Label Focus – New Soil

Noah Sparkes meets the new London label that’s one to watch

WHAT’S THE NAME OF YOUR LABEL, AND WHO RUNS IT?

My label is called New Soil and it is run by me, Fred Bolza. It is a partnership with Marathon Music Group. The name is inspired by the idea of providing the right conditions for artists to grow healthy careers. It is also the name of a killer Jackie McLean album from 1959!

WHEN & WHY DID THE LABEL START

I launched it properly in the summer of 2020. It was born out of a desire to build a company that could offer elements of management, strategy and label services that were completely tailored to the needs of the emergent jazz community happening in the UK at the time. Having come from a major label and spent time doing career development with some of these jazz musicians as a trustee of the Abram Wilson Foundation, it seemed like the perfect time to put some of these theories into practice and I was lucky enough to have Theon Cross, Ill Considered and Church of Sound join me in the first step of this journey as well as the backing of Marathon Music Group as well as the support of Tileyard Studios in London in providing me with a base. It is also worth saying that New Soil is a management company which currently represents Theon Cross and Binker Golding.

GIVE US A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU’VE RELEASED SINCE THEN….

In 2021 we released Intra-I by Theon Cross and Liminal Space by Ill Considered.

This year we released music by debut artist Matters Unknown, with the first album from another debut artist tyroneisaacstuart about to be released, as well as starting the process of releasing recordings made over the years at Church of Sound.

In addition, we will be entering into a series of partnerships with other like minded companies to jointly grow the possibilities of their rosters so this year we will be co-releasing Tumi Mogorosi’s sophomore album Group Theory: Black Music in partnership with Mushroom Hour Half Hour from South Africa as well as collaborating with London based Bridge The Gap in releasing EPs by Jackson Mathod, Raffy Bushman and James Copus. 

WHAT QUALITIES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THE MUSIC YOU RELEASE?

It is hard to answer this question without sounding flippant but essentially as someone who has loved records and been obsessed with labels since a young age I mainly try to focus on music that I think people will still want to listen to in 50 years made by artists who have depth and vision as well as talent. Basically the motto could be good music made by good people for good people that stand the test of time!

WHAT KIND OF VISUAL IDENTITY DOES THE LABEL HAVE (ARTWORK, VIDEOS ETC) ?

Oddly, considering my love of labels like Blue Note and Impulse with strong visual identities the New Soil approach is to work closely with visual artists often brought by the artist themselves (eg Ill Considered with Vincent De Boer; Theon Cross with Laurie Fitzgerald, and tyroneisaacstuart with Raimund Wong) to create an entirely unique piece of work that acts as a visual extension of the music that sits “within” the cover be that physical or digital. One thing that I truly wish to avoid is the imposition of a visual identity on someone else’s work although paradoxically if the conditions for this symbiotic relationship between music and visuals are enabled to breed naturally it seems you end up with a “house” style even if no one cover looks the same!

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SELLING RELEASE TO DATE?  TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT AND WHY YOU THINK IT WAS SO POPULAR.

It is still quite early in New Soil’s evolution to be making grand statements – we were very happy with both Theon and Ill Considered’s releases last year both of which built on their respective reputations but were also incredibly bold changes of direction in relation to what might have been expected of them. The support from fans old and new as well as press, radio, online and streaming services not to mention Bandcamp and the legions of independent retailers who supported us was really rewarding considering how weird and dislocated the past few years have felt. I guess the fact we are repressing LPs is a good sign…

NAME ONE RELEASE THAT YOU THINK DESERVED TO GET MORE ATTENTION THAN IT DID

Again the flippant answer is all of them should because these are incredible artists making ground breaking music that will stand the test of time. The biggest challenge in the attention economy we live in is how to get through the various echo chambers that exist around us to actually reintroduce the joy of discovering something that does not sound vaguely like everything else you listen to. The sound of surprise deserves more attention!

IF YOU COULD SIGN ANY ARTIST, ALIVE OR DEAD, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

Mal Waldron. A true piano original whose style is inimitable and who left of a body of work under his own name that is pretty much flawless. Add to that an incredible life story in which, as the result of a serious nervous breakdown after Billie Holiday’s passing (who he accompanied with great sensitivity and soul) he had to relearn how to play from scratch demonstrating deep resilience in the face of adversity. As he wrote “When you take our life span and measure it against eternity it is only a small dot…In this time we must realise, if possible, our fullest self potential.” Words and music to live by.

WHICH OTHER LABELS DO YOU ADMIRE AND WHY?

In the current landscape I would say International Anthem and Hive Mind. The first is really everything I would hope a label could and should be – the attention to sound, visual quality of the releases, the open approach to partnerships with others all without ever losing the sense that it is an enterprise entirely built around a love of music and a total respect for both the people that make it as well as those that listen to it. They are an absolute inspiration to me not just as a music fan but as a fledgling label owner too. Hive Mind is a Brighton based label that are also inspirational – a small outfit that is guided by what seems to be a boundless curiosity and knowledge and a genuine ear for the most unexpected music. Their output could be described as the best music you have never heard proving that serendipity still trumps all the other modes of music discovery out there.

WHAT CAN WE LOOK TO FROM YOUR LABEL NEXT?

As well as the releases I mentioned above we are working on a partnership with Women in Jazz – a London based community of artists – to develop a label offering. And hopefully more new signings as well as the next project from Ill Considered and more music from Theon – so please stay tuned!

Noah Sparkes

Pre-order your copy of Sick by Tyroneisaacstuart, click here