Following the Godfather of techno, Juan Atkinsʼ Podcast, EPM book-end their 10th year with a special EPM 10 mix from Oliver Way. Showcasing all the artists featured exclusively on this year’s EPM 10 compilation we get new electronic funk, techno punch, house majesty and electro evangelism from such esteemed artists as Alexander Robotnick, Dirt Crew, Marco Passarani, Marius, Robert Hood, Orlando Voorn, James Ruskin, Mark Broom, Sandwell District, Detroit Grand Pubahs, Radioactive Man and Billy Nasty. Here’s to the next 10 years...!


Q&A with EPMʼs Oliver Way, Melle Boels & Jonas Stone

1. EPM 10 marks ten years in the music business for EPM. What’s the secret to making it this far?

Jonas: It’s been tough and there have been times when we nearly didn’t make it if I’m honest. We’ve seen a lot of changes in the music business since we started and a lot of good people and labels have fallen by. A big change for us was when Melle Boels came on board and had the vision in 2003 to set up EPM as a digital distribution company. That side has built up over the years to become our core business. Melle has really driven the company in that respect and deserves every credit into turning EPM into a company with a global vision and reach as we now have offices in London, Maastricht and Berlin. Finally after 10 years we feel that we are in a really strong position which is why we have also set up our own label and rights management / publishing side to the business.

2. How did EPM start?

Jonas: I worked with Oliver Way at Phuture Trax and by January 2001 we decided to set up our own thing with myself running the PR side and Oliver handling DJ bookings and artist management. Oliver was already representing artists like Freddy Fresh, Frankie Bones, Robert Hood and other DJs and I was doing PR for labels like Tresor, Eskimo, Music Man, Novamute and events such as Dedbeat and Homelands. There was no other plan other than doing it for ourselves and working with artists and labels we wanted to work with. It was great to be able to steer our own ship and take more control of our own destiny.

3. EPM 10 features very highly respected artists across the fields of techno, house, electro and electronica. How did you persuade them to come on board?

Oliver: We approached producers that we work with closely, and of course like their music. We persuaded them, as they were willing to show the support for EPM, as we have given them over the years. There are so many others we would have liked to have had tracks from but we wanted to keep it to 10 tracks from 10 artists to represent the 10 years. We also wanted to cover as many styles of dance music on the compilation as possible - we managed to get house, techno, electro and some of their sub genres.

4. What's changed in 10 years of promoting music?

Jonas: Well the answer pretty much hinges on one word – digital! The digital revolution has changed the game in almost every aspect. From promotion to sales, DJing and live shows technology has been the driving force of change. We are still adapting to the on going changes and that’s what you have to do to survive. The geeks have inherited the earth! The lead in times for club and radio promo have shortened, piracy is a major issue for every label and we live in a very immediate society where people want to read and then click and listen/buy. There are still a lot of underlying aspects that remain the same like building up good contacts, pitching features and so on. Also everything is done by email, hardly anyone speaks on the phone these days but that personal contact is still important.

5. What plans do you have for the EPM label in 2012?

Oliver: We have 5 new albums already scheduled from Kristian Heikkla (one half of Kristian & Christian from Thomas Heckmanʼs AFU label), The Third Man (who has also recorded for Kirk Degiorgioʼs label A.R.T and Ai), Paul Mac (Stimulus & Hardgroove), plus a new album project from Lee J Malcolm called ‘Terrestial’. There is also a new single from Carl Taylor and his imminent new album ʻTrue Faithʼ coming in January. Besides that I am working with Luis Martinez on his debut album. Not sure if we can get that all out for 2012 but there is so much great music coming in.

