Label Feature #3: 100% Electronica
By Simon Daley
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Launched in New York in 2015 by musicians George Clanton (aka Mirror Kisses) and Lindsay French (Negative Gemini), 100% Electronia has since switched US coasts but maintained a level of reverence among fans that most record labels could only dream of.
We caught up with co-founder George Clanton to discuss starting the label, the independent music industry, Vaporwave as well as his favorite releases from the label so far.
You released your first album as George Clanton in 2015, the esoterically titled 100% Electronica. That release coincided with the founding of the eponymous record label, what’s the story behind the album/label name?
Just before finishing the album I decided to start the label as well, so I made up some holographic stickers that said “100% Electronica” on them and started putting them on my older self-released records that I was still mailing out. I just liked the sound of it! In the 90s when I was very young I remember my favorite band The Prodigy was most often called “Electronica” here in the states. My parents, the lady at the K-Mart check out, everyone knew what “Electronica” was when they heard it but it’s kind of impossible to describe. So broad a category that it almost has no meaning. Everything I do is a little tongue in cheek and to me it’s funny to say something is “100% Electronica” because what the hell does that mean? It’s a perfect title for our mission, which is basically expanding the definition of “vaporwave” so that its use becomes just as ubiquitous.
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The aesthetic of many 100% Electronica releases and Vaporwave more broadly, mixes anachronistic digital technology and futurism. Where do you think vinyl records, an analog format, fit into this style?
For us, vinyl records are much more popular than cassette tapes, even though we sell our cassettes for half the price. I think cassette tapes are the more “Vaporwave” medium from an anachronistic perspective. It’s my feeling that vinyl records are just the ultimate form of physical music, and Vaporwave fans are die-hard collectors. If you’re trying to collect Vaporwave music for your home library, what better way to do it than with vinyl records? You get a free 12×12 work of art as a free bonus. ‾\_(ツ)_/‾
As a leader in the DIY scene, you have witnessed the steady rise of Bandcamp, Shopify and other direct-to-fan platforms. With more people than ever able to release music independently do you welcome this industry shift or does it bring with it some negatives?
I welcome the shift. I think it’s obvious that I wouldn’t be where I am without it. In Vaporwave, even the genre’s biggest supporters have claimed it is dead year after year. However, we just had the biggest gathering of Vaporwave fans in the world this year with our ElectroniCON festival. We are selling more records and getting more streams than ever. It’s clearly alive and growing rapidly. That would never happen with a major label in charge. We are now in our 5th year as a label and are finally getting major label interest. It’s just not in their business plan to try something for 4 years assuming there might be a payoff in year 5.
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The label likes to experiment with custom color mixes, splatters, and unusual combinations on the records you put out. Is this something fans of the label have come to expect from you?
For sure. And it’s just what people like. If we have a black version and a beautiful color mixed version of a record, the color version will sell 10-to-1. We have a lot of fun with it!
Which three 100% Electronica releases are you particularly proud of since launching in 2015 and why?
Definitely my record Slide because it’s my favorite record as an artist and it’s the biggest seller and driving a lot of attention to the label.
I’m also very proud of Deep Fantasy by Surfing because it’s a record I always wanted to own on vinyl and when I made the label it was the first record I thought to press. I was lucky enough to partner with them on that record and all of subsequent releases so far. Releasing that record in the beginning was a turning point for us when we realized the label was really going to work.
More recently, Cursebreaker X by Equip comes to mind. Without sounding too pretentious, I think Equip more than anyone else is following the 100% Electronica-ideology of dropping everything and putting all of their energy into becoming a Vaporwave pop star. With Cursebreaker, they really snapped and went from being more-or-less a faceless entity in the scene to one of the biggest Vapor-celebrities.
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The label had another strong year in 2019, what does the near future hold in store?
Our goals in 2020 are to grow the ElectroniCON festival, expand the artist roster, grow our merchandise into a serious fashion line, and just continuing to expand the Vapor-universe as we see it. Plus encouraging others (on and off label) to play more live shows and create more meaningful art. We have already seen a lot of promoters starting new Vaporwave themed nights in their cities in direct response to ElectroniCON. Right now Vaporwave is like an MMORPG with millions of users but only a few things to do. We need more developers. I’m doing as much as I can!
For more information about the label and releases visit 100percentelectronica.com.