London's Dirty Water Records 'Spin' Off Sister Label Partner in USA - Seite 2

Last Summer whilst on sabbatical in Phoenix Arizona, the label's publicity and A&R supremo Matt Hunter serendipitously ran into local (and international) rock chanteuse, (and former label owner of Atomic A Go Go Records) Nicole Laurenne (of the Love Me Nots, Zero Zero and Motobunny) who was just starting her jaw-dropping new all-girl project The Darts (US). Hunter was already intent on signing them after randomly discovering the band on a Facebook post before they had even played their first show.  

The two eventually met up one evening in the cosy basement confines of Phoenix's Valley Bar, where the two instantly started plotting world domination over drinks with just an eyeliner pen and upside down beer mats to map out a strategy. The simple plan entailed removing the store sign off of Atomic A Go Go Records and replacing it with Dirty Water Records USA, with Nicole assuming the role of proprietor. 

"I always envisioned the label having some kind of US based operation; I just never imagined it would be located in the middle of a desert", says Hunter. "After that first meeting with Nicole, who was already a big fan of Dirty Water, I knew this just had to happen by any means necessary - and signing The Darts was the ultimate cherry on top of this whole amazing endeavour taking shape."

""I'd been trying to get the attention of Dirty Water for years with The Love Me Nots but they never seemed to take notice," Says Nicole. "When Matt wrote to me out of the blue that he was interested in The Darts and my little DIY label, I almost fell off my chair. After five minutes together we knew we had a lot in common in musical tastes, mutual friends, business ideas and more. We were both so psyched, we couldn't get this off the ground fast enough."

After several weeks of long distance discussions and forward planning, Hunter flew back to London with two Phoenix bands on the roster, The Darts and Playboy Manbaby, which sent loud signals from the Big Smoke that something interesting was brewing in the 'Valley of the Sun'. 

Fast forward almost eight months later, and a licensing deal has now been struck between Dirty Water Records Ltd and Nicole Laurenne to effectively spin off a separate label to her, with full creative and financial control that will in turn carry the Dirty Water Records label brand name that will help promote and distribute the current London roster, whilst creating a whole new label with a diverse flavour of sounds, including perhaps some not typically heard from the label before.