Evil Distribution
It's not often you see an interview with a record label/distributor in Metal fanzines, however the Latvian label Evil Distribution had caught my attention with the quality of it's first few releases. Evil Distro seemed to have connections with the legendary Beverina Productions which also made it worth investigating. Therefore I sent some questions off to the affable Mr. Janis Akmentins which you can read below...
Arcana noctis: Greetings Janis, please introduce Evil Distribution and inform the readers what you have published thus far...
Janis: Hey, Jamie! Evil Distro is a small underground label and webshop from Latvia, so far we have released one full length pro-done CD (Dark Domination - "Rebellion 666") and few demos – pro-done CD-Rs (Ekove Efrits and Tor) and there is few CDs thought to be out in fall, but nothing concrete is scheduled yet, so I won't spread a word about that.
Arcana Noctis: There are countless underground labels already in existence, what made you decide to start a Metal label?
Janis: Actually it's a funny story, but in a few words: When I grew tired of all these trendy Metal bands available in every music shop and being easy to download, I started to look for some real underground stuff and after some time of buying it, I realized that it takes less money if I purchase it at wholesale prices and leftovers sell to other metalheads in Latvia... After some time Mr. Juris Silders (Beverina owner) joined in with his overstock items and 10 years experience in Metal underground (which really helped me out with all know-how things), cause he didn't want to bother himself with distribution anymore, but after short time he got back on right way and together we worked out Evil Distro's website as you can see it now! At start it was planned like there will be only webshop, but I just couldn't buy all underground stuff available so we decided to put out our first CD to make some trades.
Arcana Noctis: Your first release under Evil Distro was a pro-CD from premier Latvian Black Metallers Dark Domination. Professional CDs are costly and often have to be printed in large quantities, how easy was it to create a professional CD as a debut release on the label and did you have any difficulties getting things off the ground?
Janis: With "any difficulties" I suppose you mean were there any financial problems, I would say yes and no! Sure I had to tighten my belt and put aside some extra money to pay for it, but CD printing and cover printing we managed pretty easy, thanks to some friends who helped us out to find right typography and Juris wife who lend a hand with CD printing in Lithuania. It was 1000 copies print run, as for the most part of underground releases.
Arcana Noctis: Evil Distro is connected to the (to me) legendary Beverina Productions. It says on your website the Silverthread/Cartagra split CD-R is final release on Beverina, but you inform me that Beverina will be alive again! Please elaborate on this!
Janis: Lets say that Evil Distro is not only me, but as I already mentioned Mr. Juris Silders takes a part in it too. At start he wanted just to give me all his overstock items for sale because he had to "close" Beverina Productions and distribution regarding to some circumstances and as he declared, he was tired from all these underground activities and had really big scepticism about making new label or carry on Beverina Productions, so S/C split was released just to finish it, but... after one year of running Evil Distro we decided to reanimate this legendary name with STN-09 CDr release (already printing) and Elisabetha CD release in September 1st!!
Arcana Noctis: The second release on Evil Distribution is the Iranian act Ekove Efrits. Iran and Asia in general is not really known for Metal music, so how did you encounter a band from such an exotic location?
Janis: Actually this guy who call himself Count de Efrits found us... one day I received e-mail with offer to release his demo, decision took about 5 minutes and we brought to you pro-done CDr with Black Metal sounds from Iran. Speaking about references, this release is pretty popular (as popular underground releases can be) in U.K., we've sent about 30 copies to Supernal Music and first 20 were sold out in one month or something!
Arcana Noctis: Both the Tor release and the Silverthread/Cartagra split CD had very interesting packaging, especially considering they are on CD-R format. Is this an important aspect of music production for you?
Janis: Hmmm, as a small label releasing CD-Rs as well as CDs we cannot afford to make lousy design or packaging for our products, I think that all "true and evil" xeroxed covers must rest in pieces.
Arcana Noctis: What do you think about all the poor quality, homemade CD-Rs flooding the market at the moment? Do you think it puts people off buying music on CD-R format?
