Best Works
An Interview with
Andre Lodemann & Daniel W. Best

Best Works Records is a collaboration between the producer/A&R and the promoter. That actually makes perfect sense in today's market. Has this always been the original concept behind the label or is it pure coincidence?

Daniel: No, actually. It happened by accident as many things in life. Andre and I have been friends since the early 90's when I was at university. I took over some management functions as Andre had started to produce music. After remixes and releases on Moods n Grooves, Simple, etc, Andre still had a lot of material. So we decided to release it ourselves. With a lot of support from Jon Berry and the Kompakt team we made it.

How would you describe the musical agenda behind Best Works and do you feel it represents Berlin or a more international sound?

Andre: Well, I would say it's a mixture of both. We are looking for a timeless deep club sound away from trends. It's not a typical Berlin sound - maybe a bit more eclectic like the Studnitzky Release which is a fusion of Jazz and Electronics. But we also have people like Norman Nodge (Ostgut) or Subfossil (from Pikaya) who are doing stuff with us who stand for the Berlin thing.

Speaking of Berlin, you are involved in many different events and international bookings around town. Can you tell our readers a bit about your different nights?

Daniel: Bestworks Records Night at Watergate, Panorama Bar, Weekend, ://about blank - these are our label showcases. Washing Machine: Old School 80's-90's House with Cle, Terrible, Finn Johannsen. Kaleidoskop: Jazzanova resident night with guests: House, Disco,Eclectic. G.I.Disco:  Kalle Kuts and Daniel W. Best: 80's R n b, Disco, New Jack, Funk. Oye Blockparty together with the Oye Recordstore: House/Techno and Disco.

How important is the visual identity and what's the concept behind the record covers?

Andre: For us, vinyl records are really important as a piece of art as a whole; meaning music and artwork are equally important. Everyone knows how important a corporate identity is. Every single record has to be able to stand on its own. The idea was to promote the record stores and the people behind them that really sell our records. Record stores are dying day by day all over the world. They are part of our sub-cultural identities, so is this not a question of analog vs. digital but more of the social aspects of record stores.

What's next from Best Works? Should we expect full-length albums, world domination and lots of good music?

Andre: I'm going to release my first CD/Album/Digital Bundle in Spring 2012. It will consist of remixes and originals. But next up we have two young Berlin based producers, Fabian Dikof and Felix Fischer, with their first releases for which Phonique and Christian Prommer supplied great remixes. No world domination for us - we like diversity.

www.best-works.com
www.bestworksrecords.com

Label Focus: Best Works will air Thursday December 29th at 18:00, Friday at 12:00, and Saturday at 11:00.