A new independent record label in town will feature talented undiscovered South Florida musicians.
Sweat Records has been a space for music collectors in South Florida to find vinyl from their favorite independent artists and mainstream musicians for the past 13 years. On Sunday Aug. 26, the store embarks on a new adventure with the launch of its own record label: Sweat Records Records.
Sundial spoke with Lolo Reskin, owner and founder of Sweat Records, about the musicians that will be featured during the launch party this weekend and why the record store decided to start a record label.
WLRN: Why did you decide to transition from record sales to launching your own independent label?
Lolo Reskin: The main reason is that we actually have a vinyl presence in town and we think that's so amazing for the local scene at large, but we haven’t gotten as many local releases. There are so many talented artists that we interact with all the time and we just couldn't see why. We just sort of had to get some balls rolling because we love these artists and we know we could sell so many of the records and help them get the fan bases that can help them sustain actual musical careers.
There is an unreleased track that will be released with this new label from an iconic Miami performer. Let's take a trip back, to Miami in the 1980s -- peak disco era. Remind us of the story of North Miami Beach star Debbie Deb.
Debbie Deb is one of the icons of freestyle music. The main regions this music was popular were Miami, Puerto Rico and New York. The music has this bass influenced, electro-synth dance-pop and the track "Lookout Weekend' and her other hit "When I Hear Music" were huge dance floor hits of that era. We were lucky enough with the help of another incredible legendary, local, electronic label called 'Schematic Records' to have found this unreleased track by hers. It is such a banger and is called, "Everybody's Jammin’.” We are super honored to be able to release it for the first time ever this fall.
How did you find the “Everybody’s Jammin’” track?
Tapes, man. People store tapes in warehouses, garages and there's so much interest in music of the past and local history that all kinds of people are going through archives and discovering tapes.
Also, we all listen constantly at the store. I'm a professional background music programmer, owner of Sweat Records and I'm a DJ. It's my job to listen to music. We listen to a lot of stuff and there's local bands that rise through the fray and really get you sometimes. Dracula was one of them and are one of the first artists we're putting out. They're incredible live. They're a duo. They do this beautiful acoustic sound, a lot of beautiful, melancholy songs from centuries past and then up to modern covers of people like Selena and folk icons like Vashti Bunyan.
And they are a Miami based folk duo, Dorys Bello and Eli Oviedo. Who are they?
They're two lovely people. They're both in their early thirties. They're artists and musicians. They both have been playing music and singing since they were in ‘single digits.’ They have been playing music together actually since 2009. They've been named ‘Best Acoustic Performers’ in the Miami New Times before. And without really having an online presence they have gained a great local following of people who just love seeing them live. They play these really beautiful heartbreaking songs and lullaby versions of many things. They're so beautiful and I can't stop listening to him myself.
Is it true they sing in five different languages?
They have performed songs in five different languages. The upcoming release will have three languages.
Sweat Records will have a release party to celebrate the recording label's launch on Sunday, Aug. 26 at 3 p.m.
The Sundial team visited Sweat Records and talked to store owner, Lolo Reskin about their new independent record label.