Label Focus - Lokad
Lokad, based in San Francisco, is the freshest and most "mysterious" label on the American electronic underground this season, and Dimitris Lilis spoke with the woman behind the label, Whitney Smith, about how a modern, independent tag in old school ways….
Whitney Smith is "cool" because she knows what it's like to run an independent record the old school way. Limited - numbered copies, at 01 of the catalog a collection that shows the dynamics and intentions of the label and like an ace up her sleeve, the mystery that envelops not only the names of the artists participating in the "Unearthed" collection, but also the fact that there is little information, other than this link, on the internet.
Normal DIY that is. From what will fatally travel by word of mouth and that fortunately, already remarkable names of this disjointed and eccentric underground dance scene, such as Ron Morelli of L.I.E.S, have begun to spread like the new secret through stories. Hoping that I too would soon leave behind the private SoundCloud link that I melted on repeat with the first release of Lokad and have a vinyl copy of Unearthed in my hands, I asked Whitney Smith to answer key questions about with the background of both the label and herself in the American independent electronic scene.
What is the team and the idea behind the Lokad label?
The Lokad label started in San Francisco in 2018. We introduced the label and threw a series of underground events at SF in 2018 and 2019. These parties actually helped shape the idea behind the label in some way. I grew up on the punk scene in New York and Philadelphia in the late '80s and early' 90s. then I had to call a landline number from a landline and write down the address mentioned in the voicemail message and the concert would be in my hand with a pen. The address usually led to a warehouse or squat or a small neighborhood without GPS or cell phone. And show up to see 4 or five names playing sharp sets, until either the cops show up and destroy it or until the sun goes down.
The feeling of opening the door and the sun hitting our faces at 6 in the morning, being so exhausted but so full of music and the feeling that we will not be able to sleep due to the tension. I discovered music in those places that I would never have heard otherwise. I listened to bands playing their music on cassette tapes in their dormitories or in their basements. And I played them over and over until they stopped working. I discovered the music using only my sense of adventure and curiosity to listen to what the band was playing.
There was no internet, SoundCloud, algorithm ... do not misunderstand me, all these things are wonderful in their own way and I am grateful that I can put in order any song I want to listen to at any time. But, if you are under 45, you may not remember that you had to wait until a song was heard on the radio and you had to record it on a cassette to listen to it again along with the excerpts from the DJ who presented it or the ad that followed at the end of the song. But, I always crave more to discover new music ... and less to feed on what a camera wants or to listen to people who love an artist because it happens to be interesting Instagram instead of listening to if he really makes music.
So, I wanted to throw a party like the ones that fueled my sense of discovery in this music. I wanted it to be one of those parties that people would remember and come to, not because SOMEONE was necessarily playing, but they would remember it for WHAT they heard and experienced - because they came for the experience. We booked amazing artists for these parties, but we didn't just book artists. We skillfully created an entire experience. We gave the style we wanted and almost controlled the people who rushed to come; we needed to know if they wanted to be there for the right reason.
We gave free tickets to young minorities and the LGBTQ community as well as to those who could barely make ends meet and could not afford to come. All 8 events were sold out. A lot of people showed up and flashed $ at the door and they had no idea why they were coming but wanted to get in and felt they had the right to throw us extra money in order to get in.
Each party was curated in every way. We did not leave any details to chance. The lighting, the atmosphere, the way our staff and team treated people, how we cleaned up afterwards, how we paid our artists and staff - the parties were magical because we cared so much about them. We had decided from the beginning that we would not party just to make it happen. We knew that when we felt right we would stop.
We had planned another party for March 2019 when Covid hit. We had already decided that it was the last one for a long time. Covid forced us to cancel it and we knew it was something of a coincidence to close the circle. We had already created what we wanted and it was time to stop for now. Like the lessons from Japanese television, something ends when it is at its peak. We wanted people to feel how special it was to come to them and crave them instead of feeling that the concept had grown old and they had overdone it.
The label is run by me. The parties we did were in a way an experiment that reinforced that we need to discover and experience music instead of just following the masses and what they offer us. I think running a label is in a way an art form. I contacted the network of artist friends that we have cultivated in the 8 years of operation of our record store RS94109. I said that I want to start a label with vinyl only, without digital releases… and all entries by artists will be anonymous. I did not care if it would make money, I just wanted to ignite the feeling that someone would discover music ... a song, an emotion, an experience.
