Since 15 years the name DEBEMUR MORTI PRODUCTIONS stands for dismal Black Metal – not only from France, the home of the label, but from all over Europe. For the anniversary the label releases the sampler „Servants Of Chaos II“. A format fallen out of time or still cult? We talked to label boss Phil about this, but above all about the history of the label, the most important releases and the future of the CD.
DEBEMUR MORTI was founded 15 years ago. What was your motivation at that time to start your own label?
Back in 2003, my own experience with underground labels and that feeling of “something missing” ignited the idea. The ubiquitous amateurism and lack of seriousness are totally unacceptable for me; “underground” does not mean “mediocrity”. It is the will to found a structure advocating “Black Metal” as an artistic approach that drove me to materialize the initial idea.
Why did you chose DEBEMUR MORTI as the name of your „baby“?
“Debemur Morti” means “Doomed to die”. I picked it up from Horace’s writing (Ars Poetica, 63). The full phrase is “Debemur morti nos nostraque” and it means “We are doomed to die, we and all our belongings”.
This being said, I chose it because I wanted a hopeless name with a strong emphasis which suits my way of being. Do not mistake me though, hopeless doesn’t mean I spend my time lamenting. It is mankind that is hopeless and constructing its destruction.
How did you get the first bands you signed and how did you convince them of DEBEMUR MORTI?
First I started releasing vinyl releases only. HAEMOTH (DMP0001) is a band I was friends with. I used to play music with the main member. It felt natural, when „Satanik Terrorism“ came out on CD, to offer them a vinyl release. My second release, a split 7″ contained one track from my solo project (VULVA INFERNUM) and one from a Finnish band I was in touch back then, VERIVALA. I was pretty active and in touch with a bunch of people. I contacted XASTHRU, NOCTERNITY etc … I was also in contact with Shatraug from HORNA. Things went slowly but smoothly. I had no experience whatsoever so I just had to forge everything piece by piece on my own. Freeing myself from any boundaries, I decided to start release CDs, too. My total dedication and seriousness led me to sign Finnish HORNA which was a big step for my label of course. With hard work, things continued to evolve. Better distribution, more efficient promotion … there was no place for stagnation!
At least in Germany, HORNA are controversial because of some ambiguous statements about NSBM. How do you feel about politics in Black Metal, and what importance do you attach to it when you sign bands?
DMP is a music label, an artistic project, not a group of political activists.
Looking back, what was the most important album for the success of DEBEMUR MORTI?
I don’t think there is „one“ important album but a few key signings that increased our visibility. As I said in the previous answer, HORNA was the first step. Then ARCKANUM.
The ARCHGOAT-tour I set up when they returned also helped quite a bit I think. A band that was initially signed to my partner label, Blasphemous Underground, and which then joined DMP once Blasphemous Underground stopped it‘s activities. So yes, ARCHGOAT was a major signing for DMP. Afterwards it was BLUT AUS NORD, without a doubt, which helped bring things to a whole new level.
And vice versa: Which career of a band from your roster are you particularly proud of?
It’s not easy to answer this because you never really know how a band/album would have work on another label … even at another point in time. Also I don’t want to sound pretentious. I always strive to push my bands as best as I can. That being said, maybe WHITE WARD, which released an amazing debut album, benefited from our position. Maybe. I don’t know to be honest. If they did, I’m proud I could help shed some light on their killer album and I can’t wait to listen/release their next opus!
Was there a concrete climax for DEBEMUR MORTI that you always like to remember?
If you keep in mind I consider „The Work Which Transforms God“ (BLUT AUS NORD) as one of my top 5 albums of all times, I would say the day I got the approval from Vindsval to join DMP was a day I won’t ever forget!
Were there also lows, moments when you doubted the continued existence of DEBEMUR MORTI?
Yes of course. I think it is part of the human mind to doubt. We all go through harder times when life hits you hard, we all fear ‚what’s next?‘, what if this or that will not work.
Yet passion and devotion help me push forward despite the hard times. I love doing what I do. As you properly said earlier, DMP is my „baby“.
How many people are employed at DEBEMUR MORTI today?
Two and a half. Two of us have another job aside from the label. What we call a “bread job” or a job to pay the bills. (laughs) Gersende is in charge of all the packing/shipping and accounting. Cedric was in charge of the promo but I recently took over his duties. I’m doing everything else what Gersende is not doing and Cedric (the “half” in my two and a half) is helping with some planning and so on.
