10 Where are we now - HD 1080p
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[00:00:00] Brino: What are we talking about today, John? Actually, it's the same day. Let's not, let's not pretend it's a given day. It's got the same t-shirt on John same day. Unlike the continuity
[00:00:08] Jon Con: I wrote in episode two where I'm wearing a different -Tshirt, gave up and went home.
[00:00:11] Brino: We did. I needed to go
[00:00:12] Brino: swimming. Yeah.
[00:00:17] Brino: Hello everyone. We are back
[00:00:19] Jon Con: In the last episode we were talking about our favorite sessions that we've been involved with episode before. We were talking about obviously leading up to Leeders Vale, or coming up to like where we are now. What I suppose we wanna talk about now is where we are at at the moment.
[00:00:31] Jon Con: So, Most logical place for me, I think would be to talk about the flip flop records.
[00:00:36] Brino: Okay. How did that come about? Well, I've always had a passion for helping unsigned artists, developing grassroots music, helping artists get their records out there. However that may be, you know, offering deals. I offer payment packages, interest free payment plans for bounds to pay me off over time.
[00:00:54] Brino: They know they've got festivals booked in next year. Then I just, any way we can make that record as good as we can and help that band get it out there. You know, mentoring them, answering their questions, doing all these things. And I've always had kind of small, independent labels, basically labels, just to enable them.
[00:01:09] Brino: Someone to do the admin work for the band to get the records out there. I mean, it's easier than ever now, but to. You know, back in the day it wasn't so easy. So getting distribution, we'd use people like Gene Pool and Steph for the label cuz when we used to do a lot of physical copies and we had Can records, we had Leaders music group working with sushi roll PR basically to help people release.
[00:01:27] Brino: And then I hadn't had a little record for a while, but still helping artists release and. I'm talking artists through that process, helping them get deals in place, publishing in place, do all these things and kind of project manage things for them. Now I'm kind of, um, involved in session recall and the production thing's kind of taken.
[00:01:43] Brino: No, it's not taking a backseat. I'm still doing lots of production, but cuz I'm based a lot more in Spain, I can't do all my production work in the uk and we've got too many studios now. John keeps, we keep adding. We weren't supposed to have any now we've got too many. Come on. So we have our own studios and it was like, why don't we have proper.
[00:01:59] Brino: Do it with some funding, doing it a bit on a bigger scale. The book coming out, which we can talk about as well afterwards. And because is part of Future Plans and which is called from Brit Pop to Flip Flop. And from that, just talking with me, meat Scott from Kitten Pyramid, he said, oh, your label should be called Flip Flop Records.
[00:02:17] Brino: It makes sense. You know, so Flip Flop Record was born when I was working with Kitten Pyramid at the time and as I have done for many years and I thought, you know, I'd love this. Especially Scott, so much that love to be involved and signed them. But the first signing two flip flops, so Kit and Brum became the first band assigned to the label.
[00:02:33] Brino: There's others that are currently in the process. There's others that we are developing, we're working with, and it was to do a more established label with proper distribution in place and publishing in place. So, That's what, that's what we're doing. And um, not just, I mean it's just gonna find new talent and stuff, but also working with some established artists as well, hoping to get them on the label.
[00:02:52] Brino: But also obviously I have a massive, uh, connection with the nineties now, whole Brit pop period. So I'm currently been speaking to bands from that period that I work with and I'm looking at having flip flop nineties, which is up bands. Brit Pop era, mostly bands that I worked with who no longer have deals and getting them signed to the label and that kind of being an arm of the label, which is that kind of nineties nostalgia, and all those bands, those great bands that I was working with back then were involved to getting them on the label and then having.
[00:03:18] Brino: New music put out as well, but also signing a few catalog things and kind of established artists as well. But mainly it's to enable all these up and coming unsigned artists, signing bands that I worked with through the nineties. Not only bands I worked with, but a lot of bands, you know, talking to, a lot of bands I was involved with about getting them on the label.
[00:03:36] Brino: They no longer have deals. They've been self releasing, getting them and having a completely separate arm on the label, which would be really cool, I think, which. Nineties nostalgia part of Brit Pop. Then there'll be the established artists with the back catalogs and then the new exciting new artists.
