Miscellaneous - Interview

  by John Clarkson

published: 15 / 8 / 2004

intro

Despite only running for only three years, and having to date released just five 7" singles and four albums,Tongue Maste has already worked with some of the best known names in independent music. Owner Theodore Vlassopulos chats to John Clarkson

For a small label that has been up and running for only three years, and which to date has only released five 7" singles and four albums, the London-based label Tongue Master has come far, and has already achieved what many other larger and more longer-serving labels might only dream of. Its roster includes a covers album of his own songs by the American Music Club frontman and solo artist Mark Eitzel ; the debut single by the Vanity Set, the side project of Bad Seeds drummer James Sclavunos, and Greek musician Sigmatropic's remarkable 'Sixteen Haiku and Other Stories', a tribute to the Nobel prize-winning poet George Seferis, which features, among many other guest appearances, contributions from Robert Wyatt, Howe Gelb, Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo, Steve Wynn and the Walkabouts' Carla Torgerson. Tongue Master's latest release is 'Songbirds Lie' the long-awaited fourth album from the much-acclaimed New York avant-garde rock group, the Scene is Now. It will be releasing early next year 'Hold Fast, Pioneer', the third album from brooding Mancurian alternative rockers (and subjects of a previous Pennyblackmusic interview-Ed)Last Harbour. Pennyblackmusic spoke to Tongue Master's proprieter, former Greek concert promoter and tour manager Theodore Vlassopulos about his label. PB : Tongue Master is an intriguing name. Why did you decide to call your label that, and why did you want to start a record label ? TV : Tongue Master was a nickname and on-going joke I had when I was exchanging friendly banters with a prominent UK band in the mid-90's. When I decided to name my label Tongue Master, I took into consideration my love of melancholic singer songwriters who obviously are 'Masters Of The Tongue'. Other musicians coaxed and encouraged me to channel my love of music into something more tangible. I started the label with the intention of doing only limited edition vinyl singles. PB : Your first release back in 2001 was a split single, which featured the Vanity Set, the side project of the Bad Seeds James Sclavunos, and singer-songwriter Sally Norvell. Why did you decide to put that out as a first release ? TV : James Sclavunos is a good friend and an artist I admire. Before I started my label I had previously assisted in finding him a record deal for his project the Vanity Set. His debut album was released on Hitch Hyke - a Greek label I had associations with. In the samespirit of further assisting Sclavunos and the Vanity Set, I had no hesitation to promote his work by having him on my first ever release. New York singer Sally Norvell on the split single was also exciting for me to have, as I believed she is criminally overlooked here in Europe. It was an ideal beginning. PB : You have since then gone on to release records and albums in a whole variety of different genres. It would be impossible to pin Tongue Master down to any particular style or format of music. What are you looking for when you sign an act? TV : It is hard to explain what kind of sound or plan I have for Tongue Master. As a label I do not want to release albums that all sound the same and are of similar genre. Quirky, unusual projects appeal to me and I am certain that there are people out there looking for something different. Albums should not always be straightforward and should have a twisted charm. I feel that in the current music climate many UK independent labels are being very cautious and believe that the ultimate yardstick for great music lies in the " approval " from certain UK music periodicals. As a label I look for artists that are genuine in what they want and that are willing to deviate a little from the usual customary paths. PB : Your first album came out in February of 2003, and was a Mark Eitzel solo album, 'The Ugly American'. As you say in its sleevenotes on your website, "you can't get any better album for a new label like ours". That was quite a coup putting that out. How did you manage to pull that off ? TV : After a few drinks one night I suggested to Eitzel that he should visit Greece and record an EP with some of his past material. I believed it would be an interesting idea to re-record some songs with traditional Greek instruments - Rembetiko style. It was suggested to him in jest, but with the intention of doing something that would be different and a low-key affair. Eitzel found this very interesting and we eventually got his manager's his then regular label Matador's approval. In November of 2001, we flew down to Athens for a month to rehearse and record. I am well networked with the Greek music industry and the label I knew could do the job was Hitch Hyke - they arranged the rest. They approached the rising star, producer and musician Manolis Famellos who - thankfully - was a major Mark Eitzel fan. Famellos was clever enough to veto my original idea to re-record some American Music Club and Eitzel material in Rembetiko style. Rembetiko is a style of bouzouki music that emerged in the late 1920's & 1930's which involves heavy bluesy Tom Waits style vocals. Famellos believed we could endanger Eitzel's past material if we adopted this heavy style. His masterstroke was to engage the material in gentler and with folkier Greek instrumentation. When Eitzel started rehearsing with the musicians and their traditional Greek instrumentation, he was so impressed with the musicians and the overall professional vibe, that he immediately asked for the idea of an EP to be scrapped and for a whole album to recorded. His manager and then Matador sent us their blessing. Thus 'The Ugly