Sentient Ruin is a cool indie label based out in California and I thought it would be fun to interview the label owner and send him some questions to answer:
So where were you born and where did you grow up? What sort of kid were you growing up and what did you want to be when growing up?
SR: Born and raised in Europe, living/working in Oakland CA since the age of 30. I grew up in the wilderness in a multicultural household. From an early age through various family members I was exposed to japanese anime and manga, american and british rock music, art and history from my homeland, and an environmentalist/progressive ideas.
When did you start to listen to metal music? What were some of the 1st bands you heard? Do you still like any of those bands even today?
SR: The first rock bands I was exposed to in my pre-teens years were bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Pink Floyd and Alice In Chains. The “hard” rock and metal bands I was exposed to in my early teens were bands like Faith No More, Helmet, Sepultura, Slayer, Celtic Frost and Dead Kennedys. The first extreme metal bands I began to follow around 1998 were mainly Earache bands like Napalm Death, Carcass, and Godflesh, but also stuff like Obituary, Today Is the Day, Neurosis, Killing Joke, Voivod, Skinny Puppy etc. Later I also go into more industrial and esoteric stuff, noise, dark ambient etc.
When did you discover underground music? What were some of the 1st bands you heard? Did you get into it right away or did it take a few listens to get into it?
SR: It took a while also due to lack of internet and mainly via tape trading and later CD-Rs, thumb drives with friends etc. The first real underground stuff I got into were bands from labels like Crucial Blast, Aurora Borealis, Osmose, Cold Meat Industry, Youth Attack, Amphetamine Reptile, Drakkar, etc.
Did you ever pick up an instrument or ever join any bands? Did you ever want too?
SR: Yes, I’ve played in various bands over the last 3 decades and also done a bunch of touring as well.
What were some early shows you saw when you were say a teenager?
SR: Smashing Pumpkins, TOOL, Killing Joke, Slayer, Sepultura, Sick of it All, Voivod, Neurosis, Iron Maiden, are all great shows I remember from my teens.
What are some memories do you have from going out on the road?
SR: The best tours were in continental Europe and Japan, loved the culture and hospitality, as well as the squat and organized DIY culture entwined with city funding and communal spaces. A couple of the best shows were playing with the UK crust band DOOM as well as with Japan’s Coffins and Anatomia.
Now did you have any prior industry type of experience before you decided to start up Sentient Ruin? What made you to decide to start up your own label, which is not a easy thing, even more so these days?
SR: Somewhat. I’d self released some tapes for my band and had done some DIY promo and PR for it, and got some of the basics there. But I am mostly all self-taught, learning from trial and error and being kicked in the balls all the time. Every mistake is, and should be, a lesson learned as they say.
I have been a decades long underground music enthusiast and collector, I have a huge music collection at home that has been built since the late 90s. In buying records etc, I would always observe the packaging and presentations and soon identify the labels which had a closer eye for detail and quality and got inspired by them: Aurora Borealis, Crucial Blast, Cold Meat Industry, Cold Spring, Youth Attack, Hydrahead, Osmose Productions, Drakkar, Earache, etc etc.
Did you seek out a lot of advice before you went full steam ahead with this?
SR: Some advice, but not much, mostly just me and my mistakes and challenges. Just problem solving on my end. I also started out safe and conservatively by just releasing cassettes for the first 2-3 years while I gained experience and knowledge relatively risk-free.
How did you come up with the name of the label and were there any other names thrown around?
SR: The name came to mind as we wanted to convey a message about what the label is all about: chaos. But with a deliberate, and thought-out nature. The name is meant to conjure an abstract form of chaos but which is alive, a self-aware entity, and in full control of its life and destiny. This entity is made of all the bands we release.
So how long did it take you from the actual idea of starting up your label to actually having a release out?
SR: Not long. Back in 2012 I had released a cassette for my band and also a reissue a year later in 2013. Around 2014 then I had a friend’s band who I really liked which had no physical releases aside from their Bandcamp digital one. So I said to him “I really love your album, too bad I can’t own a copy. What do you think if I press some tapes of it, give you some copies and try and sell the others at least like this I can have a copy of my own?”, and that’s just how it all started. 🙂
So then I realized I needed a name on the tape artwork so people knew who released it. And that made me realize I need a logo, so a name, and a contact info, etc, so I created the label like that.
So now once you had one release under your belt so to speak how long until the next one?
SR: Releases are happening all the time, next up are new Diabolic Oath and Aberration albums.
What formats do you release your stuff on and where do you get your stuff pressed at?
SR: CD, tape and LP, they are manufactured at dozens of different places depending on the band and project.
With rising postal costs, is it hard at times to keep prices at a affordable level?
SR: Yes, very hard, these times are anything but easy.
Have you had some releases surprise you as far as sales go in a positive way where sales went way and above what you thought they would be?
SR: Sure, it happens sometimes, but sales infos are no public infos 🙂 Le’ts just say that often totally unknown bands no one knew about are discovered via the label and appreciated as masterpieces and very unique works praised by many.
Now to flip the coin over, have you had many releases not sell to what you thought they would be?
SR: Of course that happens as well. No one can see the future or the job would be just too easy to be real 🙂
Is sending releases overseas a pain in the balls these days or do you license stuff overseas to take care of that problem?
SR: Yes, a huge pain!
If asked, would you go and work for a big undie label or are you happy doing what your doing?
SR: No, I would only work on my own label. I have already worked in the record industry, and to raise kids/family, only corporate manager or A&R jobs with major labels are viable.
Take me through an average work day for you.
SR: Lots of listening to music on blogs, feeds, bookmarks, links, etc. Then lots of shipping, writing press releases, making layouts, social media posting, etc.
Do your knowledge have you ever heard of any of your releases being bootlegged?
SR: Yes, it has happened, but we don’t sign exclusive rights deals with bands, so it usually ends up being a problem more for the band than for us.
Now do you do any trading? If so, you don’t have to name anybody, but were you ripped off by them or has everything been good so far?
SR: We don’t trade, but we’ve had scam attempts, lucky none of them successful.
Now there are a lot of metal fests going on these days in the US. Would you ever conider getting a table at one of them?
SR: I’ve had a table at a couple small fests. For the bigger fests the tables are far too expensive so not worth it in the end.
How many hours would you say you put into the label in any given week?
SR: That’s not public information, but it’s a lot.
Is there any label overseas that carries your stuff?
SR: Yes, Season of Mist.
Has the label slowly, but surely been growing bit by bit since it has been started and how big do you think it can get?
SR: By definition due to the nature of the music we release and the extremity of it, this will remain a small label for just a few freaks. It was meant this way from the beginning and will remain this way. To grow a label you have to release increasingly more commercial music, and there is no plan to do so.
Out of the 3 formats you print stuff in, which sells more CD’s or LP’s?
SR: LP
Please plug any social media sites for the label.
SR: everything is here:
Plans for the label in 2024.
SR: New releases by Hässlig, Diabolic Oath, Obsoletion, Clan Dos Mortos Cicatriz and more we can not disclose. Also maybe something for a 10 year anniversary 😉
Horns up for the interview and any last words and best of luck with the label going forward.
SR: Thank you for your attention. Keep metal, industrial and punk underground, anti-money and anti-commercial and ignorance-free, that is all there is to say.