[00:03:49] Brino: Exciting artists, not just artists I work with. Anyone can come on the label, but it's a great opportunity for band that I am working with, who I get to see firsthand working with in the studio. Can go in. This is, these are great musicians. They got great songs and taking them on, developing them and getting them, eventually getting them on the, on the label.
[00:04:05] Brino: You know, we're in talks with some great new bands at the moment, um, Jamaica and Germany and Ireland, and kind of putting projects together with them, and we're all working, they're all coming out on Flip Floop, so having a bit more structured label with. Publishing and with proper distribution in place.
[00:04:20] Brino: So that's all still in the process of being set up. But because we wanted to get the Kit Pyramid record out there, they're kind of ready to go. They're kind of the first art, um, artist we signed and the first one ready to go. Yeah. Cuz they've,
[00:04:31] Jon Con: um, what's it they just got, um, so track of the week. Yeah. Not just they've.
[00:04:36] Jon Con: By the time this comes out, it will be
[00:04:38] Brino: about a month or so ago. Yeah. So yeah, first tracks a classic rock on the pole there so that, you know, one of the very first singles we ever put out has been track of the week. It's great, you know, when their tracks are doing really well and I think Koi, which we put out, has just hit 50,000 streams.
[00:04:50] Brino: I mean, that video is great as well. I think that got a million views or something , you know, so, yeah, and working with Scott was great. So when that opportunity came up to sign them, I was like, yeah, brilliant. Because just love working with him and he's great, great to work with and great. Have on the label Flip flop will grow.
[00:05:05] Brino: Now, as I say, as we developed that nineties nostalgia kind of arm to it. Hopefully get the deals over the line with these new bands that we're looking at. Then um, flip Flop will be born and will continue to grow. .
[00:05:16] Jon Con: So then obviously then the next arm then is obviously like, I suppose session recall. Um, obviously, so Session Recall, the reason it came about is really from conversations from the two of us really.
[00:05:25] Jon Con: We talked about this idea for a while, haven't we? It was years almost like
[00:05:28] Brino: talking about Yeah. Having this platform because, because we've been doing what we plan to do with session recall. We've been doing for bands for years and years. You know, we have been developing them, we have been giving them advice.
[00:05:39] Brino: We have been frustrated. Bands turning up to the studio with the same issues and under prepared and not, not having not done this, or not knowing what to do, or answering email after email, after email before they get to the studio. Should we do this? Should we do that? That becoming you putting together a plan for them, and then in the end, same with the label thinking, right?
[00:05:58] Brino: Well, we are, we're doing this anyway. Should we have something more structured and a place where these artists can go and find out all these things? We're doing it anyway. We're mentoring, we're talking them through. We're a and R Ring, we are developing, we're doing all these things. So why isn't. A label and a platform that we have that has all this information and we might as well be doing it on a bigger scale, more official, on a natural platform, because we are doing it day in, day out and we have done for years and we've talked about it.
[00:06:23] Brino: And now is the time for doing John. It's the time for doing session recall, for doing flip flop records for finishing the book. Yeah. And finally getting that there. But you've had the same thing in your career. That's, that we are doing in session recall, haven't you? Well,
[00:06:36] Jon Con: it, it was, yeah. It, it is something that I think from keep, I suppose, like from my position, I was like, obviously when I was in bands, I was always doing the videos.
[00:06:45] Jon Con: I was always doing actually bits and pieces around it. And one of the things that I remember, like one of the bands, I, I was in Gilford at acm, this is around about 2005, 2000. and we were doing YouTube videos at the time from those videos. We ended up getting like, um, a show invited to a showcase with Sony records in Camden.
[00:07:00] Jon Con: We didn't know anyone there. And all of a sudden people start coming up and talking to us and he realized like, shit, that's all people for like Columbia records, like this is, um, Arista and stuff. And he was like, oh my God. But then just realizing like I was doing stuff at the time and it was like, , this would be useful for other people.
[00:07:13] Jon Con: So when I end up setting the studio up on my own, I was gonna write, here's, here's what you kind of need to do. Think about getting like the unsign guide. Look at doing this, look at doing gig swaps and like everything that kind of worked for my band. I think it was like, well, this is what would be useful for you guys.
