"The headquarters is my bedroom" says Elio DeLuca of his company, Telepathy Records... and the tale is a personal one. Telepathy Records came into existence when DeLuca, a student in the combined NEC/Tufts degree program, wanted a label for his first recording (which was released 2 years ago). So instead of procrastinating on Instant Messenger, he put his time into forming his own record label. In addition to being an amazing musician, Elio has shown his skill at arranging songs, producing and engineering music, creating web pages, and taking on huge responsibilities. Most of the songs that DeLuca has produced have either been recorded in the WMFO studio, a professional studio in Boston, or the mini recording studio that is housed in his bedroom. So far a lot of the music on his label is jazz but there is also hip-hop, rock, pop, funk, bluegrass, reggae, punk, and electronica.
"When I started out, I didn't even realize I was starting my own business, " says DeLuca. He was recording, arranging, and producing CDs, but it took a while to become a company. Reading books on starting businesses and talking to people really helped him administratively. "Making lots of mistakes helped me learn how to do all of this too," he jokes. There was a lot to learn, even just how to talk the language of the businessman and seeing what was out there in the real world. Soon, the Telepathy team will be enlarging, as DeLuca is in the process of hiring two graphic designers to help out.
A lot of his work consists of advertising and booking. Sending out press packets containing a CD, biography of the artist, picture, blurb of press information, and a sticker is a time consuming process. He is also looking to hire someone to help him out with booking venues in the near future.
DeLuca currently has five or six artists on his label - the first being himself. After forming Telepathy, artists came to him in droves looking for a record label that would accept them. "I have gotten dozens of CDs sent to me," he said. Though he listens to all of the submissions sent to him, he is unable to take on most of the artists who he hears. Being a one-man operation does not allow for DeLuca to produce just anyone's music. He can be as selective as he likes - and he is. DeLuca's own music is playing on Boston-area college stations, www.radioboston.com, www.mp3.com - and he was the featured jazz artist of the week on www.riffage.com in the spring.
The other artists and bands on Telepathy include Sarah Shansky, Danielle Geihs, Michael Cain, Pheeroan AkLaff, Fractal Residue, and Ellipsis. Shansky, a singer whose appeal lies in her mix of folk and jazz, has beautiful vocals in her songs. Her new CD is set for release sometime within the next few weeks.
Danielle Geihs is another NEC/Tufts student and one of the most amazing female vocalists you could hope to hear. Her voice has a huge range and can create any mood, seeming soothing and eerie and depressing and hopeful all at the same time. The Danielle Geihs Band consists of Danielle on vocals, DeLuca on keyboard, and Sean McDermott on drums. Since the group played at Fall Fest, more people on campus have a good feel for the band - especially after Geihs showed up in thigh high black boots and a miniskirt.
Michael Cain and Pheeroan AkLaff are both older, more established, New York-based jazz musicians. DeLuca and Cain met at NEC where Cain was a professor. Cain had already been recorded on BlueNote Records, an important jazz label, but he found in Telepathy the freedom to be more creative and have more control over what is being done with his CD. According to DeLuca, many more artists are signing with small labels now. People like Peter Gabriel and Ani DiFranco (whom he calls his business role model) have started their own labels and succeeded.
AkLaff was also looking to be recorded on a small label. He and Cain are making a CD together at this point, but touring separately. This winter both AkLaff and Cain will tour America and proceed to Europe in the spring.
Ellipsis is a band headed by Mike Sempert, also from NEC. Their music is defined as "psychedelic improvised dance music; jazz fusion by people who listen to hip-hop and electronica." If that's not description enough, Ellipsis will be performing at the Crafts House tomorrow night at 10:30 p.m., so anyone can find out just how funky the group can be.
Fractal Residue, a band consisting of DeLuca and Travis Bruner, will be opening for Ellipsis at 9:00 p.m. The inspiration for this band came from the music form called "gamelan". It is an Indonesian style that utilizes mostly gongs, mallet instruments, drums, and a violin-like instrument to make its eerie sounds. Gamelan is so different from Western music because, according to DeLuca, "its treatment of tempo, melodies, and rhythmic structure are psychedelic in a spiritual way." The object of Fractal Residue is to play Western instruments, but "with a gamelan mindset". As DeLuca puts it, "you are just one in a cog that creates the music."
If that's not trippy enough for you, think about how scary it would be to release your own "best of" CD from your own record label. Best of Telepathy Vol. 1 will be coming out in the late spring, featuring many great tracks from artists on the label as well as new live tracks. Other new releases are coming up in the near future for Telepathy, including plans for a new solo acoustic piano record from DeLuca himself, also scheduled for release in the spring.
After graduating, DeLuca wants to keep Telepathy records alive. To solve the pesky problem of finding food and shelter, he hopes to work as an engineer in a studio on the side to bring in extra income. He also has enough recording equipment to rent out as a portable digital recording studio.
After investing so much time, effort, love, and money into his company, DeLuca is intensely (and understandably) proud of Telepathy. "I love this," he explains. "I want to put my money into it even though there is no promise of payback, but I know that the CDs I am making are quality, they are as great as I could achieve."
