Owner/ operator of New York record label Modyworks Almamy caught up with us for an interview. Below he talks about the creation of Modyworks and the future of the label. Read on.
Q: Please introduce yourself.
A: I'm Almamy. I'm an electropop singer-songwriter from New York. I'm originally from Dakar, Senegal, but moved to NY as a ballet dancer then became a singer and started to write and make music. As they say, "the rest is history", lol... I'm also the head of the ModyWorks record label.
Q: Why did you want to start your own record label?
A: Well I was looking for a record deal then thanks to a discussion with Adam Shore, who was GM of Vice Records, I decided to form my label instead. So initially ModyWorks was started to release my own music. I signed other artists later on.
Q: Can you list off any entrepreneurs in the biz that may have influenced this decision?
A: None really. I like to control things, so it made more sense to me to just start my own label rather than be on someone else's. I guess the influence was my own control freakishness, lol...
Q: How many years have you been running ModyWorks?
A: Almost 2 years now. The label was founded in the summer of 2007.
Q: How many artists do you currently have signed?
A: There are 4 acts currently on the roster:
- Almamy
- SpenceGabor., a genius electronica/alternative artist/producer from New York (He can do it all)
- Jenny Canto, who is a French pop singer-songwriter
- Button Love, an electropop duo consisting of SpenceGabor. and this cool chick named JMI
Q: To what degree is the internet used for ModyWorks networking and advertisement?
A: The blogosphere holds as much weight, or even more, with fans and consumers than a lot of magazines. Music blogs are a very important to us. Every act on the roster got a pretty huge online following. We keep in touch via mailing lists, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter etc...
Q: Indie labels are about as common as slip on vans. What do you think this says about the music industry and the general publics mindset these days?
A: Well, It means the power is the hands of the public. They listen to what they want to listen instead of listening to what's imposed to them. I say its very good for indie artists and indie labels.
Q: What does the future holds in store for ModyWorks? Any new prospects on the horizon, releases? etc.
A: SpenceGabor.'s "The Session" single, initially set for a May 5th release date, is coming out on June 16th. Then a second single by Jenny Canto will be out in late august/early september, we hope to release her debut album early next year. And we putting out a single or an EP by Button Love this summer.
Also, we are in talk with a couple of dope bands right now, to eventually have them join the family.
And last, but not least, we are working on a distribution deal with some larger labels, and licensing deals for the use of our music in TV and commercials. So cross your fingers for us please.
Q: What does the future holds in store for you as a solo artist? Any new prospects on the horizon, releases? etc.
A: I am working on a conceptual project. An album? An EP? I can't say too much yet. But the first single off of it will be my version of Daft Punk's "Digital Love". I was supposed to produce it with Jimmy Edgar but it didn't work out so I'm collaborating with another very talented producer, whose identity I can not reveal just yet. You'll have to wait. But believe me, it'll sure be worth the wait.
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