[00:07:27] Jon Con: And then looking well. From being in the studio, you think, well, this is how like Thunder do it. This is what Bernie Crows did really well and like thinking, well, we need to do campaigns. Like, you know, think about how are we gonna raise the money? What happens after the recording stuff as well. Yeah. One of the biggest issues I think is like, okay, all the focus goes onto recording is like, that's great.
[00:07:43] Jon Con: What
[00:07:43] Brino: happens now? Yeah, yeah. There's no focus. There's no focus on what they do afterwards and the budget for what comes afterwards and it's like, we're gonna make this record. We've all made a great record and uh, you. Everybody has a big part at the end of the session. And then it's like, right, what do we do now, John?
[00:07:56] Brino: What do we do now, Nick? Yeah. And it's like we're, we are busy. We are, we are busy, you know, and obviously yeah, if we that, if we have to hold hands with everybody we work with that's, and signed through that, but we do and we take the time and do as much as we can. Yeah. But yeah, there should, you know, to have that, all that information in one place because we see it time and time again and trying to get through to the bands that a lot of emphasis should be put on that part of the process.
[00:08:19] Brino: Don't just see it. Making a record, recording and um, actually putting a structure in place for them. Talking through that with a mentoring them. Have a structure, have a business plan, 18 month business plan. This is what's gonna happen, this is how you should do it. And then through the program, then being able to, um, see that through and implement that and learn how to implement it too.
[00:08:37] Brino: Most, a cost effective way and um, time management as well. Hopefully that leads into more success for the bands, bigger gigs, more sales, more streams, whatever. They don't have to sit there, oh, we should be doing this, we should be doing that cuz we can be on them as part of the program. Have we done this?
[00:08:54] Brino: This is your next step. This is what you've gotta do. This is what you know. Think it's gonna be a great opportunity for us to get all that knowledge across, but also a great opportunity for all these artists. And whether it's hobbyists, bedroom, producers, how, what do they do? What? What do they need to do for publishing?
[00:09:07] Brino: How do they sell their music? I was going through it yesterday, a conversation. I had to put emails together in very basic terms for these couple of guys who are a bit older, don't know what to do. They've made this fantastic record actually, and what do we do? So having to put all the bullet points of even how to create a post on social media and it's.
[00:09:24] Brino: this should just be there available. I know they can find it, but they don't wanna traip through Google for hours. Who's the best advice to listen to? They trust us. They wanna listen to what we're doing. And this is probably actually
[00:09:33] a
[00:09:33] Jon Con: really good point because what we've done is we made a PDF free download.
[00:09:36] Jon Con: If you go to session record.com/band checklist, that's basically like a starting PDF just to fill out and go, right, these are the, this is the information we need. This is the information that will help you to start off. Um, so going like, , what's your accounts? Where have you got everything? Have you got your social media accounts set up?
[00:09:51] Jon Con: Have you got a schedule for recording or like production? Have you got roles within the band? Yeah. So that's something that some
[00:09:58] Brino: people don't even think about. And contracts within the band. Think Roles. Yeah. Yeah. Agreements. Pr, ppl. Yeah. S getting all that registered before we. You go down that road, you know, just getting it done.
[00:10:10] Brino: And it's daunting. It's daunting if you've never done it and you're not sure and you're not confident with all that kind of side of things, or you just don't want to, you want to just, yeah, be able to create and make music and don't wanna think about that. But you haven't got a label, you haven't got management.
[00:10:23] Brino: So you've got two choices, then someone in the band has to take on that role or you find someone to do it. And that's where we can come in again, because we work with lots of teams of people who do that for a living. And we can put you together with the right people for your campaigns to do all that, to take it over for you.
[00:10:38] Brino: And obviously if you end up on some of the top packages on the on session recall, you get all that included anyway, so, but yeah, great opportunity. and we'll work nicely in conjunction with, with flip flop records as well. I know a lot of the artists on there are already waiting to sign up to the program.