How many promos of hopeful newcomers do you get each week and how do you deal with them? Do you listen to everything, do you sort out in advance, or don’t such letters stand a chance with you anyway?
We get a lot of sollicitations. Approx two per day, which is insane when you think about it!
The only ones I discard directly is those from bands that send an email to X labels at the same time hoping one will get them a deal. This is the worst way to try to collaborate with us. I consider if you want to work with us it’s for a good reason, because you know what we do and how we do it. If you can’t tell the difference between us and another label, then you shouldn’t contact us in the first place. That being said, I do listen to everything I get (except the ones I just mentioned) and I answer to everyone. I think it’s the minimum I can do, out of respect to the people who made the effort to contact us.
For your birthday you are now releasing a label sampler – what did you choose the bands and tracks for?
Yes, for the 15 year anniversary of the label (December 2018) I released the „Servants Of Chaos II“ compilation with 15 tracks from 14 DMP bands. Everything, except the YERUSELEM-song, is 100% exclusive to this release and I’m very proud of the final result. What I wanted is a release with exclusive material from bands that contributed (and/or still contribute) to the history of the label. I think it is a great overview of what we stand for and I cannot thank enough all of the bands featured on „Servants Of Chaos II“.
Are people still interested in samplers in times of Youtube playlists and Spotify?
I don’t really know. I wrote a piece for the compilation (featured in the booklet of both CD/LP versions) where I say „Servants Of Chaos II“ is my gift to me and to you (the people who support our bands/label). I’m among the persons who still think listening to music is „special“, it should be like a „ritual“ where you experience the music, the art, the lyrics (when available). I don’t think Youtube and Spotify are a proper way for that. For me, these are handy tools which allow for „fast consumption“, you know? Nowadays we want it all „now“ and „for free“. We need more, always more. And of course, we need it fast. So Youtube and Spotify are „good“ answers to such „fast food mentalities“. No effort needed. Just enter a few key words in a search engine and get what is offered to you.
It’s not working like this for me. What I hate the most about playlists is you get one track from this band and one track from a totally different band. But what most people fail to get is that most (Black) Metal albums are made as a coherent whole. They are supposed to flow from beginning to end for you to experience it. It’s a travel, a ritual … not just pure entertainment. Well, sorry, I might sound like an old cunt … (laughs) but yeah, I’m still among the few ones that prefer to hold a physical album in my hands.
Generally it is getting harder and harder to sell CDs. Does that cause big problems for a small label like you?
I recently had to buy a car because mine is old as fuck and carried too many vinyls to last much longer. (laughs) When I was looking at newer cars I was shocked to learn you can’t even get a CD player anymore. Not even as an „option“ you know ? Is it a first sign CD is doomed to die? Who knows … Sales are lower, clearly. Is it because there are far too many albums released each year nowadays or is it because people are now streaming more than buying physical copies, I don’t really know. It’s probably a mix of both.
When I launched the label, everything was already on decline so I can’t say it ever was much better than it is now. But yes, running an underground label like DMP is hard. That’s probably why I like it so much. (laughs)
A lot of big labels are more and more putting their money on merchandise and special editions. What is your strategy to be able to market music in the long run?
Well, my way of working since day one was always to concentrate on quality over quantity! I believe in the concept of „Gesamtkunstwerk“, total art, and therefore I always try to have a fitting ‚packaging‘ paying honor to the Art piece featured in there.
Let’s dream: Which band would you like to have in the roster of DEBEMUR MORTI?
SUMMONING.
And where do you see DEBEMUR MORTI PRODUCTIONS in 10 years?
I see DMP releasing the best Metal albums of 2029. (laughs)
Finally a short brainstorming. What do you think of the following terms
Black Metal: A movement still wandering in the 90’s.
Tapes: Old school. Still have some and still have a player. I think I’ll go blast some old demos (laughs)
Vinyl: The best of the best. Requires commitment. The best to experience music as a ritual.
CD: Handy, specially to listen in the car (not for long anymore!). Love my CDs.
Streaming: Useful to premiere some tracks. Otherwise … yuk!
2. März 2019 Moritz Grütz
Dieses Interview wurde per E-Mail geführt.
Zur besseren Lesbarkeit wurden Smilies ersetzt.