IMPALA INTERVIEW WITH DUCHESS BOX RECORDS

Interview with Grant Box, founder of Duchess Box Records, following the announcement of the label’s artists GURR winning the IMPALA European Independent Album of the Year Award for In My Head.

 

How did you discover GURR, and why did you sign them?
 
I set up the label for the best local acts who didnt have a label and couldnt afford to hire my existing music publicity agency to make a self release. I came across Gurr when they developing and were exactly the kind of act we wanted to support. We released their debut EP « Furry Dreams » in 2015, it was one of our first ever releases. It  made an impact with some good press and radio coverage so a demand was created for the album and we we first listened to that we new we had to release this too .
 
What did you think of “In My Head” the first time you heard it?
 
I had already heard some of the singles and demos, but i was with the band and the owner of our distribution company Tor Hansen from Redeye Worldwide’ on a roof top garden in Berlin. We were both in love with the record from the first listen.
 
What’s next for Duchess Box Records and GURR?
 
For the last year Gurr have been almost constantly on tour and also recording their new record on days and weeks inbetween their busy touring schedule. Our sales from In My Head have been growing since the release of the album and this year the band are playing a lot of the big european festivals including Rock Am Ring so we will continue to support this.
 
How is being a label different nowadays than it was when Duchess Box started?
 
We only started the label four years ago, i guess the biggest change is the growth of the streaming services and learning how to make them work for you.
 
What advice would you have for labels starting out today?
 
The main advice i would give anyone who wants to make a release is to have the budget to help something which is happening organically to breath and grow but never to spend money to try to force something to be a success as that will usually fail. It is also important to wait til there is a demand for a record. Release singles, work the PR, build their social media reach and get the artist performing lost of shows to start building a demand for the album , when the demand is there it can be sure you will have a successful release.

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