[00:10:53] Brino: Um, that's gonna give great opportunity to kind of work with us and, um, as to mentor them properly and kind of get involved in all the amazing things that'll be happening in Session Recall, which we'll talk about, sign up to be part of the community, but there'll also be tiered packages that you can come onto as well.
[00:11:08] Brino: I mean, and that stuff. done for years, isn't it, John? The way, basically what Session Recall is all about Yeah. Is stuff that we've already been doing throughout our careers for years. Yeah.
[00:11:17] Jon Con: I mean, in the studio with something we've been planning, not like I thought about for like maybe two, three years now.
[00:11:22] Jon Con: We had like the idea about it and it, it is always been having bands coming in, like thinking about, hey, . The, the whole focus has been so much on recording, which is obviously understandable cause we work in studios and it's like, what happens next? Or you go some, have you got vi you know, like, have you got your promo photos stuff?
[00:11:38] Jon Con: Have you been taking footage before you been in the studio? And they're like, oh no, no, I haven't done that. Yeah. Or they, they, they do the release and they just check everything out in one go and it's like, not
[00:11:46] Brino: tructure. What do you do now? Yeah. Been able to put them together a structured business plan over the next 18 months, I think.
[00:11:52] Brino: I think what what we've noticed is, um, and where it'll come in as a massive help for us working with the artists and for the artists is the bit before the studio getting those songs right, help with the songwriting, the preparation that they can do to maximize their time in the studio and their. Get the most out of those two things.
[00:12:10] Brino: Yeah, all those things. That'll be a massive help for them. The songwriting as well. So the songs are in a much better shape. We have to do a lot less on them in the studio to help with all of that. What can they do before they get to the studio? What happens during the pro, the recording process? But then, yeah, the big thing is we've made this great.
[00:12:27] Brino: Product together. We've had a great time in the studio. We've taught, you know, showed you how to get to that point. Now it's what do you do to make your music go up to the next level and to be able to continue to make records and keep making music. And we're talking so many artists through that. All the artists we're working that are unsigned, that we're working with, we're already doing that.
[00:12:45] Brino: And you spend so much time doing it. Okay. And cuz we want to, cuz I love grassroots music. I love developing artists. Yeah. I love seeing them get successful. Love seeing like, you know,
[00:12:54] Jon Con: you, you get really proud when you see 'em play live or like, I remember, um, there's been a couple of times where you watch bands like you do their demos and stuff and they get signed or you see 'em at a fast, we think.
[00:13:03] Jon Con: Banging, slammed it, like nailed it. Absolutely. You mentioned, I dunno if we've got it or not, but like you said about sometimes it's really hard to find out, well, what's information's right? What, you know, where do we go to find this information? There's so many conflicting stories and one of the benefits I think we've got is that we've seen it
[00:13:17] Brino: when it's worked, just ask.
[00:13:18] Brino: We've got amazing mentors on the program from all areas of the music business that they've got. You know, chance to kind of speak with and learn from as well. Oh yeah. It's gonna be really good. But, uh, yeah, we can go over those, um, packages when we release our, uh, session recall. What is it? Podcast John. So you've
[00:13:34] Jon Con: already mentioned, um, when we talk about the label, you had like the book, um, you talked global, but the book from Brit proxy you to say flop.
[00:13:40] Jon Con: How did you end up? Tell me about it.
[00:13:46] Brino: Yeah, from Brit Pop to Flip Flop . So how did that come about from Brit Pop to. Well, I've always had a love of flip flops, . I've always had, I've always had a love of Spain. Um, I have always loved flip flops. Um, I mean, who doesn't? So I've always had a love of Spain. We've been coming here since I was a kid.
[00:14:04] Brino: My parents used to bring me on holiday to Spain. I've always wanted to live in Spain. I always wanted to experience that. Here I am now, this is my studio at my house in Spain where there is all my amps and outboard and drums and everything, and. . Yeah, so this is where I do a lot of the editing and a mixing now to come to Spain to do all that bit of sunshine, got the pool outside.
[00:14:24] Brino: It's all great and it's, you know, love being here. And we've got, we've got another studio, we've got Laha, which is the residential studio that we can use in Spain. That's just up the road from our house. So, um, yeah, we've got too many studios. As I said before, John, too many studios now. So yeah, we love being in Spain.
