Jeremy starts writting his story and getting interested in records labels at the legendary Born Bad, in 2013 Danger Records is founded with the idea of rescuing and releasing the lost sounds of underground legends and also to visibilize bands that were worth hearing back then but never got the chance to shine. Pagans, Plastix, Boris Dzaneck, The Kids, Lucrate Milk just to name a few are some of the bands you can find released by them. We coudn’t miss the chance to talk to Jeremy and hear about this record label from Paris and share it with you on our second Píntalo de Negro issue.
Lee aquí la entrevista en español
By Píntalo de Negro
-Tell us about yourself before Danger Records was founded
I grew up in the suburbs of Paris, I used to organize quite often before shows with an association (with a very ridiculous name, 40 oz. Orgasm) ranging from garage punk, Oi! and hardcore. I studied cinema at university. At this moment, I was a customer of a record store in Paris called Born Bad and I started working there full time in 2010.
-What is the history of Danger Records, how was the label formed?
The label was created behind the walls of the record store. I was talking about the band, Coma (which is the first title of the label) to a friend, Iwan (and also boss of the record store) while being disappointed not to see this weirdo record not yet re-released. Patrick Blain from the band Coma -and later Charles De Goal- lived two streets away from Born Bad. He was my father’s age, but we soon became good friends, and we talked about music regularly. I suggested to him that we should re-release the one and only Coma’s record. After several discussions between Patrick, Iwan and myself, Danger was born in 2013.
-You founded the label with Patrick Blain from Charles de Goal, that gave you experience as musicians but also as collectors. What should a label have to work for both parties, bands and collectors?
To be honest, Patrick gave me some visibility, as did working at Born Bad, I guess. It was easier to approach, contact a late 70s or 80s band, by mentioning Patrick’s name from Charles De Goal. There was more credibility, so to speak, than leaving your record in the hands of a young guy in his 20s. So I played with that, going out and finding bands to re-release.
-Why dedicate your life or part of it to a music label?
I don’t know, I can only say it’s always been more than just listening to music. You start to get interested in labels, graphics, people behind it all. And finally see something political, a kind of antithesis of the standard/mainstream culture, well consumerism…
-What would you say distinguishes French punk from the rest of the music?
I’m much more attracted by the first French punk wave like Guilty Razors, Metal Urbain, Dogs, 84 Flesh, able to make blush the best US KBD-Punk bands
You can also find a lot of Oi!/Punk bands during 80s, like the Chaos in France comps, very representative on the French punk. Following the example of Belgium, France is full of good cold wave bands like Kas Product, Les Provisoires, Memorial Voice (Poison Noir’s label), representative too.
-They have published true underground legends but also current bands. How do you decide what to publish on the label?
We’re trying to maintain a certain aesthetic. The current bands sound most of the time like the bands we re-release, probably with a different look, a different touch.
If I can imagine listening to the record at home, listening a potential record ten times in a row, then I’m like, “ok, let’s do it.”
-Which of the albums released by Danger is the one that has left you the most satisfaction?
Hmm, so difficult. But I’d say Pagans 7 “s reissued, and Plastix too. Pagans because I listened to that band so much when I was a teenager, and Plastix because I discovered that band when I was a student through my best friend Camille -who runs a fanzine (Making Waves)-and we worked together on this record. Rosa Vertov (aka Making Waves) made an edition sold with the Plastix LP.
-Tell us about all those good French punk bands from the late 70’s that didn’t get to be known.
A lot of bands didn’t have the opportunity to sign on a label, didn’t have any real visibility and sometimes just released a tape. This is very often the case with the bands that are on our compilation La France a peur! Then there are bands that come out sometimes, or some of them fall on the limps with completely mint copies. Like The Unvalued, who released a single 7″ in 1985, but I believe the record was recorded shortly after the 1982 demo. Years ago, this record was really hard to get, now you can find a mint/unplayed copy for 20 euros.
There was also the collective FLVM (Faites Le Vous Même in French, means DIY) which helped the bands in the making of records, self-produced by musicians who weren’t signed to a record label.
-A large part of the published material is made up of reissues from the punk period of the late 70s. How did albums like COMA or LUCRATE MILK did when they were originally released?
Confidential. COMA released a record at 2000 copies -which is not huge for the time- on the Music Box record store label (Pre-New rose). And Lucrate Milk, recorded this first 7″ in a cellar in Bellevile during an afternoon. They released it themselves at 500 copies.
-How has it been to contact and work with bands like Boris Dzaneck, The Kids, Lucrate Milk or Plastix?
Very easily, because many members of obscure or less obscure bands are now on social networks. I found Boris D.’s contact very easily, at a time when they just wanted to reissue on vinyl, the Ihow tape. The Kids, we’d already booked them before in Paris, and Iwan known them well since the mid-90s.
–‘Vikings & Panters Bandes Sonores Paris 1982 is the album that includes the Rockabilly side in the sound of the label, how were those Rockabilly days in France?
It was released in conjunction with the book Vikings & Panthers by Gilles Elie Cohen, published by Serious Publishing and the Addict Galerie in Paris. We didn’t communicate so much on this record, it was above all to help a friend -Serious publishing-. A way to illustrate in music this marginalized scene.
-Lost songs, reissues, demos and songs originally released on cassette are part of the rescue you do for the label. How has been the process of editing on vinyl Boris Dzaneck, Oto, Chaos, Trümmerfrauen or Animals & Men, among other bands?
Yep, PLASTIX demos, Oto, Chaos, Trümmerfrauen’s demos were never released on vinyl. But usually we always work the same way, with a man who looks like an old dinosaur -he worked for Decca for years-. He does restoration, mastering and lacquer cuts. He’s amazing, and saves most of the time what doesn’t seem to be listenable.
-Who is responsible for working on the art for each release?
We always try to establish a connection between the band and the label, but sometimes we find ourselves making concessions and accepting artwork. But most of the time, we try to keep everybody satisfied and offer a suitable artwork.
-How do you define the number of copies for each release?
It depends on the band, on the demand..Even though it seems easier to sell a reissue, sad to admit..
-Most of the catalog is out of stock, how did you achieve that success in distribution?
Japan, USA, AUSTRALIA, Europe. But mainly, and above all, people behind small structures. We don’t really work with big, impersonal distributors. Which means that we make many, many, many small packages before to get a sold out record.
-What next reissues or releases does Danger Records have in its sights?
Coma’s demos on LP, Schematix 7″ reissued…
-Is there any band that you tried to publish but did not materialize?
I tried, I had convinced a French band from the 80’s, Bunkerstrasse called Bunker too, they had a track on a compilation on the Sacred Bones label Killed By Deathrock. Not a deathrock band. but whatever…They were ok, but the singer had been away in Africa for a long time, and I didn’t have much communication. Two years ago, he told me he was OK, but he didn’t have any decent sources left to restore. And that I had to find mint tapes, find tapes in perfect condition to restore them. I’m still looking it
-Is there any mexican punk band that has caught your attention that you may want to invite to join the ranks of Danger Records?
I like so much Size, late 70s synth punk band. And really enjoy Cremalleras, a two piece band from Mexico.
-What has happened to Danger Records and the independent music industry during this pandemic?
Everything was very slow, we couldn’t ship our orders.
-What do you think the future will bring to independent labels?
I’m imagining more looting from the majors.
-Which labels are you listening the most lately?
Total Punk, Stroom, La Vida Es Un Mus..
-Could you give us a Top 5 of your favorite albums?
Impossible. I got top 5 for every different styles I enjoy. PINTALODENEGRO