American' was born. PB : Another interesting release was Sigmatropic's '16 Haiku and Other Stories'.. How did you become involved with that? TV : My association with the Greek label Hitch-Hyke over the recording of Mark Eitzel's 'The Ugly American' linked me up with their label roster. Hitch Hyke gave me a release of theirs 'Sixteen Haiku & Other Stories' from an outfit called Sigmatropic. This recording was in Greek and was destined for a local release. Akis Boyatzis was this multi-talented musician under the moniker 'Sigmatropic' and he had created this truly exquisite sprawl of music. It was like a beautiful Mediterranean style " folk-tronica " - in a way it sounded like a soundtrack. Hitch-Hyke wanted this album to be eventually released again as an International version, with all the poetry of all 21 tracks to be translated and sung in English and with the same music. They had already approached Carla Torgerson and Steve Wynn and were targeting the English version around them. Impressed with the beauty of this album, I took control and with great zest and embarked on a vocal curating spree that spanned both sides of the Atlantic. We agreed to have more guests and eventually ended up with 18 amazing vocalists. The artists were approached with the simple suggestion: they had to choose their favourite track/poem and record their vocal in English. This was not an easy task as some artists were so impressed with the music and the poetry, that they exceeded our expectations and recorded vocals for more than 5 tracks! We therefore had a nightmarish, but beautiful problem in our hands, of an overwhelming array of vocal takes to choose from for the final mix. We cast our net out to many artists we thought their vocals would suit this style of music and the response was phenomenal. The Sigmatropic album could have had an even more impressive names roster if it wasn't for certain artists' respective workload and recording commitments. The album was in danger of getting out of control and some eyebrows were being raised within the music industry. To the casual observer the final album line up looks like a " various artists " or a compilation - never before had so many vocalists participated under one musical score. Chemical Brothers and Death In Vegas are bands that make music and invite some vocalists to sing and participate but I guess we took this a step further. PB : Both those two albums obviously have strong Greek connections. 'The Ugly American'. Was the Greek connection entirely coincidental? TV : Although I live in London, I have been fortunate to have lengthy association with the Greek music industry. In the late 90's I assisted the top Greek concert promoter and would find myself flying into Athens and looking after some great UK and American bands whilst they gigged in the country. This association extended to the big summer rock festival that took place in Athens - the Rockwave. These experiences enabled me to become very networked with both UK and Greek music industries. For a while I was a London correspondent for a local music magazine Fractal. When I offered the Vanity Set's debut album to Athens label Hitch-Hyke, I started a different type of association with the Greek scene. Hitch-Hyke were extremely generous to offer me Eitzel's 'The Ugly American' as a Tongue Master UK release and our fruitful collaboration was obviously extended after the lengthy work we all did for the International Sigmatropic release. PB : Tongue Master has now out five 7" singles and four albums Until the beginning of 2003 and the Mark Eitzel release Tongue Master concentrated largely on releasing singles, but since then concentrated largely on releasing albums. Is that the way you intend to go with the label in future ? TV : I love vinyl singles and expect to release a couple more. It is becoming increasingly difficult to sell vinyl singles, and there are hardly any financial gains, so I will contemplate this matter further over the next months. Obviously labels love to settle with the album format, but I will try and keep vinyl alive if the response is still there. PB : The latest release is by the legendary, but mysterious NYC group The Scene is Now. How did you first become involved with them? What was that appealed to you about their music so much that you wanted to put out an album? TV : I have always loved The Scene Is Now and always thought their sound would be ideal for Tongue Master. I had heard of them when I lived in America and was baffled why their mysterious appeal had not crossed the pond. I like Avant-Garde rock oriented acts and The Scene Is Now had a warped and twisted charm that reminded me of Pere Ubu. Their album 'The Oily Years' was a favourite with the Bohemian crowd of Greenwich Village New York. Apart from them being a very tight band, singer Chris Nelson's heavy voice is hard to ignore, and I was intrigued with their bookish ' intellectual ' angle. Many US reviews always label them as " Sophisto Pop ". Sophisticated they may be,but any band that has songs titles like 'Sartre's Acid Trip', 'Voltaire's Repair To The Organ' and 'Dionysus Approaching Thebes' is bound to win points with me! They were hard to track down and work in very mysterious ways,but I am so happy to have persevered with them & have their first ever UK release. PB : Your next release is going to be an album by the Mancurian band Last Harbour? When is that liable to come out? TV : I am very excited to have Last Harbour on our label. Their forthcoming album 'Hold Fast, Pioneer' should be out in February. PB : What other plans do you have for Tongue Master for the future? TV : Apart from Last Harbour, I am in discussion with a rural American band that sound like cross between Low and Mazzy Star. Also on the cards is a split single with this American band and Last Harbour. PB : Thank you

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