[00:14:38] Brino: I've always loved it. And while I'm in Spain, I'm always in my. And so that's just been coming years and it kind of ended up in my flip flops all the time. And from, from Brit Pop to flip flops is basically I started my career with like Stone Roses bands. So that then on Two Oasis and that whole Brit pop thing really catapulted my career and was the start of my career.
[00:14:54] Brino: And that's when I really came into music. I couldn't have. Come in at a better time for me, you know, with those bands starting in a studio like Rockfield, which became the home of Brit Pop, you know, number one after number one, after number one record in the charts, all of throughout the nineties being a part of that.
[00:15:09] Brino: So I started, that's when I started. So I came from Brit Pop. You know, the ultimate goal was to end up with a place in Spain, a studio in Spain, or living in Spain, spending time in Spain. Um, love the food, love the culture, love the people. So the flip flops is basical. Me in Spain. So it's from Brit Pop to Flip Floop.
[00:15:25] Brino: So it's from that period right through to now where I spend most of my time in Spain and my flip flops and I'm, I'm pretty much in flip flops the whole time in the studio as well, even through the winter, walking down the muddy paths of rockfield with squelching mud in between my toes. Cuz I can't , I can't, I can't bring myself to put proper shoes on and uh, still in my flip flops.
[00:15:42] Brino: So that's, um, so when researching titles for the book, and obviously there were certain stories that have a kind of ring. I thought about, no, this, this is covering my whole career, the 30 years from then up until the present day. And it is literally from the bit pop period up to today where we've now got two studios in Spain.
[00:16:01] Brino: We're spending a lot of our time here doing productions and mixing and editing. And so it's that whole journey of how I started as a young. Um, in Rockfield, in the Brit pop era to today having Yeah. To the two studios in Spain and that be in my, and spending my life in flip flops. Is there anything in the book that people aren't gonna expect?
[00:16:22] Brino: Yes. Yes. Well, I think they're gonna, yeah, there's gonna, they'll be surprised when I kind of probably, like, I'm not, I'm not really, I am dishing dirt, of course, but no, I'm not really, I'm not really, you know, there's, it's, it's a nice mix of. Kind of fly on the war kind of stories of recording sessions, crazy stories.
[00:16:44] Brino: Obviously there's the tabloid element to it because some of the stories involve bands like Oasis and you know, tabloid kind of people lap up those stories. So it's, and it's just cuz that part of, um, my career and where we were and who we were with. So a lot of those stories are kind of not just of interest.
[00:17:01] Brino: fans of the band and also to everyone in general. It's like, did that really happen? I can't believe that went on. And then there's technical stuff and how our albums are made and kind of an insight into certain artists and things like that and nice stories about people. So it's not always a shock horror, you know, trying to shock people with the stories.
[00:17:17] Brino: It's just things that actually happened to me and I was actually there. A lot of it, when you're writing it, you're like, can't believe man you, which is, people just wouldn't believe that actually happened. And it's crazy when I look back. , I think. Holy shit. And like I got to 40 and my daughter said, and she was only well, About, uh, six of the times said, oh, dad, now that you're getting old, you better write these stories down because you'll forget 'em.
[00:17:41] Brino: That was how it started. I thought, well, maybe, maybe she, you know, obviously I'm not that old Bloody 40, but I started thinking, well, I'm telling these stories to bands all the time. They always questioned me. What happened? What was this like? What was Liam like? What happened then? How did that band do that?
[00:17:54] Brino: Did they record live? What happened when he was with Springsteen in New York? All these things, and they only know those. stories. They don't know the stuff around the edges and the kind of real stuff that actually went on involving a lot of those stories. So I'm talking about a lot of that stuff and it's been a kind of a fi five year process now of putting those stories together.
[00:18:12] Brino: A lot of research, getting the dates right, the people Right. Um, the places. Right. Kind of a lot of research into each story and deciding which ones to put in. Cause they all can't go in. There's too many of them. And there's certain ones. Can't go in for, preach certain reasons, legal reasons, like, I'm not gonna be breaking up any families.
