Breakcore, every so often interest in a now-niche genre from decades past spikes so significantly, that it stops being a throwback and suddenly feels current again. Surf Music, first popularized in the late 1950s has been riding a resurgence in popularity which began in the 1990s and later picked up steam in the mid 2010s. Hi-Tide Recordings heads Magdalena O’Connell & Vincent Minervino started out as fans of the genre who organically developed that love into a full-time career with multiple labels to their name. Now boasting an impressive roster of 38 artists, the label has surged in popularity with 18 projects pressed last year and 16 coming through the presses at Precision Record Pressing. We caught up with Magdalena and Vincent to learn more about the label, their artists, recent developments and their plans for the future.

The inaugural Asbury Park Surf Music Festival (now the Hi-Tide Summer Holiday) took place in 2014. What inspired you to then launch a record label, adding to what must have been an already packed work schedule?

Vincent: At the time, Magdalena and I were both working full-time jobs for a technology company. I played in Black Flamingos on the side. We developed a love for surf music together as a soundtrack behind our cruises to Asbury Park – a beach town rich with music history at the Jersey Shore. Summer Holiday was our effort to carve out a surf music scene in our local space. It began as a regional event and has now grown to one of the largest of its kind in the world.

Magdalena: We didn’t start the label until 2 years later, when we sent early Black Flamingos recordings around to any label we could find that had released surf music in the past. We got mostly the same answer when we asked them to press vinyl – it’s expensive and the format is past its prime. So we conceived the “Hi-Tide” label and pressed the Flamingo Twist / Neon Boneyard 7” ourselves. The band took it out on the road supporting Dick Dale, The Ventures and more, taking it as far as the Surfer Joe Summer Festival in Italy in 2017. There we met Surfer Joe, Frankie & The Pool Boys, Los Frenéticos, The 5.6.7.8s, SHAG and more. These are the relationships that helped us get the label off the ground.

We often speak to record labels that were founded by two or more people, rather than solo operations. Would you say it’s an unquestionable benefit to have twice the creative minds contributing to a project, or is it a careful balance of compromises to keep everyone happy?

V: Both are absolutely true! Magdalena and I have very different strengths. We often see things differently, but compromise well to push every project to the absolute best that it can sound, and look!

The aesthetic of your vinyl releases perfectly captures the classic surf music vibe, but with a contemporary twist. How do you formulate artwork concepts for new projects?

M: Design is one thing that we committed to early on and have not strayed from. It was painful at first to spend the money for quality design work, but we believe it sets us apart and grabbed people’s attention at the outset. We have a tight network of designers that we work with, and we often start the process by collaborating on “moodboards” with our artists. This helps us pinpoint an overall feel using existing imagery & colors, and then our designers work their magic!

V: One that stands out to me is The Manakooras – Jungle of Steel. We worked with 2 different designers on that record. The front cover is a commissioned painting by Chris Wilkinson, and the back is an absolutely stunning design by Grey Haas. That record is amazing musically, but we believe it was the artwork that made people connect so strongly with it.

Like the genre of surf music itself in the 1960s, Hi-Tide Recordings has evolved in the past few years to include vocal artists like The Hi-Risers. What change do you feel that has brought to the label?

M: Hi-Tide releases tend to be “surf-adjacent” – Televisionaries, The Hi-Risers which you mentioned, Charlie & The Tropicales and more. We never really set out to do only one thing, but the further we expanded, the more great music came into our inbox. This was the main inspiration to start Nu-Tone.

Speaking of which… more recently you announced the formation of a new Hi-Tide Recordings imprint called Nu-Tone, as a platform to release a wider variety of recordings. What are your ambitions for the new label?

V: We are being very patient with Nu-Tone, focusing on developing a few key artists rather than signing dozens and seeing what sticks. The Jazztronauts were the inspiration the start the label. They are a Staten Island combo that blends Jazz, Funk, Hip-Hop & more through improvisational performance. We absolutely loved the band but just could not see it under the Hi-Tide label, so we created Nu-Tone as an outlet for this and similar projects. We have garage, power pop, rockabilly, country, latin soul, boogaloo & more in queue for release under the Nu-Tone label. Stay tuned!

Which three releases have been important or unexpected milestones for the label since you launched?

The Surfrajettes – Roller Fink, the debut full length from the band that is opening tons of doors for women in music, the label, and surf music. The album features some of the best modern surf instrumentals, plus more of their cleverly crafted covers that fans love them for. Plus they brought the roller rink concept to life in a really fun way – down to the “Candy Floss” colored vinyl.

The Jazztronauts – Out of the Night, NT-001, our first Nu-Tone release of many to come. Sometimes you hear something that changes your life. This is one of those releases. This band is intensely celebrated in their home of Staten Island, home of their heroes The Wu-Tang Clan, The Budos Band and more. Keep an eye out for lots more great music from The Jazztronauts in 2023.

The Tikiyaki Orchestra – Tropika, an upcoming release that is providing us some optimism at a bit of a transitional time. Magdalena & I are both running this label full time as of 2023. We just moved into a new office space and are planning to open retail space this spring. The response to this record has been so positive. It makes us feel like we just have to keep going!

Over the past three years, pressure on the global supply chain as well as sky-rocketing interest in vinyl records has led to turnaround times increasing worldwide. How has the label adapted to the ever-changing logistics challenge?

V: We have certainly had to adjust our release timelines. When we first started, we could license a record and have it in hand in 2 months. Now it’s triple that, and that feels QUICK! We have shifted to less emphasis on release dates, and longer preorder windows. That poses its own challenges as well, but it feels like things are equalizing again.

What else can we expect from Hi-Tide Recordings in 2023?

M: Keep an eye out for new releases from The Tikiyaki Orchestra, Messer Chups, Los Tiki Phantoms and more. We have some really exciting projects in the works that we can’t talk about quite yet. But let’s just say it looks to be a really big year on the Nu-Tone side of things.

For more information about the label and releases visit hitiderecordings.com