From across the coasts of the United States two friends braid their creative energies into this project called Dais Records. Ryan Martin and Gibby Miller put out dark music ranging from industrial to neo-folk in very limited releases. Their records, which are typically numbered, are released and then seem to disappear from availability. It’s nice to have a special object and they make special objects on a regular basis.
Since forming they’ve put out releases by such artists as Twin Stumps, Cult of Youth, Cold Cave, Psychic TV, Awen and a collaboration between Genesis P-Orridge and Tony Conrad. They seem to understand how to make good records in a good way and I think that’s good. I think it’s so good that I wanted to have a good talk with them. I’ll let you decide whether or not I succeeded.
So tell me, why are you guys doing this label?
Gibby: For me, there were far too many records that I knew of that I felt were in danger of falling into obscurity or never being discovered at all. I spent the year prior to forming Dais with Ryan actually writing labels and asking them about re-releases, giving them ideas for records that should be repressed… then it just struck me: we should do it ourselves. Since then, Dais has released several of those unreleased or never before available records – with a few upcoming this year (Annabelle’s Garden and Beastianity) that I am extremely personally excited about.
Almost immediately after creating the label, Ryan and I also contacted several newer bands that fit the Dais aesthetic, that fit our personal taste. Awen, Cult of Youth, Cold Cave, etc… Dais has become a dual-pronged label that specializes in unique and rare re-releases as well as new acts, but most certainly without a specific genre. That said, Ryan and I speak often of a “common thread” that strings them all together. You can definitely “hear” a Dais sound in our releases.
Additionally, on a personal level – Dais is my way of contributing and taking part in the things I love – making things happen with one of my best friends in the world. It has also enabled Ryan and I to work with incredible people that we’ve admired for a long time, and to create objects that we truly want to own ourselves. It’s a great, great thing!
Ryan: I think the primary reason myself and Gibby are doing Dais is to be a part of another aspect of recorded music culture. We have spent most of our lives performing music, being in bands of some shape or form, buying & collecting records and going to see musical acts perform. It seemed having a label to put out records that we felt passionately about seemed the only avenue left to pursue.
What were the first concerts you attended ?
Gibby: My first “real” show I believe was around 1992. I was 14. It was Soul Asylum with the Lemonheads. Around that time I started going to local shows in and around St. Louis, Missouri, which is where I lived at the time. All ages punk and “alternative” shows would go on at several all ages clubs around the county, even at Saints Roller Skating rink. The punk, alternative, and hardcore scene consisted of bands like Fragile Porcelain Mice, Haymarket, The Meat Sisters, Pope Trendy, Sinister Dane, Ultraman, etc etc etc. My favorite band hands down was a local fetish/goth/industrial act called Voice of God. They would often play down by the river at a club on the landing called Mississippi Nights, with a huge stage setup consisting of crucified half naked girls, fire, dead shit, and smoke and lights. They were the Midwest’s answer to Sleep Chamber. I barely missed a show, and me and all my friends would show up dressed like priests and nuns. Good times.
Ryan: I can’t even remember all that well. I remember as a kid being exposed to shitty third-rate 70′s boogie blues rock/prog has-been concerts at the New York State Fair…things like Firefall, ELP, Gentle Giant, Allman Bros. (before the resurgent popularity)…I grew up in a cultural hellhole, so nothing but the worst touring acts came through that place. You’d get stuff like Dokken and Twisted Sister reunion shows in the late 80′s / early 90′s, when that crap was at its most pathetic low. Shortly thereafter I discovered thrash metal and then punk & hardcore soon after. The first show of that ilk that I saw was this half-baked satanic death metal band called Violent Fury in North Syracuse, NY. At the time, I thought that I was witnessing some seriously evil and edgy stuff. Almost 20 years later, I can’t stop laughing thinking about that band, definitely holds a soft spot in my heart.
What’s the most irritating interview question you’ve ever been asked?
Ryan: The most irritating interview question we’ve been asked multiple times is why do we put out vinyl and not go with MP3s or CDs, and then having to explain simple principle and aesthetic to someone who clearly will never get it.
Gibby: There is no Dana. Only Zuul.
