My latest revelation...

This morning I sent an e-mail to a vinyl distribution company. When I told them I was looking for a "home" for my label, they asked me to send them some music for consideration. My first thought was: Really? ME? After 13 years of successful records, you're telling me I actually have to AUDITION? But then I got over it. I put the old ego aside, and humbly submitted my music for their approval. Believe it or not, it felt good! I felt confident that they'd enjoy the new stuff I was producing.

A few short hours later, I frantically checked my e-mail, and received the reply: "...We probably won't do too well with the more uptempo tracks. When it gets more midtempo and sweaty & deep is when we could work it..." I was like WHAT?! WHAT?! (Calm down ego... calm down...)

Here's where I got confused. Mind you, I do many different styles -- and according to a recent review I read on Discogs, I do many different styles, yet I manage to "hit the mark" every time. (Thank you!)

The company specifically asked me for soulful deep stuff -- ie. Sky, My House, Crucified, Wallshaker... I sent them "Simply," "I Refuse" (both Rennie Foster & Quentin Harris rmxs), "Alright" (duet with Veronique) and my remix of Lady Blacktronika's "Lose My Life" (which was recntly hailed as the "deep house" track of the year). Was I wrong? Is "Simply" not soulful? 'I Refuse?" Are you KIDDING ME?

But anyway, realizing that I can't please EVERYBODY, I took a poll... You may've remembered the "tweet" I sent this afternoon, asking which styles you liked best. And as you might've guessed, the responses were all over the place. I've gotten love for "I Refuse," "Simply" and others like "Sky" & "Crucified" -- and even a few ones like "Drive (I'75)" and "I'm Not Free!" A few responses even said "All of the above!"

Well, as flattering as these answers are, I realize that it's not going to make a difference to the company. It's their money, their choice. They're going to release what they want, and if they only want to re-hash my old songs OVER and OVER again, okay... But really... How many damn remixes of "Crucified" can one do? Or "My House" even? I love these songs (obviously, I WROTE them!), but as an artist, I also love to evolve.

Don't get me wrong... I LOVE that my records have longevity. In fact, it makes me feel so good to know that people are actually following me and LISTENING to the tunes. I guess there's always gonna be that big divide between doing it for the LOVE, or strictly for the MONEY...

Nothing's worse than someone else telling you what YOU'RE worth...

In closing, I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my poll. Your answers proved to me that I can simply be MYSELF -- if that's deep, midtempo, uptempo or even ghettotech, it doesn't matter because somewhere in this world, YOU ARE LISTENING... I appreciate that. So I may have missed out on a vinyl distribution deal, but at least I KNOW what I've suspected all along. GOOD MUSIC is GOOD MUSIC -- and you'll find it one way or another...

Thanks again...
AC