Q. Static Sky is probably a new name to many electro fans, care to get the ball rolling by telling us how the label came into being, why you felt the urge to take this risk & what your original intentions were?

Mark: The intentions have definitely changed from the beginning. Originally, Static Sky was intended to strictly release albums resulting from my own musical endeavors, I wasn't ever planning on releasing music from other bands.In the summer of 2004, I read online that Fektion Fekler was having a hard time finding a North American label to release their "Into the Sun" album. This is a band I had been a fan of in the past and it struck me that this might be a great opportunity to bring these guys back into the scene (it was their first new album in six years). After this happened, the doors opened a bit and I started to get approached by other bands.

Christian: The whole beginning story of Static Sky is all Mark. I didn’t come
aboard until after the second release of the label, Fake's "Los Angeles Synthetic".
Before that I was doing some promotions work for DSBP Records and writing for
Wetworks Ezine & I was also part of the band Fractured at the time too. I had some contact with Mark because he was sending me promos to review for Wetworks. I liked working with him. I thought he was fun to talk with and he had a solid vision for his label. At the time he was the only one working at the label besides Jeff our webmaster. We both knew a lot of the same people in the scene and they all spoke highly of him so I made my pitch to him about helping out and the rest is history.

Q. Having knowledgable & reliable staff has also been important to you, have you found it easy to recruit people who fit the bill?

M:In any industry, it's never easy to find good people.However, I have been lucky enough to have assembled an incredibly loyal and hard-working staff. Christian has been my right-hand man for about a year now, and has really taken over as the spokesman and media face of the label. Jeff is our webmaster and is constantly looking for fresh ideas to improve our site. Danielle is the newest addition to
our staff, and she has already proven herself to be a multifaceted individual who is always willing to help out.

C: Reliable is the key word. We have a really good staff I think, well outside of myself *laugh*. It’s a credit to Mark really. This isn’t some attempt at brown
nosing, he really is a great person to work with. Having a boss you actually like working for helps a lot. We all commutate very well with each other. We are constantly talking things out, sharing ideas and concepts. These things may sound trivial but some labels go under due to not doing these things. Jeff is an excellent webmaster, like Mark said he is constantly looking for new and fresh ideas to spice up the website. Danielle is still a newbie but she has proven herself many times over already. There are some good label combos out there like Dave and Shannon of Metropolis, Stephan and Thoronston of Dependent Records, and Seba and Bernard of Alfa Matrix. Hopefully one day we will be up there with those names.

Q. Now that the label has been up & running for a year or so now what have you found to be the biggest pleasures & pitfalls (especially unexpected ones in both cases)?

M: For me, the biggest pleasure is getting to meet a lot of really cool people.99% of everyone I've run into, whether it's fans, bands, DJs, or other label owners, are extremely friendly and laid-back.The biggest pitfall is that sometimes it's hard to get people excited about a new band....a lot of fans seem to just like what they're already familiar with.

C: I agree, we have met a lot of cool people in this scene from all different parts of it. That has to be one of the biggest highs. Getting people to be excited about a new band is a pitfall for sure. I spend a fair amount of time on public forums that cater to this scene and been out to many of the clubs and people just get very comfy with the classics and won’t touch the new stuff till it becomes a classic if at all. Don’t get me wrong I like the classics too but if I hear something new and cool I’ll snatch it up. There are a fair amount of fans out there that are like that it’s just I wish there were more. Sales slide every year, I think that is another pitfall. That is a long argued topic especially in this scene since it’s a smaller one.

Q. You've assembled a small roster of artists to date. What particular qualities
convinced you that each one was right for Static Sky?

M: Right now the active roster consists of Mentallo & the Fixer, SMP, Caustic, Infinity Machine, Stochastic Theory, Fake, Tankt, Ikon and Les Anges de la Nuit. Fektion Fekler is now on their own vanity label, Synthcere Records (which will actually be a subsidiery of Static Sky Records).Every band who is on the label is here because they have something unique to offer. You'd be hard-pressed to find
two bands on the SSR roster who sound exactly alike.

C: One of the things we look for when signing some one besides talent of course is character. That’s a hard thing to judge over emails and phone conversations but we do it somehow. Everyone on our roster is very cool and easy to work with I think and of course are very talented in our eyes. They aren’t afraid to bust their butts and have fun doing it.
Mentallo & the Fixer are a no brainier. They are legends in this music and have
influenced many people. Gary has to be one of wackiest (in a good way) people I’ve had the pleasure to speak with. SMP, to me is an underrated band in this scene. I will admit years ago when I first heard his stuff I wasn’t into it but the more I heard it the more I started to like it. Jason’s music is original and he is a very smart man. Ikon, like Mentallo are legends in the Goth scene. They have (pardon the pun) a cult-like fan base and pick up more followers with every release. Fake, is the side project of Clint Carney of System Syn. I’ve known Clint for a little while now. All I can say is the man oozes talent. Everything he does sounds great. Musically me and Mark are among his biggest fans. For a new band Caustic has really impressed me. Matt is the biggest promotional whore in this scene. He is always pushing his music to every Tom, Dick and Harry out there. He lives this music 24/7. I love his sound and I think he is only a few steps away from being a huge force in
this scene. Last year Tankt released "Club Life" and that has to be one of my
favorite albums. They aren’t afraid to take a chance.Les Angels de la Nuit we picked up from Infacted Records. They have the makings to be up there with bands like VNV Nation and Assemblage 23. Their debut, "Ruins of Victory" laid the ground
work. Infinity Machine is Mark’s project. All I can say is expect some awesome
stuff.
One of the things im proud of is that we are artist friendly. Everyone on the label, staff and band are like good friends or even family. When you sign on with us you’re joining a family. It’s more than just a band/label relationship, we talk about other issues and share things that happen in life. That is one of the things that help keep me going in this biz.


