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CONSORTIUM MUZIK:
THE VANGUARD OF SOUL
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Those of you familiar with our pages should then have noticed how we’ve recently pointed out what seemed to us as an obvious rejuvenation of the (house) scene. Gotta thank for that those who, rather than sticking to the usal formats, have decided to remain true to who they are and therefore put their roots to the forefront of their works. This resulting in the incorporation of a whole bunch of different colours and flavas on today’s production. Much responsible to this is 2007 launched Consortium Muzik label head Carl Proctor better known as Big Cee aka Podfather who, speaking of his young venture proudly states: We are the vanguard of soul… Nobody does it better !
Hey Mista Cee. Judging by your bio, seems you’ve come a loooooong way. Let us know more about it as an introduction…
I was first introduced to house in 1980 my freshman year in High school at Kenwood Academy, which was also attended by Jessie Sanders, Chip E and K-joy. Kenwood was the epicenter of house. Back then we would get flyers every week that featured DJ's like Andre & Tony Hatchett, Alan King, Wayne Williams and Lori Branch. Not far from there was one of first places I experienced house, the Hyde Park Raquetball club. This was long before I heard of the Warehouse and Frankie Knuckles. After attending parties at places like Sauer, the Penthouse and the Loft for a couple years, I finally heard Frankie Knuckles at the Original and Only Warehouse on Jefferson Str. In the fall of 1982 after Frankie departed the Warehouse and started playing at the Powerplant, I made that transition and became a regular at the place. I was also introduced to the sounds of Ron Hardy at US studios on 16th & Indiana. By the Spring of 1983, I was asked to help out as a bouncer one evening on a temporary basis due to the fact I have always been bigger and taller than my peers.
In 1984, Chip E released Jack Trax that included the songs ‘Time 2 Jack’ and ‘It's House’. I was then asked to be his bodyguard because he was being threatened by Farley Keith, the reason being Chip used the name House records for the label name on the release and Farley felt he should be the only one expoliting it. By 1986 I was bored with the scene and met my first wife. I got married in 1987 at 22years old and really didn’t attend any parties for the next couple of years. During this hiatus, I would still get tapes and hear what was going on from a distance. I fell in love with rap namely the groups N.W.A and Public Enemy, but I still had my house roots embedded in me. I went to see N.W.A in concert and directly went to a house party at club Lerays directly afterwards, talk about the best of both worlds........LOL. Over the years I ran a club and acted as opening DJ for bigger named guests, I hosted parties (losing a ton of money) and worked with several production teams producing songs with very little success. I walked away from the scene more than once but it was always the music that lured me back like a moth to a flame…
I guess the launch of your label, exactly a year ago during the WMC’07, has been the result of quite some reflection. What was it back then?In 2005 my friend Donnell King gave me a CD of his production work and after hearing what he was doing I decided to launch a label. It took 2 years for everything to come together and we came to Miami with only a handful of songs and a couple of producers and singers, but with all the determination in the world to see it grow…
Pretty much seems like, after quite some time, the cradle of house music – Chicago – is back on the blocks. Not to say a big part of the scene with a whole bunch of new talents comin’ from all over the word. Your reaction?
Well I give all the credit in the world to the efforts of Unified Records for keeping it alive by making Peven and Mr. Ali reknown artists worldwide. Also you have credit guys like Abicah Soul, Anthony Nicholson and Glenn Underground for making new music that stretched the globe...
I guess this must be quite exciting for you even though this pushes havin’ ears opened to a far wider horizon?
Well its not easy being house in a hip-hop world, especially the brand of house we do at Consortium Muzik. Soulful is not a real cash cow so it’s endless battle everyday to stay true to the music and goals I want this label to be known for. Though artists and producers that share the same mind state have found a home here at the label. We have artists and producers from all over the world from places like Italy, Israel and of course Chicago and New jersey.
Let us know about the organization of a typical work day as far as you’re concerned…
My days start at 4 am due to my newly acquired affiliations in South Africa. I check my sales from overseas and answer any emails then I talk to producers like Tony Loreto, DJ DaSoul & Andy Tamashi (all of which reside in Italy) via AIM to discuss any new developments. I'm often contacted via myspace acct or AIM by potential producers who want to submit material to the label. So I listen to what I’ve been sent and try to respond with any feedback I may have to offer. By 8 am I get in contact with the head of my promotions Robbi who is like the Yoda of the disco scene due to his long tenure in the business and being New York's #1 promoter for like the last 5-7years. He is my advisor who keeps me aware of developments in the NYC area. By 10am I talk to my business partner Donnell King to go over the game plan as far as new releases and productions are in the works. I then spend the day listening to music on the net for my internet shows on Cyberjamz.com and Gotbassradio.com, checking sales, and evaulating any submissions, some days this goes on til 12am.
How do you see these first 12 months around? Have you noticed changes from a year to another, productionwise but also on the way people tend to consider you nowadays? Oooops and I was to forget : do you see yourself has puttin’ out house music or would you rather consider this as a modern expression form of soul?
The first year has been full of wins and loses, but we have established ourselves in the market while making a mark in the scene with almost every track we released to crack Traxsource top 100 which is no easy accomplishment, knowing we have a limited budget for promotions compared to the likes of Defected, Strictly and Vega Records. In short the music we make is back to basics soulful vocal tracks, real songs like the music that capture my attention back in the day.
Is the fact of havin’ launched your label after the big change which has occured with the dematerialization of the format finally an advantage?
Well, mp3's have a good and bad effect on the music business. The good it has offered opportunities to labels like mine who really can’t afford to press and release vinyl. The bad is mp3's are easily shared and kills the return on the initial investment by the label, producers and artist alike. I heard somewhere if you sell 1000 mp3's then there are 10,000 in circulation!!!
Miami. The months to come… What to expect from you?
We have every intent to continue doing what we have been doing, but also looking to do some releases on vinyl and we have a few songs that are being released on compilations CD in Italy and South Africa. (MFSB)
RONNIE RON – Road To Damascus (Consortium Muzik/Promo)
TONY LORETO – The Tony Loreto EP (Consortium Muzik/Promo)
DJ JALAL featuring CAROLYN VICTORIAN & OVINA GREGORY – Strength Of A Man – Abicah Soul Remix (Consortium Muzik/Promo)
ANDY TAMASHI featuring VICTORIA T – What's The Meaning Of Love – Abicah Soul Remix Part Deux (Consortium Muzik/Promo)
MISS YVONNE – Confusion (Consortium Muzik)
INDAMIXWORLDWIDE.COM: Only the best, No time for the rest!
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