6. How did the EPM 10 parties go this year?

Jonas: The 10th birthday party at fabric in February was one of the highlights of my life. To be able to celebrate that milestone with Robert Hood, Orlando Voorn, Detroit Grand Pubahs and Kone-R packing out Room 2 in the best club in the world was mind-blowing. I remember half way through the night realizing I was grinning from ear to ear. I almost had to pinch myself; it was a real dream come true. One of life’s pure gold moments, I will never forget it.
Oliver: The Panorama Bar was also, hhmm....epic. An incredible night / day with Robert Hood doing a special set under his Floorplan moniker, Marco Passarani and Orlando Voorn. Anyone that’s been to Berghain / Panorama Bar will know how special that place is, and to have your own room in there was something dreams are made of (for me anyway), lots of people we work with and friends came out to support us. Then of course there were the 2 conferences with Sonar & the Amsterdam Dance Event. During Sonar we had the club Nitsa with RadioNasty (Radioactive Man & Billy Nasty) doing their first ever set, plus the double album launch with Robert Hood’s ‘Omega: Alive’ album and our own debut album on EPM Music ‘Folded Spaces’ by Lee J Malcolm who played live that evening. Again a very special night and a very special location. I love going to Nitsa, there is always such a fantastic atmosphere in there. Barcelona is my favourite city and to get to do a party in one of my favourite clubs is something I feel very lucky to have done. Finally this year was a small event at a bar called House of Rising in the centre of Amsterdam during ADE when we hooked up with one of the labels we distribute & publish, Bullet:Dodge Records, to put on an eventful evening with Vince Watson, myself and Paris doing a Detroit Grand Pubahs DJ set plus Gareth Whitehead & My Evil Twiin doing a back to back DJ set.

7. When are you going to get a proper job? (Oliverʼs mum)

Oliver: What’s a proper job? I have been doing this music business game now since I was 16 when I started out working in a record shop called Bass Box in Buckhurst Hill, Essex. Never done anything else, for me this is not a job, it is a career and lucky enough to have a career in something that is also my passion, music.

8. How has the digital distribution side of EPM developed over the last 10 years?

Melle: When we started out in 2003 the hardest part was to convince old-school labels that digital was here to stay. Most labels just signed with us because they trusted us and because they felt that signing a contract for digital didn’t mean anything anyway. Since then it has become evident that digital is a format that is the future of the music industry. But then, if you ask me again tomorrow I might say the exact opposite. Because this has always been a bit like a rollercoaster ride, what’s true today might not mean anything tomorrow. It has been interesting to see so many different players come to this market since, offering new models. Unfortunately many of these have not made it and left already. That’s what makes for a constant challenge to make the right decisions in which models to fully support and which ones to leave alone. As an independent company we have the big advantage to be flexible and adapt to new scenarios quickly, which I believe is an absolute must when working in such a fast changing market. It is this constant state of flux which has really defined the digital industry over the last ten years. As it continues to evolve so do we as a company and that is one of the biggest challenges we continue to face as new technology and new models come into play.

9. EPM now has a rights management and publishing division. Is this part of a ʻ360 Degreeʼ strategy?

Oliver: Yes, it actually ties in well with the digital distribution since we know the exact figures of online sales so we know how much MCPS the stores would be paying on a label / artist we distribute and publish, we have an inside edge. The radio promotion service we offer ties in perfectly for publishing as the radio plays we get translates to public performance income. Besides that I have carried out a number of sync licenses over the years and it was something I have been thinking about developing as a service at EPM for years. With publishing we can now start to develop this. We already had our first sync with a track by Domgue from Detroit Grand Pubahs titled ‘So Bale’, which was used in a recent episode of CSI: Las Vegas.

10. Please give us your all-time favourite releases from the EPM 10 featured artists.

Alexander Robotnick – ‘Dance Boy Dance’
Detroit Grand Pubahs – ‘Skydive From Venus’
Robert Hood – ‘Nighttime’ (taken from ‘Nighttime World 1’)
Analog Fingerprints / Marco Passarani – ‘I House U’
Marius – ‘Disco Drummer’
Dirt Crew – ‘Rok da House’
Sandwell District – ‘Falling The Same Way (Reality Or Nothing Extended)’
Radioactive Man – ‘Goodnight Morton’
Billy Nasty – ‘The Well Served Event’ (w/ Gregor Tresher)
Mark Broom – ‘Birmingham’ (Rue East)
James Ruskin – ‘The Divide’
Orlando Voorn – ‘Tone Exploitation’ (as Nighttripper)


For more information about EPMʼs digital distribution and other services:
www.epm-music.com/digital-distribution/why-epm.html