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July Profile: Down Low music Contact: info@downlowmusic.org Website downlowmusic.org Listen: For your audio pleasure - look below

What kind of music can we expect to come out of Downlow?
Expect to not expect. We are music lovers. We love all kinds of music and we don't pigeonhole ourselves as said "techno" label or "house" label, but most importantly we like music that is deep, emotional, soulful, timeless, and unique.

What are your thoughts on Dallas electronic music compared to the rest of the nation; do we have our own sound?
We don't believe there is a particular sound in one city or the next. Dallas has a very diverse electronic music community. There are a lot of talented people here and some of those people are a part of the scene. We however are not part of any scene really. There are local artists as well as international artists on dL, label operations are shared between 2 different cities so we don't claim to be actively involved in the growth of the local scene per se, but more of the international music community.

Do you think Dallas producers get the recognition they deserve?
Dallas gets a lot of respect from people around the world but it shouldn't be about one city getting their due respect. As artists, we should be making music that pushes the envelope or changes people's minds. So much of the world is brainwashed by mindless violence and shallow life. If electronic music can make people dance, laugh, cry and do the wiggly worm, then it can surely bring peace too.

Where can we go buy your music?
Our music is unfortunately real scarce in the US, but we're trying to change that by working with other distributors like Syntax in NYC and Submerge in Detroit. Our music is exclusively distributed worldwide by our mates over in Amsterdam,NL at Rush Hour Distribution. If you want down low music in your local shops, bug your local record shop to order our music or you can always just email us and buy direct.

Who inspires you musically and/or otherwise and why?
We have many inspirations. Here are just a few we owe huge thanks to for being into this music or making us write inspiring music. Detroit, Chicago, NY music…Eevo Lute muzique and Stefan Robbers, Kraftwerk, Drexciya, DJ Premiere & Guru, Shake, Italo disco, Ron Trent, Larry Heard, Basic Channel, Prescription/Balance, Juan, Derrick and Kevin, Mike Dunn, Kirk Degiorgio, Carl Craig, Dan Curtin, Stasis, B12, Giorgio Moroder, Robert Hood, Steely Dan, Dan Bell, UR, Dance Mania, Trax Records, Joe Louis, Gherkin, John Carpenter, Ennio Morricone, Moebius artwork, Phillip K. Dick novels and short stories, movies like Blade Runner, Escape from New York, Contact and Gattaca.

What do you see that other artists do that annoy you?
One of the things we see that annoys us is that there is such an overwhelming amount of music coming out these days. Now, one would think…more electronic music! This is a good thing! Not necessarily. The amount of mediocre garbage music coming out these days outweighs the good thought provoking forward thinking music that often gets overlooked and criminally unrecognized. What is exactly good and not good is up to the listener, but as experienced listeners, we believe the proportion of bad music released each week at the shops kills the electronic music scene and just makes more people look over what some of us are trying so hard to work on moving forward.

What do you think of the current state of the Dallas Scene? What can we do to improve it?
I see a lot of potential in this scene, If only we could stop complaining and work together. It's got a lot of growing to do I guess but I (Minto) can't really say I am an authority on this because I used to be involved in it a long time ago. I guess one thing I would say about it is that people need to look a little deeper and not just settle for the same old shallow club night most of us frequent in the DFW area. There is a lot of forward thinking people in this town doing good weekly/monthly events and people need to wake up and peep these folks out.

When is your next release?
Our next release is by an electronic music icon, Dan Curtin. The EP is entitled "distort.archive.desire" dL010 It'll be available this summer.

Upcoming releases for the rest of 2003: -The Moderator + East Island dL011
-Iridite Productions dL012
-The Connection Machine "Painless" CDLP

Do you want to thank anyone?
Thanks go out to our friends and comrades who've made us who we are today: Luke Sardello for hookin' up a geek with good records, Aran M. Parillo for inspiring a $tinkho, James Crocker for bringin' mg back from the dead, Convextion for the deep and many hours of driving around DFW listening to Basic Channel records for hours upon hours. Uncle David for playing 80's synthpop when mg was a 10 yr old punkass, Michelle for loving support, God for the gift.

Do you have anything else to add?
"DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE PROGRAMMED"

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