A personal insight into creating an independent music label by Christian Preiss.

I started this project in October 2018 .

Originally I wanted to start it about 10 years earlier but somehow the idea got lost during the years.

I was always interested in music from Japan in all its varieties, Pop, Rock, Funk, Punk, Psych, Folk…whatever. Mostly some not so well known bands, more or less independent ones.

Somehow the music was always a bit better, the band a bit more authentic, the love for what they do a bit deeper.

So I bought even more music from Japan and started contacting bands in order to find out how I could acquire their music; and I noticed soon enough that lots of bands made just one e.p. with 1-3 songs they sell after a concert and then you never hear them again.

Fortunately some bands sent me their songs and one day I was asking myself :

“Wouldn’t it be cool to have all these wonderful songs on one sampler? Most compilations from Japan are very expensive and full with idol bands. It would be awesome if someone would release a beautiful cassette with these songs …. mmmmhhh….. Maybe it’s me who should do this!?”

And thats how GET YOUR GENKI was born.

This all sounds much easier than it really was. I had to think about a duplication service, someone had to do the art, I had to think about advertising the compilations etc.

The most important thing for me was to work closely together with the bands. There are countless jpop and jrock compilations but during my work with so many different artists I have noticed that most bands that appear on these compilations have no idea about it. So I absolutely didn’t want to do this, it’s easy to steal music from bands and download the songs from the internet and duplicate them.

So I did it “the hard” way and contacted every single band to get their OK for releasing their music on my label. Now all the bands are involved in the creative process of the making of the cassette, the design, colours, song order.

As my project is a nonprofit label and all the costs and prices just cover my expenses I am not able to pay the bands. So I am trying to treat them and their music with all due respect and even more and as it seems my decision was correct. I have high moral and ethical standards 🙂

This feature is gladly accepted from GET YOUR GENKI. @Getyourgenki 🐦

A special thanks for all original illustrations and artwork to Ash Loydon @AshtonLamont 🐦

To support the label and the artists they work with please go to: https://getyourgenki.bandcamp.com/