Janis: I think that this is keeping people off buying CD-Rs, for example if you would receive 2 or 3 low-fi CD-Rs with scratches and unreadable cover, will you order some more? We usually rewrite these CD-Rs with labels of "Verbatim", "Fuji" or other shit on it to black CD-Rs, just to make sure its top quality. My opinion is: if you make home made demo(n) record then spread it for free or charge people only for postage!!
Arcana Noctis: I assume you don't run Evil Distro as a means of living, so how do you balance running the label on top of the demands of a regular job?
Janis: Yes you are right, its not a "bread job" and I doubt it ever will be, what I do for living is land surveying and Juris is working in municipality of Riga, we donate our spare time to manage label and distro things, mostly in evenings and weekends, maybe it's put on the brakes to fast development, but at the moment I don't see any other opportunity to improve!
Arcana Noctis: You state on the website you are looking for bands that play dark and extreme music. Many labels have a very specific niche, so would you consider releasing other forms of music, like Death/Thrash Metal or maybe even progressive Metal?
Janis: If its really good why not, I can say for sure that Evil Distro will never release Speed or Hair Metal, but Death/Thrash/Grind are possible to be, some time ago I seriously thought about releasing Death/Grind band to make some variety in our catalogue, but time will come and we'll see... Only thing that still kept us from not a Black Metal release is the obstacle that we must start all from zero, look for partner labels to trade it etc.
Arcana Noctis: In my opinion, the Baltic Metal scene is one of the best in the world when it comes to diversity and quality of the bands. Why is this? What makes Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia produce so many killer Metal records when the U.K. scene for example has so little to show at the moment?
Janis: To be honest, sitting here in Latvia and thinking about our Metal scene I always come to conclusion that we are in the deep shithole, comparing to Russia, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany. Can you name these top quality Metal bands from Latvia excluding Sky Forger, Neglected Fields, Sanctimony, Urskumug and Dark Domination?
Arcana Noctis: That's not a bad line-up considering Latvia has such a small population!!!
Janis: There are really few Latvian bands, but Estonia and Lithuania is one step in front of us, there is different attitude of making music. Maybe the small numbers of bands here make them work really hard on their records... The fact that you cant get a large record sales here or a tight touring schedule also makes the bands break out from local scene!!!
Arcana Noctis: How has the Metal media reacted to Evil Distro's releases? Have you had any particularly favourable reviews and do you make much of an effort to send promos out to the lazy freeloading press? ;)
Janis: The only release we have promoted in unlimited quantities is Dark Domination CD, and reaction was love it or hate it... some of webzines or magazines wrote reviews after 6 months or never wrote it at all, so I'm kind of disappointed in this kind of promotion. Now I send the demo releases only to people who really want to review it and I must admit that the very few reviews about Ekove Efrits demo are good. Only one lady from Sheol magazine refused to review the demo, she was afraid of terrorist attack, ha,ha!!
Arcana Noctis: Unbelievable!! What does the future hold for Evil Distribution? Do you intend to stay a small label releasing CD-Rs or have you bigger plans for the label?
Janis: About future plans: We will focus more on pro CD releases of our own and will do co-releases with our partner label form Russia, Haarbn Productions, actually the first co-release Der Henker is on its way to Latvia already, but if there will be some good demo material we'll make some exclusive CD-R stuff as well.
Also we have an idea to make at last a vinyl release...
About growing bigger: It would be nice of course, but it all depends on financial situation and record sales, if there will be a reason to bring Evil Distro to higher level we'll do that for sure!
Arcana Noctis: Thanks for taking time out to talk to me. Now's your last chance to make a sales pitch to the readers of Arcana Noctis...
Janis: Thanks to you, Jamie, for thinking out all those questions and supporting our small underground label!!
Hmm, sales pitch, here you go: Evil Distro is a place for all those people who are into Black/Pagan Metal from ex-U.S.S.R. countries and Baltic states, we have lot of "hard to find" stuff and all latest releases from Russia are guaranteed, you wont find there any trendy stuff what you can get in every music store!!
