VICIOUS RECORDINGS IS CELEBRATING ITS 30th BIRTHDAY 🎉

The label that kickstarted the careers of Avicii, Madison Avenue, Peking Duk, Dirty South, and so many more is celebrating a massive 30 years in the music industry. Founded in Australia, by Co-founders John Course and Andy Van (Madison Avenue), the two have been integral in developing Australian artists and exporting their House and Dance Music productions across the world. As Australia's number 1 independent label, they have been responsible for over 800 releases including countless UK and Australian #1s and ARIA Awards. We were fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to ask co-founder John Course about the first 30 years of Vicious, including its conception, how they are planning to celebrate this massive milestone and his stand-out moments so far in the Vicious journey.

Firstly, Congratulations on reaching the massive milestone, the ‘30 Years Anniversary of Vicious Recordings.’ Let’s go back to the beginning. What started the conversation between you and Andy Van that led to the creation of Vicious Recordings? Was there a pivotal moment or catalyst?

I don’t think there was one exact moment. We just felt that local people were making tunes and there was no outlet to release them. The major labels were removed from the techno and house scene at the time, so we just thought let’s start it ourselves and release our own and friends’ music. The three of us were all DJing, Andy and myself were in our studio all the time and Colin Daniels was then working for MDS (Mushroom Distribution Services - one of the biggest importers of dance music 12” vinyl) so it made sense to do it there. We started the label as a vinyl only outlet, run by the three of us.

John Course & Andy Van in the Vicious Studios - 1995

Was the idea/concept of Vicious something you had always thought about creating?

No, it definitely grew organically. We were DJs and wanted to do what we saw our international peers do. We saw UK magazines with Fatboy Slim on the cover and read his studio gear list, to see what gear we should look at for our studio. We saw how international DJs do things and we got inspired.

Starting the label was an extension of creating music and remixes. We had to put them out, as major labels were out of touch with the early techno and dance music scene, so we did it ourselves.

You and Andy started Vicious Recordings at a time that was only just seeing the emergence of electronic music, did either of you expect the dominance that was to come for the genre?

Colin Daniels was there at the start too. I don’t think anybody knew what it could grow into at the time, but expectations changed quickly. I mean a handful of our earliest releases were signed to labels in the UK and the USA, so we knew there was something there. With every milestone, new horizons and expectations grew. We saw internationally successful DJ led projects such as ‘S-Express’ and ‘Inner City’ have globally significant records, so we thought, why not us? Early house music had a very ‘grass roots’ do-it-yourself ethos and I think that inspired us as DJ’s, as a label and as creators.

How does it feel to be Pioneers of the industry in this country? Is it a heavy burden to carry?

I think we carry our success humbly and with a sense of pride. We’re proud of our history, our success, for lots of our releases and that we’ve been able to do it for 30 years. It’s in no way a burden. We broke boundaries and have been told things like ‘Don’t Call Me Baby’ going to number 1 in the UK inspired other Australian producers to consider where they could reach. That’s all great, so no burden, just a sense of contribution and support for our artists and the entire scene.

Vicious Recordings has gifted the world some of the most amazing dance music it’s ever heard. Is there a moment or song that stands out as the turning point for the label?

When we started, did we think any of our releases would win a ‘Dance Music’ ARIA? No we didn’t and we didn’t care to be honest, because we didn’t start the label to win an ARIA. Our focus has always been to try and release music that we like and would play as DJs. Of course, once we won an ARIA we realised, hey, we could do this again. Once we had a big European record with a Vicious release, we understood we could do it again. Once we had crossover tracks that became massive on radio, we realised we could do it again, but we always had success with music that worked for DJs first and foremost. So as the scene grew, we grew with it. In hindsight there were many small turning points, all subtly growing our reach, expectation and success. Given all of this momentum, the global success of Madison Avenue and the Australian success with 5 pop chart Top 10’s, 5 ARIA awards including ‘Record Of The Year’ and a UK pop chart number 1 with ‘Don’t Call Me Baby,’ certainly put us on the map as an indie dance music label that has some serious stuff going on!

