T.H.E Interview – Alex (Founder of Newcastle Friends Recordings)

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Newcastle Friends

Newcastle Friends, the revered U.S label continues its consistent role of standout Trance cuts, this time seeing them present something very special indeed.

Taking centre stage this time, Iranian producer Milad E delivers a stellar remix on one of Newcastle Friends former releases – the classic ‘Entrance’ by Rigo Avila, previously known as Suncoast.

Alex, the founder of Newcastle Friends spoke to us about the label came into being, and loads more.

T.H.E – Hey Newcastle Friends! Welcome to T.H.E – Music Essentials. How’s it going & what have you guys been up to lately?

Alex – Hi T.H.E – Music Essentials, thank you for having me! My name is Alex and I am the founder and owner of Newcastle Friends Recordings, a label group consisting of three labels: Newcastle Friends (focusing on prog and electro trance), Newcastle Immersed (focusing on prog house) and Newcastle Surge (focusing on uplifting and uptempo trance). This year has been great, as I started the label group back in February, 10th, adding Immersed and Surge as labels to the group in June. It’s been a journey, as I’ve learned a lot about running a label, and have made and lost many friends and connections over the six-month journey.

Right now, my A&R member Dove Project and I are focusing heavily on our Surge label, as that label is getting a ton of demos and remix requests, and our schedule for Surge releases extends into January 2019. I am currently promoting the release ion.B – Lost Coast (Original & Alex Wright Mixes), which has so far been played by Exolight, Solarstone, and many other radio shows. My A&R member Miraks and I are also focusing on the main label Friends, as we are currently promoting the Milad E remix of Entrance. Immersed is in a standstill right now as we have not gotten very many demos for that label, but I am hoping in mid-2019 that I can start working more closely on that label.

T.H.E – Milad E’s remix is on one of the early tracks on the label. What made you choose Milad for the rework of ‘Entrance’?

Alex – Milad’s sound is a worldwide brand in the trance scene right now. His songs on the Enhanced Progressive label are so electrifying and powerful, giving us that emotional feel whilst keeping the dance floor jumping for each drop. Milad is currently regarded as one of the best, if not the best, producers of a new trance subgenre called Trance 2.0. I have been watching Milad E’s discography for the past year, impressed at how much better each release is from the last. As for the remix, Milad’s style is quite similar to Rigo Avila’s. The original appeals heavily to prog trance radio show listeners and isn’t necessarily a club hit, so I felt that Milad would add a more club feel to the track.

T.H.E – As a label, do you feel the classic appeal of the Original by Rigo Avila, stayed intact?

Alex – Absolutely. Milad did a great job keeping the original intact while adding his special flavors. This is especially noticeable in the breakdown. The original’s breakdown is minimalistic, giving the listener a break from all the electro synths and harsh drums, while Milad opted for a heavily layered, more textured atmosphere.

T.H.E – Let’s talk about the Newcastle Friends background. How did the label come about & and which artists have influenced the direction you’ve taken?

Alex – The label came because I love trance music so much. I’ve been listening to electronic music for 6 or so years, and trance is the only subgenre that took me off my feet consistently. As I dove more and more into trance and the industry, I noticed that a lot of labels were poorly treating their artists – driving commercialism without fostering a comfortable home. I wanted to step into the industry and provide a loving hand to all the artists I end up signing, creating a family experience amongst all that have tracks on my label.

There are a lot of artists that have influenced the direction we have taken. On Friends, we extremely influenced by Paul Arcane and Leo Lauretti, which led me to find Francesco Fruci and Table 18. A&R member Dove Project is already an established producer, releasing on labels such as Sundance, Mindlifting and Vibrate Audio. With his expertise and advice, we have been focusing on very powerful, uptempo trance with exploratory breakdowns, championed by artists such as Dreamy, Aldo Henrycho, Ikerya Project, and Emanuele Congeddu. This has been reflected in Francesco Fruci’s Rainbow Bridge track and the upcoming Alex Wright remix of ion.B’s Lost Coast. When I and another future A&R member return to Immersed, we will try to build our own version of the sound pioneered by Kamilo Sanclemente and Paul Thomas.

T.H.E – Where did the name Newcastle Friends come from?

Alex – In January, my friend and I were planning on starting a copyright-free label named Notec Copyright Free, more colloquially named NCF. Unfortunately, that friend passed away in February so I was left all on my own. One of the last things he said to me online was, “Man, I will probably head up north to Newcastle to refresh my mind.” Due to his passing, the entire plan of the label changed, transforming from a copyright-free promotional service to a commercial recording label. In honor of my friend, I named the label Newcastle and added the Friends part to reiterate the family and loving-hand vibes I foster for all new and previous artists. One may also think of Newcastle (new castle) as a new home for producers.

Newcastle Immersed and Newcastle Surge are named so as reflections of the individual sounds curated on each sub-label.

T.H.E – The Top 100 DJs Poll is over. How do you feel Trance is represented in the awards this year?

Alex – I think the Top 100 DJs Poll did not accurately reflect trance properly at all. The poll is a popularity contest! Trance now is starting to lose its appeal to the mainstream audience, as the poll is reflecting in fewer trance Top 100 DJs. Although, I was happy to see Armin van Buuren at the #4 slot, keeping trance alive as much as possible during his mainstage sets. Some trance DJs missing from the list, in my opinion, are Giuseppe Ottaviani, Solarstone, RAM and Kyau & Albert.

One top DJ list that I highly recommend watching next year is the TrancePodium Top 100 Trance DJs Poll. This poll has been more balanced than DJ Mag’s and continues to be a fan favorite every year.

T.H.E – What other releases are in the pipeline?

Alex – On my Surge imprint, we have ion.B – Lost Coast EP coming to Beatport on November 2nd, with Dove Project – Shooting Star (Remixes) coming November 23rd to Beatport. I can’t just yet say what is releasing in December, but there will be more awesome uptempo trance coming!

On Friends, I am short on demos, so I will take a bit of a break and hopefully return either on November 23rd or in December with new releases.

T.H.E – And finally, what can we expect from the label for the rest of 2018 & beyond?

Alex – For the rest of 2018, you can expect 4 more tracks being released on Surge, which may be found soon scattered around the trance scene in various highly-regarded DJ podcasts such as Solarstone’s Pure Trance Radio, A State of Trance and Uplifting Only. In 2019, I am planning to air the radio show Evolution of Trance, a two-hour show focusing on starting at 120 beats per minute and ending at 140 beats per minute. Other than that, keep tuned to our Facebook and Soundcloud pages for more information and previews about upcoming releases!

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