At first I think most people would think I lost them. I invited artists who have been on stage for 20+ years, who give concerts to tens of thousands of people and tour 200 days a year ... people who have made their lives and their daily lives from the passion and identity of their sound .. .and artists who have built on it ... people with hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, who play in all the top clubs in the world ... and I also invited completely new artists who do not even have three-digit followers on their SoundCloud but they make "special" music and to my surprise, everyone said "you are a little crazy, but I love you and I like the idea and .. yes I will be happy to help." And so it began.
I chose 7 artists for the first release. I gave them a theme, "Unearthed", and asked them for a piece inspired by it. Some made tracks just for release, some took out tracks from old DAT cassettes from the '90s and dusted them off and sent them off, some pulled a killer track they made but it was never released. The pieces started coming and the puzzle came together and so the Lokad label became a reality.
Is there any other parallel occupation besides the label?
And why did you decide to start a record label with a limited number of copies and a very edgy sound? In addition to operating Lokad, I co-own RS94109, while my "day job" is a management consultant to both individuals and emerging companies and large companies. I am also a mom of three children 11, 14 and 15 years old .. who think that I am not so cool, but let me choose the music on the way to school. My dream is one day to be at a killer underground party and have someone play one of the label's songs or see someone wearing a Lokad t-shirt and realize that they may or may not have had cool parents. I know, this was just a completely parental ego outburst .
What other records do you feel like a scene and what was the influence to start Lokad?
I love all music. Those who are brave enough to put their creations in the world for me are really inspiring. Even if they are not perfect or a little naive ... these people are my heroes. I'm the one who stands in front of a DJ booth in a show and watches an artist play. I like to see how they relate to music and how they feel about it - it always captivates me when I see someone feel what they are doing instead of "trying" to become an artist. I like what Strahinja Arbutina does with the Low Income $ quad from Croatia. Recently I was impressed by Matriark from Copenhagen and also what my brother-in-law Sepehr created with Shaytoon Records.
How would you describe the sound of the record label and how easy or difficult is it nowadays for someone to run such a specialized sound label?
The label is based on the sound of the participating artists. I personally prefer the hardest music, and this direction will be clear in the first releases, but even in this first release you will find some surprises. Including a beautiful hidden track that was the first track made by one of the most talented producers I know of but has never been released to date. I feel very honored that he brought it up and gave it to us for this release. Also, one of my favorite things about the tracks on this release and the upcoming ones, is that often the artists who contributed gave me incredible tracks that may not actually be in the sound or genre they are working on at the moment. I know people will try to guess or believe that they know the sound and the artist they are listening to, but I like the fact that it will probably be impossible for anyone to really learn the identity of the creator. Running a small label is a really funny process. There is no profit and with Lokad there are no tours ... maybe we can set up another series of Lokad undergrounds events in the future, probably in another city of the world, when the time comes .. but surely the artists that appear in the releases will not can be presented .. so there is no real "revenue" with this tag .. but neither was it ever intended to make money. This is purely a work of love ... But it's fun. With 7 tracks all made in different time periods, some only in digital format, some live recorded, others made on analog equipment .. mastering was a difficult task. Luckily we found an amazing partner for this Phil in Copilco Berlin.
What can we expect for the next release?
The next release has just been completed in mastering and will be transferred to Softwax Record Pressing (which I chose because it is the only POC owned mill in the US based in Philadelphia where I come from) in a week or two. These are another 7 pieces by 7 artists. Each release will feature different artists ...The theme for the next release is "Heartbreak" .With the incredible back up due to the demand for vinyl worldwide, the schedule is a bit slower than I would like for the next release scheduled for fall 2022. Finally , I have started editing the 3rd collection that will be released in the spring of 2023. I will not tell you about it yet - maybe if you look for us in a few months.
If a lot of things go wrong in the world right now, why do we need sounds and music that we don't even know who made it? And what does this almost hardcore electronic label add to the dark / industrial sound?
I think now more than ever we need to "play" with the things that try to organize our lives and experiences. Note, I said to "play" and not to skip. Innovation is undoubtedly beautiful. But I'm not a person who believes that things have to be harder or harder to be authentic. But I think we need to experience more and think less. We need to love more and more deeply and consciously these days and worry much less about what people think of us and our efforts. When I started the company, I did not care if everyone thought I was crazy and stupid. I know that the effort is serious and comes from a deep love for the music and the experiences it creates in our lives. This is what we need so much more these days. I do not know what this tag will add to the game. Probably time will tell. I can only hope that it adds a sense of curiosity and inspires those who listen to dig deeper.