THE FIRST 10 YEARS OF OM RECORDS
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OM:10 a decade of future music
Για όλους αυτούς που ήταν εκεί από την αρχή, αλλά και για όσους ανακάλυψαν το ευφορικό σύμπαν της Om τα 10 τελευταία χρόνια ή είναι ακόμη ανύποπτοι γι’ αυτό, η Om ετοίμασε μια ακαταμάχητη τριπλή ανθολογία, όπως συνήθως με υπέροχο artwork και συσκευασία, σε ειδική χαμηλή τιμή. Φτιαγμένη έτσι ώστε να δώσει ένα πανόραμα των μουσικών τάσεων της Om, το “A Decade Of Future Music” περιλαμβάνει καινούρια και ακυκλοφόρητα tracks αλλά και ένα CD με όλα τα κλασικά της πρώτης δεκαετίας. Funky deep house, soul-based hip hop, groovin’ downtempo και όλα τα ενδιάμεσα από το μικρό label του Σαν Φρανσίσκο που έκανε τη μεγάλη διαφορά προσθέτοντας ποιότητα και στυλ στη dance σκηνή. Κρίνοντας από την πρώτη δεκαετία και τον αριθμό των ατόμων που διαλέγουν πια τα events της Om σε όλο τον πλανήτη – με αποκορύφωμα τα καλοκαιρινά residencies στην Ibiza – η επόμενη δεκαετία προβλέπεται μαζική και απογειωτική για όσους είναι “on the bus”.
H Om Records εχει τρία nominations στα HOUSE MUSIC AWARDS αυτης της χρονιάς.
1. Label of the Year - Om Records
2. Outstanding Vocal - Colette – Feeling Hypnotized (Om Records)
3. Standout Event WMC - Om @ Mansion
THE FIRST 10 YEARS OF OM RECORDS
A LOOK BACK WITH LABEL FOUNDER, CHRISTOPHER SMITH
They always say time flies when you’re having fun. We started this little Om label back in 1995 in a small flat in San Francisco’s Lower Haight. We were a bit young and naïve back then…silly enough to believe that we could build a proper label by focusing on creativity rather than commercialism. When they warned us that our business model was flawed and we’d be out of business within a year, we were a bit too naïve to pay much attention. Sometimes ignorance is bliss! 10 years and 200 releases later we are still here, doing it for the love of the music!
Don’t get me wrong, the road has not been easy. Running an independent record label has to be one of the most challenging pursuits around. Long hours and impossibly small budgets make it a daily roller coaster of unique situations. It’s an ongoing dance to get the records out there, get the bills paid and keep the artists happy and creative!
Since so much time has passed, I think I can safely get away with admitting that we had absolutely no idea what we were doing when we started this baby up! We just knew we wanted to do it…had to do it! That alone was enough to carry us through those initial difficult years. In the early days the challenges were severe and frequent. It was impossible to get the funding we needed, impossible to get a distribution deal, impossible to find time to sleep! When I look back on it I have to say, “how the hell did we ever pull that off?” We just kept going when most people would have said to hell with it! None of it would have been possible without the tireless dedication of the artists and staffers at the label. These are people who have given so much of themselves, purely out of love for the music.
It’s been an amazing experience watching Om grow. I remember our first real Winter Music Conference party back in 1997. It was at a small little dive called Zanzibar on South Beach, with about 250 people. The vibe was incredible and the heads that came out were the ones who knew good music and knew how to party! Unfortunately the toilet was under incredible stress and eventually backed up and flooded the entire venue. I remember seeing little poo-poo’s floating across the dance floor while Mark Farina played! The amazing thing was the staff got all the water out, mopped up, and everyone came straight back into the club and rocked ‘til 6AM. Those are my people!
This year, our 2005 WMC party was held at Mansion, with a sold out crowd of 4,000 heads! To see that many people come out for quality house music is a beautiful sight. Usually venues of this size are reserved for much more commercial fare…but not when Om’s in town!
Now, after 10 years, Om has taken the show on the road to Ibiza, Spain, where we have launched our new summer residency. I sit here now in the Om villa in Ibiza writing these words, thinking fondly of the Om crew who are back at the office in San Francisco making it all happen! We are here to bring our music to the clubbing capitol of Europe and show everyone that it really is ok to dance to quality music! The island has embraced Om with loving arms and our first season has been wonderfully successful!
The past 10 years have gone by in a flash. The evolution of Om has been a fantastic experience that I am proud to be a part of. I would like to thank the many artists who appear on this album (and a few who don’t) for all the good times, incredible creativity and hard work. I’d also like to give a big shout out to all the past and present Om staffers, interns, promoters and reps. Everyone has given so much sweat for this little label and expected nothing in return. That’s the glue that has held this whole thing together for 10 years!
Om Mani Padme Hum
Christopher Smith, September 2, 2005, Ibiza, Spain
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