Zarek

By Ken Waxman

Releasing 25 sessions in 25 years may not seems like many. But that satisfies Ignaz Schick, founder and owner of Berlin-based Zarek Records. That’s because the company is designd to only showcase the sounds created by Schick, an alto saxophonist and turntablist, his various groups and collaborations, fellow participants in the city’s exproimental Echtzeitmusik or Real-time music scene or sympathetic players from elsewhere.

“I founded Zarek because I had a few quite bad experiences with existing labels with whom I worked back in the day,“ he recalls”. The promotion and distribution was bad, communication terrible, or comments about my music from established labels quite horrific. So I decided to take things into my own hands, to keep control over the entire process from recording to distribution.“

A few years previously he already released other projects as Edition Zangi, “mostly Fluxus type art editions, vinyl objects, cassettes, etc. handmade stuff, often unplayable records, like a completely scratched record called Kratzen, and a few  others” I knew from Edition Zangi that it wasn’t being so difficult to put a release out. Of course it is a lot of work, but at least I can decide about every aspect together with the involved musicians”.

With a small ingeritance he recived after his father’s death, he released Zarek 01, Perlonex-Perlon and 02, Tabit. Both were self burned CDRs with photocopied stickers, covers designed by a friend and covers printed by Schick himself at an artisanal silk screen workshop. Costs for recording and mixing was done at a special price by another associate and Zarek03/04, Decollage was from alove  he was given by Bavarian Radio. The only other expenses material and promotion. Since then all Zarek releases have been as CDs, withe the exception of Zarek 24, ILOG 3 a duo between Schick on turntables and local drummer Oliver Steidle, which is also available on LP with a music selection and running order. Zarek itself is an abbreviation that combines Zangi Music, his production platform and Records With a “k” instead of a “c”.

Although Steidle has known Schick since 2000, they didn’t record their “noisy, harsh improvised music with turntables, drums and electronics” until 2015 for another label. Disappointed with the response, the two have now released three Zarek CDs. “We knew, if we stuck our heads and energy together we could get what we wanted by ourselves,” explains Steidle. “To be honest, I had concerns in the first moment and it took me a while to realize how well connected Ignaz is as a result of 25 years of constant, hard work,” he adds. “And it’s definitely paying off. We got so much attention, way more than if we would have done it elsewhere.” The enthusiastic reviews and festival invitations that resulted from the releases  he figures was the result of controlling everything including the release schedule, deciding on cover art and promotion.

Although the turntablist has been featured on many Zarek releases. It’s no means a vanity project. In the catalogue are among others, sessions featuring Andrea Neumann, Andrea Ermke and the duo of Burhard Beins and Keith Rowe, some in their recording debut. Recently a two-CD set featuring Zarek and AACM multi-instrumentalist Douglas Ewart came out, the result of a meeting via Facebook.

Now that the label is established, Schick usually produces about 500 copies for each new release  – but only when he’s made enough money from sales of previous releases. “It has become a perpetual mobile in a way, money comes in, and I invest it in the next release”, he explains. Depending on the situation he will sometime ask other players to contribute towards production costs. “for such involvement they receive a bigger batch of copies. This reduces the risk of loosing money and I have less stock in storage,”  he states.

“Generally I don’t make myself too dependent on financial factors or the market situation. I release when the album is ready. And only if I feel the music is good enough and needs to come out,“ he adds. “It’s not per annum, sometimes I do packages of two or three CDs at once, sometimes there are some years in-between with no releases. Then there are more busy times like recently. It really depends on how active I am with finishing mixes and good albums, but also strongly depends on the sales and monetary situation.”

What about downloads and streaming? “I completely boycott steaming portals as for my experience and perception they rip off artists,” he replies. Instead “Bandcamp works great for us.”  The downside is that instead of shipping discs to about 15 distributors and shops that would merchandise the product I need to suddenly pack packages and ship single CDs into the whole world. That can be draining, especially when I am touring or travelling. But what can we do, it’s the new times.”

Besides its existing catalogue, there’s also the ongoing ZORA or Zarek Online Release Archiv series, which via Bandcamp downloads makes available archival material and overlooked sessions. Initially created during the pandemic and with different covers and numbers, it now exists in tandem with Zarek CD .downloads.

“We still have some great unreleased Perlonex material ready to go,” affirms Berlin-based percussionist Burkhard Beins“, who was part of the Perlonex band with Schick that in 2000 was Zarek’s first CD,. He has since been featured on six other sessions. Remembering the label’s beginnings, Beins notes that “there weren’t too many other options for us to release our music, really. So Ignaz’s initiative played an important role for the recognition of our small group of conspirators back then.” Although other imprints are now part of  the scene “Zarek remains important, being maybe the most continuous one until now,” he adds. “Zarek is deeply rooted in collective efforts and initiatives. I like working with labels like Zarek, directly coming out of the music scene itself,“ he explains. Zarek, he notes was the perfect platform for that side of his music which is harsher and more drone related. Today, although there are no concrete plans for Beins to release new material on Zarek in the near future,, he’s glad that the ZOAR archival series has made available including early Perlonex sessions.

Besides Schick, a others work for Zarek on a freelance basis. Werner Dafeldecker and Ludwig Wandinger who mix and master CDs, and Carsten Stabenow, who created the recent dsstnctive cover designs.

No one records exclusively for Zarek, and in fact, Schick himself has been featured on other imprints. “I‘is good to also come out on other labels,which have a different perception or customer circle. The music will be distributed into channels I don’t have. But I have to admit that I am very often disappointed by how things are done and so I returned doing more releases on Zarek.”

As for the future he and other local players such as Dudu Koute and Olaf Rupp has recorded , but the sessions may come out on Zarek or elsewhere. What is definitelky panned for the future are two box sets, complete with USB sticks and booklets. One documenting 11 years of Circuit Training, his large workshop ensemble, the other Kolkata City Sound, recorded with seven Indian musicians co-produced with the local Goethe Institute.

Insisting on complete independence from the music industry and complete artistic freedom, Schick’s and the label’s policy follows this simple credo: “We still live in a (partly)  free world and I do what I think I need and want to do. I‘m tired of listening to stupid remarks about my music, so I do my own releases.” For more info visit zarekberlin.bandcamp.com

–for The New York City Jazz Record