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IDOL Insights: meet Jalapeño Records

by IDOL

Welcome to IDOL’s monthly interview series featuring one of our label partners. This month, Trevor McNamee tells us all about Jalapeño Records, one of UK's funkiest independent labels, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year!

Since its launch in 2000, Jalapeño Records has established itself on the UK funk, soul and electronic music scene. With a deep respect for musical heritage and a passion for innovation, the label has forged a reputation as a purveyor of records that are both timeless and avant-garde.

Home to a diverse and talented roster, Jalapeno has released music from Smoove & Turrell, known for their raw, heartfelt Northern soul energy, and The Allergies, who craft infectious, sample-driven party anthems. Sam Redmore brings a fresh perspective with his soul-drenched remixes and reworks, while Wolfgang Valbrun, with his rich, emotive vocals, adds a deep and soulful touch to the label’s lineup.

Each artist brings a unique style, but all share the label’s commitment to high-quality, soulful music. With a legacy of outstanding releases and a promising future, Jalapeño continues to set the standard for independent labels. Over the years, the label has built up a loyal following, thanks to its high-energy, danceable music with depth and character.

Could you tell us about you and Jalapeño in a few words ? How did Jalapeño get started and how did it get where it’s at today ?

Jalapeno was started by two of our earliest artists and very old friends of mine – Elliot Ireland and Alex Rizzo PKA Skeewiff.
We had all worked together on music in the late 80’s and early 90’s but they became more serious musicians and I went into the business side working at Polydor / BMG / London Records / Jive / Mute / Tommy Boy.

After the better part of a decade doing that, I was a little burned out on music and went travelling for a year. On my return Jalapeno had been formed by them and they invited me to join.

They had been releasing with Ministry of Sound but the cost of touring them became a little too rich and they got dropped including the return of all their unreleased records.
One of them – Mucho Mambo by Shaft became a worldwide hit and that gave them the financial resilience to be able to release their own music rather than rely on someone else to do it.
The label quickly grew including sub labels with Kid Crème (Illegal Beats over 50 releases) and key signings like Kraak & Smaak and Smoove & Turrell who came on board very early and grew with the label.

In recent years we have become more about live bands than producer acts and DJ’s though superstars The Allergies prove you can be both.

Jalapeno was IDOL’s first ever signing in the UK. How has the relationship and service developed over the years?

Well we had decided to make a move from our previous distributor so the offer from IDOL came along at a good time. We had heard that your tech and back end was excellent which was a real point of difference at the time.

We dealt a lot with the French Office at the beginning which was fine for us (we were still Europeans at the time so it felt very natural and the less said about Brexit the better).
We’ve worked with a couple of different IDOL label managers over time and feel like we have grown as a label in conjunction with the UK office of IDOL.

All our label managers have been consistently good and we are always getting great ideas and advice from Grace Theokritoff, our current Label manager.

The label has been releasing music now for an impressive 25 years. How do you keep your catalogue alive and maintain its momentum? Do you have any tips or tricks?

I think it’s about releasing music you are knowledgeable and passionate about. In the beginning we had a lot more electronic club music but as I have spent less time in clubs as the years progress, I don’t feel I have an edge in that field any more so I work more with bands who record live and make music that can be performed live. Last year we had a Saturday main stage takeover at the Shindig Festival which had a great lineup of old and new artists, live and DJ. Definitely one of my proudest days…

What projects are you planning and what are the challenges you face as a true independent?

This year we are concentrating on two long time artists who have been releasing with us for 8 albums each and two new artists who are on their first or second albums.

The playing field has definitely got a bit more challenging for new music from esoteric labels so we are trying to evolve and make sure we still do the best job for artists who trust us with their music.

As it’s our 25th year we are also planning a party or two and a special 25 Years of Jalapeno release.

The main challenges are navigating the changing face of music consumption and as ever competing with the might of the majors for market access.

What are the values of your label ? What specific aspects of your projects are you trying to put forward and how ?

We pay our artists. On time. Every 6 months. When we got a payout via IDOL for the sale of Merlin’s shares in Spotify we split it 50/50 with our artists.

As a label we value soul in the music whether that is a voice or an instrument or a style of production. It has to have some funk to it.

After 25 years we are known for that and although we have released everything from gospel through to Drum & Bass I think that runs through all of it.

What makes a Jalapeno artist? What are you looking for in prospective signings? Any specific values or markers that you look for? You’re leaders in your field - how do you maintain that consistency?

We’re looking for something we haven’t heard before. A lot of time now that is a voice. Sometimes it’s a production style. Talent and ability is no longer enough.

They have to be together enough to compete with all the other artists who want people’s attention, so they need to be ready to tour and to some extent to work the social media aspect.

We have access to the market in quite a specific way – from the radio support we get through to press or the kind of DSP’s we build a community on.
The artists we sign need to be able to fit in with that for them to be successful with us. If we get sent something we think could be successful with a different label we will try and direct the artist to them.

Streaming has been a double edged sword. It has given us a lot – the main thing being some financial consistency every month (for us and our artists) as all the catalogue streams every month. Some of our biggest monthly streamers are more than 5 years old so we are not relying on what’s just been released to sustain us. The upside of that is we don’t have to sign anything and can take our time until we find an artist we really want to sign and who wants to sign with us.

Could you tell us about a significant project and the environment of its campaign that would define the global strategy and challenges of your label ?

I think Juicy Fruit by Kraak & Smaak is one of the most significant as it included a 50 million plus streamers that helped sustain us and them in the years that followed.

They are a Dutch band, signed to a UK label who tour worldwide including the US. From the start we all treated the project from an international perspective and hired promo teams in all major markets and made high quality marketing content.

The band toured extensively in support and the A&R on the album was excellent (The band and their manager did the A&R by the way – I’m not blowing my own trumpet).

I guess because I had a background at the majors (my early career was all in international departments) we have always looked beyond the UK which would not be a big enough market to sustain a niche label like ours.
Digital Distribution allowed us to open up to the world with less risk and look at global markets not just our home and that has always been important to us.

Sadly Brexit and the increasingly algorithmic nature of DSPs has made that kind of investment more difficult so we are now very careful about the artists we can go all in on.
Everything needs to be right, Touring, management and artist engagement with fans before we can really open the floodgates on marketing and promotion.

What are your main strengths (as an independent label) ? What differentiates you from other similar labels ?

The main strength we all have is that there is generally no change in the main person our artists are signing to and dealing with.
There is a mad merry go round of rights buyers at the moment which we have no intention of joining.

The main point of differentiation (I think) is the global outlook and willingness to invest in multiple territories.

Why do you think Independence Is A Strength?

Because the majors are in it for profit, not art. There are people working there who love music for sure but at the top there are shareholders and the driver is money.
The business talent gets poached from corporation to corporation every time an exec is successful, so you sign with one A&R then find yourself in the cold when they get replaced a year later.

Happens much less in independents (at least the ones that aren’t major feeder labels).
Ultimately as an independent business owner I make all the signing decisions and if I really believe in a project I can get behind it however the data and financials look.

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