P.S. Was it good enough? :)
Arcana Noctis: I think that should do it ;)
Why don't you check out Evil Distribution's releases for yourself on the link below?
Arcana noctis: Greetings Janis, please introduce Evil Distribution and inform the readers what you have published thus far...
Janis: Hey, Jamie! Evil Distro is a small underground label and webshop from Latvia, so far we have released one full length pro-done CD (Dark Domination - "Rebellion 666") and few demos – pro-done CD-Rs (Ekove Efrits and Tor) and there is few CDs thought to be out in fall, but nothing concrete is scheduled yet, so I won't spread a word about that.Arcana Noctis: There are countless underground labels already in existence, what made you decide to start a Metal label?
Janis: Actually it's a funny story, but in a few words: When I grew tired of all these trendy Metal bands available in every music shop and being easy to download, I started to look for some real underground stuff and after some time of buying it, I realized that it takes less money if I purchase it at wholesale prices and leftovers sell to other metalheads in Latvia... After some time Mr. Juris Silders (Beverina owner) joined in with his overstock items and 10 years experience in Metal underground (which really helped me out with all know-how things), cause he didn't want to bother himself with distribution anymore, but after short time he got back on right way and together we worked out Evil Distro's website as you can see it now! At start it was planned like there will be only webshop, but I just couldn't buy all underground stuff available so we decided to put out our first CD to make some trades.
Arcana Noctis: Your first release under Evil Distro was a pro-CD from premier Latvian Black Metallers Dark Domination. Professional CDs are costly and often have to be printed in large quantities, how easy was it to create a professional CD as a debut release on the label and did you have any difficulties getting things off the ground?
Janis: With "any difficulties" I suppose you mean were there any financial problems, I would say yes and no! Sure I had to tighten my belt and put aside some extra money to pay for it, but CD printing and cover printing we managed pretty easy, thanks to some friends who helped us out to find right typography and Juris wife who lend a hand with CD printing in Lithuania. It was 1000 copies print run, as for the most part of underground releases.
Arcana Noctis: Evil Distro is connected to the (to me) legendary Beverina Productions. It says on your website the Silverthread/Cartagra split CD-R is final release on Beverina, but you inform me that Beverina will be alive again! Please elaborate on this!
Janis: Lets say that Evil Distro is not only me, but as I already mentioned Mr. Juris Silders takes a part in it too. At start he wanted just to give me all his overstock items for sale because he had to "close" Beverina Productions and distribution regarding to some circumstances and as he declared, he was tired from all these underground activities and had really big scepticism about making new label or carry on Beverina Productions, so S/C split was released just to finish it, but... after one year of running Evil Distro we decided to reanimate this legendary name with STN-09 CDr release (already printing) and Elisabetha CD release in September 1st!!
Arcana Noctis: The second release on Evil Distribution is the Iranian act Ekove Efrits. Iran and Asia in general is not really known for Metal music, so how did you encounter a band from such an exotic location?
Janis: Actually this guy who call himself Count de Efrits found us... one day I received e-mail with offer to release his demo, decision took about 5 minutes and we brought to you pro-done CDr with Black Metal sounds from Iran. Speaking about references, this release is pretty popular (as popular underground releases can be) in U.K., we've sent about 30 copies to Supernal Music and first 20 were sold out in one month or something!
Arcana Noctis: Both the Tor release and the Silverthread/Cartagra split CD had very interesting packaging, especially considering they are on CD-R format. Is this an important aspect of music production for you?
Janis: Hmmm, as a small label releasing CD-Rs as well as CDs we cannot afford to make lousy design or packaging for our products, I think that all "true and evil" xeroxed covers must rest in pieces.
Arcana Noctis: What do you think about all the poor quality, homemade CD-Rs flooding the market at the moment? Do you think it puts people off buying music on CD-R format?
