Where are you based?
New York City.
Where do you work? What do you do?
I am the North American Label Manager for InFiné and the Label Manager for Le Plan Recordings. I am also half of the electro duo Bottler.
What are you listening to?
Right now some of my current obsessions are Men I Trust, Chat Pile, The Cure, Each Other, UTO, Elliott Smith, Hercules and Love Affair, Cave In, Phoebe Bridgers, Simple Symmetry, Smashing Pumpkins, Zombies in Miami, Pink Sky, Ghost Cop, not to mention the constant obsessions Nirvana, Depeche Mode, and Fiona Apple.
How do you discover new music?
It’s hard to say exactly, but mostly through word of mouth, going to shows, promos from labels I love, and recommendations on social media. I generally try to avoid blogs and playlists.
What formats do you usually listen to? LP, CD, Cassette, Digital, Streaming Services? Why?
These days it’s all digital/streaming and vinyl. I don’t really have a sonic preference when it comes to digital vs analogue, it’s more about the experience. I love being able to soundtrack my commute with my Spotify library on headphones, but also love the active experience of putting on an LP at home and having the sound fill up the room.
“My only major frustration with listening to music digitally, specifically streaming, is the potential impermanence. In the past, if you bought a record, and that record was no longer pressed, you would still own the record.”
Where do you do most of your music listening?
I work at home so most of the time I’m listening to music in my home studio, which is also the place I do all of the recording/production for my band Bottler (also on InFiné). So typically if I’m listening at home it would be via Spotify, and the sound setup would be an Apogee Symphony I/O 16×16 MKI digital/analogue converter through a pair of Yamaha HS8 Studio monitors and HS8S Subwoofer. For vinyl listening in my living room, I have a Pioneer PLX-500 turntable, into an Allen & Heath Xone 23 DJ Mixer, into a pair of Yamaha HS5 studio monitors. On the go, I’m listening on a pair of Sennheiser Momentum 3 True Wireless earbuds.
How do you find and listen to pre-release music?
Because there’s a DJ side to Bottler, I listen to a lot of shows from DJ’s I love on internet radio stations like Dublab and The Lot Radio, or terrestrial radio shows like Travis Holcombe’s Freaks Only and Jason Bentley’s Metropolis on KCRW or Midnight in a Perfect World and Expansions on KEXP. These folks will often play unreleased cuts that I’ll make a note to buy later or bug the producer to send me on Instagram haha… And as I mentioned before, lots of my favorite dance labels will send out promos to me ahead of time.
What are your frustrations with listening to music digitally? Any benefits?
My only major frustration with listening to music digitally, specifically streaming, is the potential impermanence. In the past, if you bought a record, and that record was no longer pressed, you would still own the record. Paying a monthly subscription and one day finding your favorite album is removed from streaming is a big bummer. But aside from that, I think for the *consumer*, having access to virtually the entirety of recorded music for a small monthly price is really amazing.
How do you keep track of everything you are listening to?
On Spotify: I save music that I love and want to revisit. For club stuff, I have a running public club playlist that I add cool stuff to when I come across it, and then revisit when I’m approaching a set time. If it’s something I absolutely love then I buy the record.
Do you tip other people off to new music? How?
If it’s something I think a friend or someone within the labels I work for will love I usually just text a link and say PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS ASAP.
Anything you want to “promote”?
Bottler has a new EP called Mako which was released in February 2023, that everyone should listen to. We also have remixes coming for artists like Pink Sky, Samurai Velvet, Abran, and Loren Beri. Fantastic releases from the labels I work for that everyone should listen to are:
- UTO – Touch the Lock (InFiné)
- Boogie Belgique – Machine (Le Plan Recordings)
- Vanessa Wagner – Mirrored (InFiné)
- Twin Color – Extended Play No. 1 (InFiné)
