Jun 25, 2020

Label Spotlight: Yellow Island Records

Yellow Island Records is a Brazilian record label who we've followed right from the start. Inspired by the creative and chaotic environment of their environment Felipe Bortoloti, better known as Nørus and Flávio Albino, aka Albin, founded the platform in 2018 as a way to connect artists from different parts of the World. We spoke to them about the journey they've been on so far and what's ahead.

Hey guys, thanks so much for talking to us. We wanted to start by asking what Yellow Island Recordings is?

Hey! first of all thank you very much for having us. We like to say that Yellow Island is a platform to connect artists around the World. The label was founded in 2018 and since then we, Albin and Nørus, have been running it. Last year we invited the super talented Lexi Andre, aka Etari, to join the team as an artist and to host our monthly show "State of Mind" on Internet Public Radio.

What are both of your backgrounds in music before Yellow Island?

Albin: In my family I have always had music standing out at various times during my growth. musician since childhood, a drummer, I studied music for some good years in my teens... until I met with electronic music, and since then it has been 11 years of DJing. I've been contributing to the scene since 2013, actively participating and playing in some collectives that are very important in Brazil, such as “MASTER p la n o”, “101Ø”, Arruaça and Goma Rec. Producing and researching a lot, always looking for new styles and ways that people apply the instruments they like in electronic music, I always had the desire to have a record label, to be able to curate, meet and connect people through music, dance, vibration.

Nørus: I started in music world when i was a teenager, being the drummer and helping to produce my friend's band. When i was 18 years old, ten long years ago, i remember to listen to a Gui Boratto's song and get amazed by that. That was my door to electronic music. Since it happened, i started to learn more about DAWs and how to be an Electronic Music Producer, DJ and Audio Engineer. I've met Albin in 2017 and felt that was the right time to become a label manager, and learn more about it too.

How has lockdown been for you guys and how has it affected the label?

Albin: Many are using the period to learn and teach through online media. I also see many professionals looking to show their work behind livestream, something that had been growing before the pandemic. I can say that, a very difficult moment for us here in Brazil, but as difficult as the moment may be, we are fortunate to live in an age in which it is possible to connect people through the virtual environment, unimaginable in other moments in history .

Nørus: We were in Europe when everything began, doing a tour and having a great time.

We needed to change our plans and come back to Brazil. For me was very hard in the beginning, but I've learned to live one day at time. I've been using my time to study and make music, and to learn more about myself. Talking about the label, we needed to cancel our events and focus only to looking for new artists and releases. We lost some plans, but in the other hand all this situation is forcing us to learn more about the scene and find a new way to do our job.

How would you describe the sound of the label, what is it you look for when signing an artist?

It's very hard to answer this question because we don't look for a specific genre or style. We like to feel the song before release it, find something there that really touch us.

You recently had Kessler feature on the label, how did you first find out about his music and what has the reaction been since releasing it?

We met him at Operator Radio in Rotterdam. He played right after us, so we've talked to him there.

He's such a nice guy, an extremely talented artist and we didn't think twice to invite him to release on Yellow Island. His EP, called "Pandemonium", was very well received. People are getting amazed because it's an awesome EP.

What advice would you give to anyone thinking of starting their own label?

We believe that the best advice someone can give to another is study. Study a lot about what do you want to do. Work hard and don't give up.