Label portrait: discover the Nantes-based label Frozen Records!

Each month, we present an independent label that we've decided to highlight. This month, we invite you to discover the Nantes-based label (and record store) Frozen Records!

Hello Frozen Records! Can you tell us where the label's name comes from and what motivated you to create one?

Frozen Records is primarily the name of the record shop in Nantes, set up by Eddy in 2019 and later joined by Paul. It seemed natural to us to keep the name for the label. It's a nod to a photographers' collective that Eddy had in the past, called Frozen Cactus, and a tribute to the song "Frozen" by Dissection, one of Eddy's favorite bands...

Having always been passionate about music and vinyl for a long time, we wanted to help talented artists release their music on physical formats and distribute it, which is not necessarily easy when you're an indie band with limited resources and no infrastructure or point of sale behind you.

What's your background in music?

Eddy is passionate, even obsessive, but a poor musician.
Paul is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist and has played (and still plays) in many bands. He has worked in many concert organizations and has been involved in the scene since his teenage years.

© DR

Among all the experiences you've had with the label, which one has left the biggest impression on you?

Packing and shipping 3500 copies of ALT 236's vinyl (our first release) in the middle of August, in 40°C heat, half-naked in the back of the shop, while finishing the work on the new store. It was quite a workout! 

Let's talk about artists. What style(s) of music can we find in your releases?

We don't have a preferred style, as long as we're in the realm of so-called extreme music. We mainly operate based on artistic and personal connections. When a project touches us and we feel it's promising, we go for it! So far, we've released relatively little Metal, we've released Synthwave, Dark Folk, Coldwave, Dungeon Synth as well as Black Metal and Black'n'Roll, because we need a bit of a fight after all!

What are the prerequisites for joining Frozen Records?

Above all, having a genuine artistic proposition, passion, and very importantly, being a decent human being, no sex offenders or fascists at Frozen! 

Do you have an idea of the proportion of your physical sales compared to digital distribution?

We have a somewhat special formula, we want the bands to remain as independent as possible, so we don't touch the digital aspect, we just handle the physical, I couldn't tell you. 

Speaking of physical sales, which format(s) (CDs, vinyl, cassettes) do you offer most often?

We're especially passionate about vinyl and it's what sells best today, so mainly vinyl, we're at 10 vinyl releases versus 5 CD releases at the moment.

And what about merchandising in general? Is there an item you particularly like?

We're getting into merch right now, as soon as we finish this interview we're going to set up a merch rack for the shop. We're very much into T-shirts, long sleeves, and pins!

To conclude this interview, tell us about the future projects of Frozen Records!

We have quite a few label releases booked until the end of 2023, we're also organizing more and more concerts in Nantes, in addition to our festival in early July for which we're finalizing the lineup. As we mentioned in the previous question, we're also getting into merch!

Thank you, kisses!