What kind of record players do you both have?
Gibby: I’ve got a 1200.
Ryan: I own a Technics 1210.
What do you think about the rise of cassette tape releases?
Gibby: Cassettes have completely disappeared from the retail market but never from the underground. Certainly more labels have begun releasing them – and certainly to some people they might be kitschy and nostalgic, but they have remained a staple tool of artists for years due to their simplicity, affordability, and utility. Everyone needs a shoebox of tapes! I’m stoked that so many people are returning to them. There isn’t much fun or beauty in a CDR or a flashdrive of MP3s, but there is beauty in a reel of tape… the mechanics of it, watching it move. Do you have a tissue? I’m tearing up.
Ryan: In the noise/PE scenes, tapes never went away and have always been a major part of that whole genre’s development. But tapes have now caught on with droney folk, lo-fi garage, and countless other underground sub-cultures, so thankfully people figured out that it is a desirable format. I grew up on tapes (as did everyone else in my generation). I always had cars with only a tape deck, you always would make mix tapes for friends and to play in your car. If you were in a band, the first thing you would put out was a demo cassette to sell at shows. I’m really happy that a format I was soo comfortable and familiar with has fell back into favor. I own hundreds if not thousands of tapes and even have a tape label with a old friend of mine. I really am glad that having a tape out is something that is actually considered to be viable by most underground musicians.
Ryan, You also run a cassette label in addition to Dais, what’s the story there?
Ryan: I do a cassette label called Period Tapes along side painter and experimental musician Louis Caldarola. We release mainly drone, voice and avant-garde recordings on cassette in hand silk-screened covers in limited editions of 46 copies. It’s a more hands-on project that incorporates a lot of collaboration and experimental process.
Awen is one of Dais’ most intriguing bands. Very epic and orchestrated Apocalyptic Folk, something you don’t hear too often from newer band. Tell me a little about them and how you guys first came to discover them?
Ryan: When we first started the label, we were brainstorming ideas of bands we would like to release / approach. Gibby had heard of Awen and sent their music over my way, fell in love with their sound and Erin’s voice straight away.
Gibby: I was told about them, and then read about them in an online forum. So I talked about them with Ryan and we checked out their site, listened to what they were doing, and contacted the band shortly thereafter. Erin and the Awen crew are an amazingly talented outfit. Incredibly kind, as well.
What thoughts, feelings and images does their music create for you?
Ryan: It’s hard from me to separate Erin’s voice from the images of the band. A truly antique sound.
Gibby: If I could watch the memories of my ancient ancestors through some dream, or grainy black and white projected footage, that’s sort of what listening to Awen feels like. The soundtrack to ages long past. Mystical, strengthening, beautiful. To be taken out of oneself through music is a great experience – and one rarely achieved. Awen succeed in this.
What do your parents think of Dais?
Gibby: My folks are amazing and totally support all my endeavors.
Ryan: I don’t think my parents have disapproved of anything I have ever done in my life. They are an amazing set of folks. I would consider them my best friends actually.
Finally, what plans do you have for the future of the label?
Gibby: To continue doing what we have been: digging up musical artifacts and releasing them, finding new and exciting bands that inspire us, working with people we admire – and learning in the process. What’s important for us and the future of the label is to stay true to our tastes. We’ve never made a decision based on hype – and we’ve never worked with an artist that we didn’t both love. There’s a lot of stuff coming up that will be unexpected to the listener who has been following us since the beginning – and that’s the way we’d like to keep it. Never genre-specific, hopefully surprising, but with that common thread and sound that brings it all together.
Ryan: Right now I think mine and Gibby’s main focus is building the catalog, we have over 20+ new releases set up in the pipeline. We really would like to see the label become a more valuable and intellectual resource of recordings pertaining to underground culture and maintaining a carefully curated aesthetic. We try to set Dais apart from what everyone else is doing and what is fashionable, to try to keep maintaining the label’s self-worth on its own merits without the influence of modern trends and blinking fads. I am really happy with the response Dais has received and the people we have come to know because of it, and look forward to meeting more incredible people and issuing more releases for the future listener.