[00:18:28] Brino: Um, there might be a few people worried about that, but no, I'm not gonna be doing that. But it's, it's an interesting insight. And also it was something, it started out. As like a diary basically for me to leave my kids. My kids were always asking me about it and I was like, if something happened to me or whatever, or if when I do get too old to remember these things, then I want be able to tell 'em to my kids.
[00:18:46] Brino: They're having it there for them when they're older. Obviously they can't read it now at their ages. For them to be able to read and go, oh, that's what my dad got up to for 30 years. Oh right, okay. Is that my dad involved in that? You know? Um, and there's stuff for all now. There's not just Oasis, there's like Michael Jackson stories in there.
[00:19:03] Brino: Ed Sheeran stories in. and then like Ken, Ken, the dog, little Kenny dog leash, the legendary, uh, um, icon. That's our, um, our mascot that leads rail studios there. Hello. He's got a whole chapter because I don't think people, well, a lot of people do realize what a legend Ken was and, and we call him the bastard.
[00:19:21] Brino: How many
[00:19:22] Jon Con: dogs do you know that has.
[00:19:24] Brino: Um, Fuji on Thunder. Albums. Albums, none on thunder albums apart from Ken . You know, it's like, yeah. He can, you know, the, the only dog that can get his own dressing room at a Bruce Springsteen concert, you know, so it's like . It's, uh, yeah. And, and his story's a legendary Yeah, he gets a chapter.
[00:19:39] Brino: So it's quite lighthearted, very funny in places. Um, and also, you know, very informative as well. People are interested in how certain records were made, certain dynamics within a band at certain points. And obviously a lot of the artists are really big artists, but there's loads of stories from bats that people won't ever have heard of.
[00:19:56] Brino: They're personal to me and it's a collection of my stories, but they're still crazy stories and people think, holy shit that was going on in that studio at that time. And obviously I've traveled a lot. I was in bands as well, so there's stories about careers. , um, stuff that went on there. There's tragedy in there as well.
[00:20:12] Brino: There's some really sad, sad moments to the book as well, but it's just a basic snapshot. My 30 years in the business. Yeah. So I don't forget it. Yeah. So, yeah, busy time John. So I'll have the book, obviously the book coming out, session recall launching the labels, launching. So yeah, lots, lots going on. Lots to be getting stuck into, to be promoting and got, oh, sorry.
[00:20:32] Brino: Don't. As you are. We're still producing lots of great albums. Got lots in the diary coming up for the end of the year and into next year as well. So yeah, we're gonna talk. We're gonna have a podcast talking about some of the up and coming bands that we have been working with that we think are gonna be big next year.
[00:20:47] Brino: We'll do a little podcast on them and we'll maybe have a couple of 'em on with us to talk about what it's like working with Broo and John and what kind of help they've got and how it's progressing for them. Look out for that podcast in the near future. Some of the early subscribers, the early birds are in there.
[00:21:01] Brino: We'll get them on as well talking about it. So you'll get to learn a whole lot more about what Session Recall is, keep you updated, obviously on when the book's coming out and the
[00:21:10] Jon Con: label. So if you wanna find out more information, head over to session recall.com.
[00:21:15] Brino: go char. So head over to
[00:21:16] Jon Con: session recall.com.
[00:21:17] Jon Con: That's what
[00:21:19] Brino: for those don't, can't fucking say J Production, by the way, , we can't, we can't reveal what s j production is for me. , I just forgot about that. No, we can't. You, no. We gotta be canceled. Alright, go, go John. Wrap it up. Hey. Or have we wrapped it up already? So we've wrapped it up. There's no need to wrap it up.
[00:21:41] Brino: I just wrapped up.
[00:21:42] Jon Con: Let's just leave it as a car. Let's just leave it as a car crash. Leave all of this in and just see what happens. . Um, yeah, if you wanna find out more session record.com. There'll be signup sheet, uh, you signup form for you to register interest. And there's a free guide to [email protected] slash band checklist.
[00:21:59] Jon Con: And that just as I said earlier on, is just to give a bit of information about where to start from. And so next time we'll see you all again on the next one
[00:22:06] Brino: Shall in.
