There’s no point in discussing labels are an integral part of every music scene (and business), Indonesia being no exception and as such I’ve decided to get in touch with people behind them also to give our readers the insight into how those labels work.
Erick is my chatmate for quite a some time, and his Carnivorous Records being a very young label, I’ve had no difficulty in deciding which one is the first to cover.
OK, so for those who do not know anything you..what can you tell the readers about yourself?
I’m Erick, the owner of Carnivorous Records. I come from Bekasi, one of the most brutal cities in Indonesia. I am 23 years old and love death metal ❤️❤️❤️
From what I could find, you’ve started Carnivorous Records in 2020, right?
Yes, I started it on 2-02-2020.
Well, that’s one year going strong! Congratulations! What has inspired you to start your own label?
Thanks brother Rudolf! I started Carnivorous Records from 2020, I’ve made a list of releases since I was in high school / senior high school, around 2014. I was – and still am – inspired by Extreme Souls Production, the greatest label in Indonesia!
You mean, the list of bands you wanted to release?
Yes, brother, I want to release many bands that were born from the golden era of death metal.
You start by releasing the CD “Undead Infantry” by the US death metal band Scythe. What can you tell us about this release? Why did you choose this one to start your label with?
I’ve already worked out what I’m going to release and I really like the music. When I started a chat with Brad Palmer (ex-Deeds of Flesh), and Brad directed me to talk to Paul Duran, Paul has finally agreed.
That’s interesting!! Deeds of Flesh are really good, but I have to admit I have never listened to Scythe. 🙁 I see the album was released in 333 copies, can you tell us how successful album it was for you?
Many people are enthusiastic about this re-release, the CD has spread to various continents, such as Asia, Europe, America, Australia, the CD has been sold out within 2 months.
Wow! That was amazing! Your next release, if I’m right, is Repudilation, also from the US, and this time slamming BDM. It will be released later this month, right?
Yes, the next release will be one of the legendary bands from New York “Repudilation” if there is no delay from the production, the CD will be ready this month.
This question is quite hard…but between slamming BDM, BDM and old school DM…which do you prefer?
I like everything, hahahaha. But I really like old school bands.
I only agree, yes. Now, there’s one band signed to your label now, and this one is Putrefaction Internal Organs. What about this project?
It will probably be released this year, and now they have a full line-up, previously it was the one man project.
That’s good news!!! Now, from the point of running a label and distro, what are the biggest problems you face? Especially during the current situation?
The biggest problem is Covid-19! There are many packages that have not been able to be sent because the shipping costs have doubled.
Yeah, I know, this prevents me to buy some new merchandise for me too 🙁 Anyway, do you plan to release any new Indonesian bands, or you will re-issue for old school stuff exclusively?
For now, I will release more old school bands exclusively. It’s important for this material to be published again, because I want people to remember the golden era of death metal music.
It is true that there are many gems from the past that need to be brought back out! Now, by the way you are from Bekasi. I don’t know about the scene in Bekasi, what can you tell me? Which bands should we pay attention to?
Bekasi is a factory hahaha, there are no mountains / beaches or waterfalls, only brutality here! There are many bands to watch out for, I’m looking forward to bands like Xenocity, Rotten Blood, Defiled Autopsy, Crawl Sick Epidemic, Displaced Suffering, Motoric Sensors, and many more.
I hope they release a full album soon!
We almost forgot to talk about one more release…Decortication!!! And I’d like to ask, as this is now quite common practice – why you release tapes in two versions?
Two designs were released, because so people can choose which one they like, I got several orders at BigCartel, some of them only bought the ClasSICK version, and some bought the full artwork version, but some bought both.
That is dedication !!! Now, as we’re getting slowly towards the end of this interview, I’m going to ask my favorite job interview question: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 🙂
I don’t know what will happen in the next 5 years, but I’m trying to make Carnivorous Records work even better!
Well, fingers crossed for you here, brother!! And I wish you all the best with your label! Any final message?
Thank you, I also hope that IndoKult will be even better! Thank you for the interview and reviews of many things about Indonesia, starting from music, films and others, I pray that you there will always be healthy and have a long life.
Shop products from Carnivorous Records and distro online at: https://carnivorousrecords.bigcartel.com/
