Label Focus – MB Disco
We meet the MB of MB Disco, Martin Brodin
WHAT’S THE NAME OF YOUR LABEL, AND WHO RUNS IT?
MB Disco, run by me, Martin Brodin.
WHEN & WHY DID THE LABEL START?
The label started in 2010 with a vision to embrace all kinds of disco sound, including influences from soulful, synth, or spaced-out styles. The primary focus was on nu-disco, which was the prevailing sound at the time. I shifted my focus from the more deep and tech-house genres that I worked on with my label Deeplay Music. As they say, ‘Said and done,’ MB Disco was born
GIVE US A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU’VE RELEASED SINCE THEN….
Wow, where to start? Well, we have been very fortunate to have some really nice people on board. How about Grammy Award winner Giorgio Moroder, with remakes of his classics such as ‘From Here To Eternity’, ‘The Chase’, and ‘E=MC²’.
We also had the disco and soul legend Leroy Burgess collaborating with Cool Million on ‘Cool To Make A Million’. Electro-funk-hip-hop maestro Newcleus brought us the ultra-cool ‘Jam-On-It’. Other notable names that have been part of the family include Gerd Janson, Kraak & Smaak, Tensnake, Aeroplane, Prins Thomas, The Psychemagik, Ray Mang, Pete Herbert, Chicken Lips, and DJ T.
WHAT QUALITIES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THE MUSIC YOU RELEASE?
Basically, anything that sounds good. If we like it, we release it. We don’t follow any trends.
WHAT KIND OF VISUAL IDENTITY DOES THE LABEL HAVE (ARTWORK, VIDEOS ETC) ?
For our artwork, we use the same kind of design and layout, just changing colors and so on. This is to keep it simple for the fans to see that there is a new release out. Regarding videos, it’s actually a mixed bag of different styles. For example, the latest release “Run” with the Tensnake remix. Here, we hired a team to make a 2D animated video from scratch, and it turned out really nice.
WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SELLING RELEASE TO DATE? TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT AND WHY YOU THINK IT WAS SO POPULAR.
By far, the Giorgio Moroder – E=MC² (The Italian Connection) release stands out. It was put together with help from my buddy I-Robots (Gianluca Pandullo) in Italy. It featured Alexander Robotnick, Daniele Baldelli, Marco Dionigi, Rodion, Klein & M.B.O, and I-Robots himself. As you can see, it included lots of cool names, and I guess it’s a no-brainer why it sold very well. I mean, many of the strongest names in Italy when it comes to the synth/space/disco sound, all bunched together for a track and artist like that. Epic, I guess! And to this date, it still sells really well.
NAME ONE RELEASE THAT YOU THINK DESERVED TO GET MORE ATTENTION THAN IT DID
To do some shameless self-promotion since I’m the one answering the questions. My own release, Martin Brodin – Oh Yeah, with the Glimmers remix. It’s a rework of one of the seminal tracks of INXS. It has all the ingredients to get the dancefloor moving. Maybe it was bad timing; for some reason, it didn’t break through. Perhaps now it can have its revival? 😊
IF YOU COULD SIGN ANY ARTIST, ALIVE OR DEAD, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
That’s an easy one. When I grew up as a teen, Yello were my idols. I was an avid collector of their records, and at some point, I had the largest collection in Sweden. I’ve done a cover in the past of ‘Vicious Games’ and also an edit of ‘Bostich.’ But I would be very honored to make an official remix or collaborate with Boris and Dieter.
WHICH OTHER LABELS DO YOU ADMIRE AND WHY?
There are tons out there these days. It’s really hard to keep up with all of them. But Permanent Vacation, Toy Tonics, and Glitterbox stand out. They have really high standards and offer interesting artists and remixers.
WHAT CAN WE LOOK TO FROM YOUR LABEL NEXT?
We have a track from the Mexican artist Future Feelings. We’re also very excited about a new project from Giorgio Moroder. Croatian Peznt is making a remix of ‘How Good You Feel,’ and on top of that, label boss Martin Brodin is also coming with a few more tracks.