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Episode Description
“How you present something affects how you hear it.”
Presented by HELLBENDER VINYL - www.hellbenderviny.com
In this episode, I sit down with Charmaine and Randall of Kou Records — one of the most ambitious and creative indie labels I’ve come across — to break down their “cohort” model: multiple records released together as a unified body of work.
We talk about:
- Why they reject genre, algorithms, and streaming-first thinking
- How they combine music + visual art into a single experience
- The philosophy behind releasing 4–5 records at once
- Why physical products matter more than ever in the age of AI and “content”
- How constraints (like recording an album in 4–5 days) actually unlock creativity
This is a masterclass in thinking differently about what a record label can be — and why the future might belong to labels willing to take creative risks.
Kou Records: www.KouRecords.com
Proudly Supported by Infinite Catalog: www.infinitecatalog.com