Q. Have you received much help & advice from any particular associations/outlets, etc?

M: We get a lot of great advice from other labels. Dave from Metropolis Records and Seba from Alfa Matrix have both recently been extremely helpful to our company.

C: Mark told me back when he started the label he got some emails from other label owners in the scene and they all welcomed him and all were happy to offer any advice they could which shows how professional and nice people are in this scene. As Mark said Dave from Metropolis and Seba from Alfa Matrix have been of huge help. Ben from Crunch Pod Media has been a large help too.

Q.There seems to be a high casualty rate among 'alternative' music labels. Are there any particular steps you intend to take to ensure that Static Sky avoids such a fate?

M: The only thing any small business can do is to continue making smart business decisions. It's no secret that CD sales in general are on the decline so you really have to try to stick to a budget and be very strict about it.You also have to make sure you don't have too much on your plate all the time, or you'll get overwhelmed.

C: For sure, that and constantly reinventing the company and coming up with new ideas too. Another thing is be friendly. Having interaction with the fans is key. It gives the label a face and shows that we are all on the same level so to speak.

Q.The re-emergence of Mentallo & The Fixer & their subsequent signing with you has, I know, caused a lot of excitement in electro music levels, presumably you're pretty excited about this yourself.

M: Absolutely. M&TF fans (myself included) have been waiting five years for a new release, and now it's really starting to take shape. The material from the upcoming album is definitely what I would consider "classic Mentallo". Gary has finally regained that intensity and sense of urgency that seemed to be lacking on the last
couple of albums.I'm confident that this will be the comeback that everyone has been waiting for.

C: Oh yeah no doubt. This will be the comeback of the year I think. A lot of fans were disappointed by the last couple of albums and the Dassing bros are aware of that. They have created a masterpiece and the fans will be very pleased.

Q. So what have been your most satisfying moments so far?

M: You always get a great sense of accomplishment when a new CD arrives back from the manufacturer and you get to hold the finished product in your hands for the first time.I don't think I'll ever get tired of that.

C: Well this may seem odd but making it through our first year was satisfying for me. The first year is always rough for most companies and we made it unscathed. Holding a new CD as well does it for me too.

Q. Looking to the future, have you set any particular goals that you hope the label fulfills?

M: I really just want to get to the point where more people know who we are and will take a chance on buying our releases simply because we've set a precedent for putting out quality material.My main goal is to keep growing as a company, but to never compromise the ideals that Static Sky Records was built upon.

C: That pretty much sums up how I feel too.

Q.I know you probably need to keep your cards close to your sleeves at the mo but are there any other plans you've got in mind for the near future?

M: We have a pretty solid release schedule for this year, so that's really what I'm focusing on...I'm not really thinking about signing new bands at the moment, but if something really good comes along, who knows? We have albums coming up this year for Caustic, Mentallo & the Fixer, SMP, Stochastic Theory, and Fake. I will also add that we recently found a European licensing partner for the Mentallo & the
Fixer releases and that news will be revealed soon.

C: This year is set to be a busy one for us. All the bands Mark mentioned will have albums out this year. What we have planned for each release you won’t know until the time comes of course. Just know that we are putting 100% into them just like the bands put 100% into their music.

Q.Christian, you mentioned earlier that you were involved with Fractured at one time. I'd noticed you'd written some lyrics for their excellent debut album "Only Human Remains". Is this something you're likely to be doing more of in future?

C: I’m glad you like the album! Nick (main man behind Fractured) busted his ass on that thing and it came out really well. Well I was actually part of Fractured, I met Nick through a mutual friend and we started talking for a while and he would send me tracks he was working on that I loved a lot it so I offered to help him out in anyway I could so I sort of became his manager. I was pimping his stuff out to people, getting exposure for him etc. He was stuck on writing lyrics for a track one day so I sent him some lyrics I'd written which he liked a lot and they fit the song well so I started helping him with the creative process. Sadly I left Fractured over a year ago. The vision Nick had for the band would require us to be in at least the same city. He lives in Toronto and I live in Florida. Neither one of us was in the position to move so I left Fractured. We still talk, though it has been a while. We have talked about me contributing to the next Fractured album so I could be back around again. I’m currently working on my own project called Dorzia. I’m pushing to have an ep out by the end of the year.

Static Sky Records
http://www.Staticskyrecords.net
Home of Mentallo & the Fixer, Ikon, SMP, Tankt, Fake,Caustic,Stochastic Theory
and Machinegun Symphony

Sublabels of Static Sky
Synthcere Records
http://www.fektionfekler.net
Home of Fektion Fekler and The Boy Who Saved Yesterday