Janis: I think that this is keeping people off buying CD-Rs, for example if you would receive 2 or 3 low-fi CD-Rs with scratches and unreadable cover, will you order some more? We usually rewrite these CD-Rs with labels of "Verbatim", "Fuji" or other shit on it to black CD-Rs, just to make sure its top quality. My opinion is: if you make home made demo(n) record then spread it for free or charge people only for postage!!
Arcana Noctis: I assume you don't run Evil Distro as a means of living, so how do you balance running the label on top of the demands of a regular job?
Janis: Yes you are right, its not a "bread job" and I doubt it ever will be, what I do for living is land surveying and Juris is working in municipality of Riga, we donate our spare time to manage label and distro things, mostly in evenings and weekends, maybe it's put on the brakes to fast development, but at the moment I don't see any other opportunity to improve!
Arcana Noctis: You state on the website you are looking for bands that play dark and extreme music. Many labels have a very specific niche, so would you consider releasing other forms of music, like Death/Thrash Metal or maybe even progressive Metal?
Janis: If its really good why not, I can say for sure that Evil Distro will never release Speed or Hair Metal, but Death/Thrash/Grind are possible to be, some time ago I seriously thought about releasing Death/Grind band to make some variety in our catalogue, but time will come and we'll see... Only thing that still kept us from not a Black Metal release is the obstacle that we must start all from zero, look for partner labels to trade it etc.
Arcana Noctis: In my opinion, the Baltic Metal scene is one of the best in the world when it comes to diversity and quality of the bands. Why is this? What makes Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia produce so many killer Metal records when the U.K. scene for example has so little to show at the moment?
Janis: To be honest, sitting here in Latvia and thinking about our Metal scene I always come to conclusion that we are in the deep shithole, comparing to Russia, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany. Can you name these top quality Metal bands from Latvia excluding Sky Forger, Neglected Fields, Sanctimony, Urskumug and Dark Domination?
Arcana Noctis: That's not a bad line-up considering Latvia has such a small population!!!
Janis: There are really few Latvian bands, but Estonia and Lithuania is one step in front of us, there is different attitude of making music. Maybe the small numbers of bands here make them work really hard on their records... The fact that you cant get a large record sales here or a tight touring schedule also makes the bands break out from local scene!!!
Arcana Noctis: How has the Metal media reacted to Evil Distro's releases? Have you had any particularly favourable reviews and do you make much of an effort to send promos out to the lazy freeloading press? ;)
Janis: The only release we have promoted in unlimited quantities is Dark Domination CD, and reaction was love it or hate it... some of webzines or magazines wrote reviews after 6 months or never wrote it at all, so I'm kind of disappointed in this kind of promotion. Now I send the demo releases only to people who really want to review it and I must admit that the very few reviews about Ekove Efrits demo are good. Only one lady from Sheol magazine refused to review the demo, she was afraid of terrorist attack, ha,ha!!
Arcana Noctis: Unbelievable!! What does the future hold for Evil Distribution? Do you intend to stay a small label releasing CD-Rs or have you bigger plans for the label?
Janis: About future plans: We will focus more on pro CD releases of our own and will do co-releases with our partner label form Russia, Haarbn Productions, actually the first co-release Der Henker is on its way to Latvia already, but if there will be some good demo material we'll make some exclusive CD-R stuff as well.
Also we have an idea to make at last a vinyl release...
About growing bigger: It would be nice of course, but it all depends on financial situation and record sales, if there will be a reason to bring Evil Distro to higher level we'll do that for sure!
Arcana Noctis: Thanks for taking time out to talk to me. Now's your last chance to make a sales pitch to the readers of Arcana Noctis...
Janis: Thanks to you, Jamie, for thinking out all those questions and supporting our small underground label!!
Hmm, sales pitch, here you go: Evil Distro is a place for all those people who are into Black/Pagan Metal from ex-U.S.S.R. countries and Baltic states, we have lot of "hard to find" stuff and all latest releases from Russia are guaranteed, you wont find there any trendy stuff what you can get in every music store!!
P.S. Was it good enough? :)
Arcana Noctis: I think that should do it ;)
Why don't you check out Evil Distribution's releases for yourself on the link below?