“Without a doubt Avicii’s eventual mega pop crossover success, was something I don’t think anyone really saw at the very start”

— John Course

You have worked with some huge names in electronic music, is there anyone that blew you away with their presence or talent that you didn't anticipate?

Without a doubt Avicii’s eventual mega pop crossover success was something I don’t think anyone really saw at the very start. When we signed him, he was 18 and at the very start of his career, mostly producing club music. However, early on, you could see his musicality and amazing sense of melody in those early tracks. But dance music by and large had never infiltrated the USA on a mainstream level, even in the heyday of the early house movement (which ironically originated out of New York and Chicago but achieved commercial success in Europe). ‘Levels,’ the first release from Avicii after his releases with Vicious was a landmark record that crossed over many DJ playlists and also was part of the scene breaking commercially in the USA for the first time. Looking back, I think that’s the artist whose rise could not have been predicted, not simply because of his musical growth, but also because nobody knew the scene was going to break in the USA in such a massive way.

Not everyone is a delight to work with, especially in an industry where egos can be larger than life, are there clients (artists or managers etc) you refuse to work with again? After 30 years there would have to be at least one or two horror stories?

I am never one to promote the negative. I always say, talk up what you like and support and don’t whinge about what you don’t like, as it’s a waste of time. Of course, there are people we have found very difficult. We have experienced people whose egos have got in the way of their success and in fact caused them failure, but we live and learn. There are very real examples in our history where we have seen artists let amazing opportunities slip through their hands over incredibly silly things. But ultimately, they have to live with those missed opportunities and the effect that has on their future. We support the people who deserve it now. If there is one lesson in this kind of area, it’s that time is precious. You can put time into friendly, hardworking, positive people and artists, or you can put three times as much time into dealing with negative, or people who are hard work, or artists. We choose the positive artists more now than ever because it’s so hard to break through and artists with huge egos and a bad attitude are not worth the grief (and if we don’t like their attitude, neither will PR people, other DJs, other producers and radio people).

Is there anyone still on the Vicious wish list to work with that you haven't yet?

We’re always inspired by new DJs and producers and have a constant evolving list of people we’d love to work with and respect greatly. Anyone who thinks they have done it all are kidding themselves and there is always room for inspiration from new and old respected producers, singers, DJs and musicians. Part of the fun aspect of being an indie label (in a world that can move very fast) is discovering new people that inspire new releases. Yes, there are people on the Vicious wish list, many yet to be discovered.

“We are better as a label because of our first-hand DJ experience, because we understand the market”

— John course

Was there ever a time you thought of giving up and walking away from producing music for others and just concentrating on your own career?

There is certainly a responsibility with running a label that you have to the artists you sign. You can’t just make it about your own releases and profile. The greater impact of the label as a whole is where the reward comes. I think Vicious has always had a balanced approach to its artists. I certainly spent less time in the studio and more running the label through certain periods, because the label needs to be run with consideration to all our artists, but I also have always felt that a combination of DJing and running the label go hand-in-hand. We are better as a label because of our first-hand DJ experience, because we understand the market. We’re not in an office saying: “this doesn’t sound right.” We are playing in a club and giving feedback based on real time reactions from punters and first-hand experience of what’s working and what isn’t. I think a balance has been possible between our own careers and the careers of our Vicious artists and our success proves that. It hasn’t only been our own projects that were our biggest successes on the label. Sure, Andy Van’s Madison Avenue project was a well-deserved priority for us, but so was Rogue Traders, Dirty South, The Potbelleez, Peking Duk, Sgt Slick, Avicii and others, none of which were our own personal projects.

What’s been the highlight in the ‘30 Years of Vicious’ for you personally so far and why?

‘Don’t Call Me Baby’ going to number 1 on the UK pop chart is probably it, from a label experience. Andy is one of my oldest friends, we started the label together and Madison Avenue is half his project. Both him and Cheyne are friends of mine. It was a feel good moment and a historical one. Not many records that are written and produced in Australia, by Australians, go to number 1 in the UK.

Vicious Recordings is recognised as Australia's number 1 independent label, is it difficult to stay in front of the rest and retain that heady classification?

