Just posted some blogs about our latest artists and Jarome’s trip to China… http://www.prosoul.com

The following is the first of many posts by label founder, Jarome Matthew.  Jarome will be blogging about his exciting experiences as a producer and label owner, so be sure to check back often!

I recently spent an amazing couple of weeks working with some talented musicians in Beijing, China, for various projects. 

I recorded several incredibly talented musicians in the studio of Pro Soul’s own Elika Mahony. The studio has gradually been upgraded to the point where it is almost as good quality as my own. This visit, we further enhanced it with the SE Reflection filter on the left.

The first artist we recorded was talented musician, Jin R, on her beautiful Yang Qin. Jin R is a famous modern chef in China and the owner of Green T Living restaurants across China and Hong Kong. The Yang Qin is a famous Chinese hammered dulcimer originally from Persia and resembles the Persian Santur.

Jin R played improvised compositions with fluidity and emotion for a special spiritual Chinese CD featuring a number of Beijing artists. It was inspiring and moving to capture live.
We also had the privilege of recording Phil Morrison and Keith Williams, two extremely accomplished American jazz musicians who are fusing jazz with traditional Chinese instruments, such as the Erhu, and are taking advantage of a new emerging jazz scene in Beijing and Shanghai. Their song was one of 30 selected for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

In addition, we had the pleasure of being able to record Chinese superstar singer and Erhu player, Cheng Lin, who was recently honored with a lifetime achievement award for some of the most memorable Chinese songs of all time.

It was great to work with such a seasoned professional and a genuinely kind and humble person, considering she has sold over 23 million albums in China! She is also a victim of the changes in the music industry. Especially in China, things are challenging, even for those who are well-known. We have been discussing how Pro Soul can help her, and she is excited about it.

One of Lin’s dear friends, Lily, is another talented vocalist on the project. Lily will be singing several of the songs from Elika’s most recent album, Fire and Gold, in Chinese.

In between sessions with these artists, we were working on new material with Elika for an instrumental album and a new progressive original pop album that I am very excited about. We were also putting the finishing touches on her latest album, Birds of Love, a special book and EP album on the theme of Love and Marriage. The package will be an elaborate fabric-covered book of quotes with CD inside, which would typically be far too expensive to produce, but we met with a fantastic product designer in Beijing that can design our product very beautifully at a fraction of what a simple CD jewel case and booklet would cost in North America – another great resource for Pro Soul artists!

While in China, I talked with other artists, some of which were originally from North America but had moved to booming Beijing to escape the instability of the economy. China represents over 60% of the world market for music, so I will undoubtedly be working with more artists in China and spreading the Pro Soul philosophy and assistance to artists in Asia next year.

- Jarome

The multi-talented international artist, Elika Mahony, is a vocalist, composer, pianist, and artist. Her beautiful music is a reflection of the diverse cultures to which she was exposed while growing up in various countries, including the US, Kenya, and Israel. She currently resides in China.

Elika’s music draws upon classical Western structures but incorporates instrumentation and styles from Iran to Ireland and China to Spain. The result is a unique musical experience that is distributed independently in over 23 countries and has captivated her fans from around the world.

Elika’s current spiritually inspired album, “Fire and Gold”, blends eastern and western musical styles and features a number of languages including English, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese. Click here to buy her CD now.

Elika is currently working on several projects to be released shortly. You can learn more about Elika and hear her music, as well as download free songs and videos, on her official website. You can also become a member of the Elika Mahony group on Facebook.

Elika has been a Pro Soul artist for some time now. As our inaugural artist, she tested new techniques and pioneered ideas for the benefit of future Pro Soul artists. This has proved successful in developing a growing audience for her unique music.

The Pro Soul team looks forward to continuing to assist Elika engage and expand her audience and ultimately share her gorgeous music with the world.

Indie labels are often expected to specialize in one genre of music. We hear, “Cool, a record label? What kind of music do you do?”

That’s an easy one.

