As if recently releasing his fourth studio album and having an abundance of songwriting credits to his name wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Matt Maltese has announced his own record label.
The singer-songwriter has launched Last Recordings On Earth in association with independent music company Communion.
The new label’s vision has been described as one to help artists “co-exist and build sustainable careers together” – a world Maltese knows all too well as both an artist himself and a songwriter collaborating with others.
Searows is the first signing to Matt Maltese’s new label, Last Recordings On Earth.
To mark the news, Maltese has announced the label’s first recruit in Searows – the alias of Kentucky-born, Oregon-raised Alec Duckart.
In turn, the indie-folk artist has released his debut single with the record, with his new track ‘Older’ marking the first tune from his new EP out later this year.
Have a listen to ‘Older’ below.
Being the debut signing to Maltese’s new label marks a new chapter in Searows’ fledgling yet fast-growing artistic path.
The artist released his debut album Guard Dog last year, which received co-signs from the likes of Ethel Cain (who subsequently invited Searows on tour earlier this year), and Gracie Abrams (who likewise has invited him to join her for dates in the UK and Europe later this year).
Speaking about why he felt the need to establish his own label, Maltese has said: “As an artist that has been signed, dropped and signed again, and made DIY albums when it was my only option, I feel like I’ve become so acutely aware how important just being able to continue making music was in it all.
“I had a few moments where I genuinely almost stopped, and I realise how so much of that was down to making realistic financial decisions.
Photo: Reed Schick
“I really believe that there is space for lots of artists to coexist and build sustainable careers together and that the further we step away from a kind of ‘go big or go home’ mentality, the less destruction of artists’ careers there would be, and the more artists would be able to grow into the artist they’re meant to become.
“Starting a label is a chance to share this ethos, and I feel very fortunate for that chance. I also think it’s no bad thing when artists work with artists and that people on both sides of the line being able to empathise as much as possible with what the person they’re working with feels is a good thing.
“Needless to say, I also get a lot from the mentoring aspect of it all and the possibility of building a community.”
You can have a read of that entire journey and how it fed into Maltese’s most recent album via our reasonably recent interview with the singer-songwriter here.
