One of our favourite interview series is back to full strength, on this issue we caught up with the head honcho’s behind the record label Stress Records.

We spoke about how the label first started, what releases they have forthcoming plus so much more.

Hi guys nice to catch up with you, how are you doing today?

All good thanks! Enjoying what has been a pretty decent summer so far 🙂 

Let’s start by asking, how did the birth of Stress Records originally happen and how long has the label been running?

Stress actually started in 1990 by dj/producer Dave Seaman, and became one of the biggest house labels of that era and helped bring progressive house to a more mainstream audience. It was home to some huge records from the likes of Bedrock (John Digweed), Freefall, Brothers Love Dub, Creative Thieves, PKA and loads more. The label came back in 2018 with Prospa’s single Prayer and the label is now run by Material Music. 

Do you have any upcoming releases we can talk about that are planned in the pipeline?

Yeah of course, we have a killer new track with MANT coming called Another Place. Known for their tech house / house productions, this record delves into their more melodic/progressive tastes as producers and its class. 

When receiving demos from artists, how long do you normally take to come back to the artists with an answer?

We try to get back to artists as quick as we can, we like to listen to music a few times over before going back to be 100% sure. But sometimes it can be a few weeks before getting back. 

If you don’t like the music that’s been sent, do you go back to the artists with any feedback?

Absolutely, we even mention labels it might be better suited to or have you though about sending it to this label…

How would you describe the sound of Stress Records to someone who hasn’t heard you before and would you say the sound has changed over the years?

At the core of everything is emotion and melody. All the records we put out have a progressive element to them as well. Back in the 90s Stress was releasing everything from trance to handbag house and disco. We’ve tried to stick to the origins and be quite flexible with the genre of music we release. 

How far ahead is your record labels release schedule looking like?

We’re looking at October / November already, it never stops! 

Will we see any events from you guys this year?

Not yet but we’re working on it! Watch this space…

Does Stress Records have any sub labels, if so how is the sound different?

Stress is part of a label group called Material Music, and the labels under that umbrella include Future Disco, Needwant, Back to Mine and FRDM. Not sub labels as such but all under one roof and have their individual lanes from Indie Dance / Nu Disco to Electronica and House. 

July 13, 2022