We do good music. We do music that is creative, interesting – and that speaks to people, regardless of how it’s made. We encourage pushing musical boundaries. We don’t shy away from music that doesn’t fit into one particular genre. That’s why we represent artists from across the musical spectrum, from hip hop and house to rock and spiritual-pop.

Remember: major labels spoon-feed consumers the most profitable “trends”. They tell us what to enjoy because this moves money from fans and deposits it securely into the increasingly-shallow pockets of the corporation. (Notice how the artist is bypassed in this transaction.)  Pro Soul doesn’t play by those rules.

With music so easily accessible to fans today, we believe there’s room in the industry for artists of every genre – even if the clerks at the few remaining CD stores can’t figure out where to file your album. Just because the juggernaut that is the major labels dictates something, doesn’t mean that it’s the only thing. There’s a lot of great music out there that never makes it to people who would appreciate and enjoy it, simply because it’s not easy for artists to do it all themselves.  

Pro Soul has a finger on the pulse of what fans want from artists, so we know how to help artists connect meaningfully with their audience.

Trends may come and go, but good music is enduring. And since we plan to be around for a while, we’ll take the latter.

Surprise – we don’t recommend that you sign with a major label.

Our rationale is simple: traditional labels are drastically cutting staff and costs – their own costs, unfortunately; not the price you pay – which means that you won’t get the representation you want, expect, and deserve.

Contrary to what the majors are saying, they can’t afford to sign artists that are not already successful and have established a large fan base. There’s just too much risk in these uncertain times.

That said, we know that artists are still chasing the supposed holy grail. The industry is evolving in fresh and exciting ways, but this may be frightening to those set in the old school of thought. So we’d be foolish not to expect that it will take time for some artists to get up to speed on these changes.

If you’re still looking for a major contract – big cash advance, instant international fame and all – you need to prove yourself in the industry first – without major label help. Pro Soul can work with you to do that without tying you down to contracts that lock in the rights to your music and prevent negotiations with other labels in the future.

And once you’ve been with us for a while, you just might realize that you’ve already got more than you were ever looking for…

It’s always interesting for the team here at Pro Soul to respond to the request, “So tell me about Pro Soul”.

We get that question a lot, understandably. People are always curious about music and the industry – because music is so important in life. We’ve never come across anyone who denies enjoying music! So after hearing that question several hundred times, you’d think it would be easy enough to answer it; we could just describe ourselves as a record label. But it’s hardly that simple because, in truth, we function very differently from what people perceive of a traditional record label.

Unlike the big guys, we treat artists fairly. We like to think of ourselves as a champion of artists (now doesn’t that have a nice ring to it!). We don’t take any of the rights to artists’ music or a cut of any of their future profits. What they earn is theirs to keep. We simply get paid for the services we provide – and nothing more. We also don’t need to own copyrights to the music, so unlike major record labels, we won’t have control over the recordings! Artists will, as they should. It sounds so basic, but it’s simply not customary in the industry.

We’re artist-focused because, besides being experienced professionals, we’re artists ourselves.  We come from a community of artists, and we’ve experienced and therefore understand your struggles and triumphs.  We know how important it is for you to know that their your interests are in mind when decisions about your career are made.  And that’s why we’ve got your back – especially when few others in the industry do.

Artists seeking major label deals should watch out for the fine print; “recoupable expenses” are not your friend. These traditional labels aren’t interested in you because they like you; they’re interested because you’re money to them. They won’t take that risk with you unless it’s going to pay back – out of your pocket, of course.

In a world of 360 deals that have music companies taking a cut of any and all profits an artist earns, we’re providing some fresh thinking that not only moves in the direction the industry is naturally going but also ensures that Pro Soul will be there for artists for a long time to come, when you need us most. We’re confident that our way of doing things is the right way for everyone involved – it’s revolutionary, we know, but we’re happy to put ourselves out there and take that chance for the sake of artists.

Telling you all about Pro Soul is even more complicated because our business model is such that we are constantly evolving to meet changes in the industry. So ask us again tomorrow, and you’ll likely hear something new and exciting!