I think we have a strong reputation built on a solid history and are proud of that and of being independent, but there are lots of Australian labels doing great things. The scene is strong here and we’re proud to have been a part of it for so long and to still be relevant. Everybody has a different perspective around music because it is a very personal thing, so we don’t go around talking like we are this, or that. What we do say is that we have been doing this for 30 years, we know what we are doing, we work our music globally and we believe in what we release. We have multiple labels within our Vicious collective and across them, we can push the boundaries at times and hopefully remain a relevant force in electronic music, not just in Australia, but world-wide. If that attitude keeps us in consideration as an important independent label, then awesome.

To celebrate your massive milestone Vicious is releasing a bunch of singles and remixes, "a compilation sharing its immense history with a modern twist" . How did you decide which tracks you would release to showcase the label?

We started working on this over a year ago. Looking back at creatively significant releases as well as commercially successful releases. Artists and particular tracks may have been small in number, but culturally significant. I think tracks like ‘Dreams of Heaven’ by Ground Level were important, because they broke internationally on an underground level at a time when Vicious was in its formative years. Likewise, with ‘Eternal’ by Eternal (which Carl Cox and Mark James produced. I worked on it in our little Frankston studio). Neither were huge money makers, but they were a huge part of the scene back then. We remixed ‘Dreams of Heaven’ for ‘30 Years of Vicious,’ but left ‘Eternal’ untouched. The original really is a special kind of record. Applying this sort of value to our whole catalogue, looking at releases and artists we’ve worked with, dictated most of the choices. A few legal issues also did get in the way and did have some effect on what we could and could not remix.

There is a '30 Years of Vicious’ Tour planned for both here and Europe, when will this tour be kicking off and what can attendees expect?

We’re working through dates now for key Australian cities which will see Sgt Slick, Andy Van and myself. There will also be other artists included who we work with, when we hit their cities. Internationally, it’s a little tricky with touring just getting back up to speed, so more on that as things progress.

A documentary is also planned to flex the impressive footprint Vicious has made on the industry, what formats will this be released on and when can we look forward to watching it?

This is still in the very early stages. This concept grew from a discussion around interviews with key artists around key releases on the label. It grew from there, as the story of so many artists over such a long time, came together to chat about the past 30 years. We have a ‘30 Years of Vicious’ timeline going onto our website in July which will feature over 60 highlight stories from over our 30 years and it’s those stories from that timeline that will form the backbone of a documentary. But to be honest, it’s very early in the planning stages, with only a couple of interviews shot so far.

“I emphasise “partner with” because a label should not be dictating to an artist”

— John Course

What's next for Vicious Recordings? What does the next 30 Years look like?

We want to keep doing what we have always done, which is to find and develop great releases and artists. We want to continue to evolve our business model, which has been a priority, to compete on a global scale. The ‘old’ music model was licensing into most territories, so we used to find and sign an artist, have Vicious release the first version of the track on vinyl, then various labels around the world would license it and release it in their countries. In 2022 we have global distribution and we release worldwide direct with DSP’s. We build relationships with Beatport, Traxsource and the major streaming services directly and we engage 3rd party PR from various places around the world to bring attention to our Vicious and other Vicious related labels and their releases.

It’s no longer a licensing model, but a global model and we’ve worked towards that for some time. We have to partner with creative artists to help them make great music and take it to the market with the correct business application and apply our knowledge to help artists be successful. I emphasise “partner with” because a label should not be dictating to an artist. It should be helping them with things they do not understand and assisting them to make the very best music they can, while making sure the business strategy is strong. We also have to remain open to technology and changes in the music industry. You cannot stop change just because you don’t like it (the majors tried with streaming and downloads for years), but you have to embrace the new world and come to terms with how it works. Streaming is a very difficult proposition simply because globally known artists have such a head start due to their engaged artist bases that bring instant streaming numbers compared to a new artist. But new artists will always break through, with great music. There are challenges for sure, but great music and content is still the answer to any problems, so that is what we have to strive for. Hopefully we are looked at as an inspiring place for electronic music in another 30 years!

For More info, go to:

Website www.vicious.com.au

Social Links INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK

Music Links SPOTIFY | BEATPORT | TRAXSOURCE | SOUNDCLOUD

Interview by Michelle Symes

June 2022