This year, Cyber Vibe Records has released many phenomenal tracks from the likes of HassegawaH, Brian G, Da Fokin, X.V, Aisec, the imprint owner Alex Schlatweiler, and many more. From the label, it’s hard to find a track that is ridden with bad quality and bad quantity, and to keep up with this good track record, the label has upcoming quality tracks from Issac Blum‘s Progressive House piece Innerself, as well as more coming from Dozikur, INGVI, Deepaa, amongst many others.
The label is also excited to release Brian G‘s former remix Scripturient from a recent remix competition as well as announce their current remix competition that just launched featuring a Melodic Techno and dancefloor filler Sacramento by NIKMIND. The competition itself has acquired a lot of prizes including a hardware synthesizer that isn’t locked by region, allowing anyone to be able to win it worldwide.
As for the imprint owner Alex Schlatweiler, he has been into music since 2005, and after falling in love with Trance, he found himself succumbing to the world of electronic music. His passion for dance music fed into his need to learn synthesis, and use these incredible tools to hone his sound. Finding Cyber Vibe Records in 2020, his intention for the label was to be a tool that is focused on educating new artists on production, marketing, and promotion. Alex desired the label to act as a guide for artists to gain valuable knowledge from other artists in the community, understand concepts of sound design, arrangement, music theory, know which proper gear to use to be successful, the business aspects of how to organize your day, as well as knowing how to operate and market an independent business as a musician.
Welcome to 6AM Alex, we’re glad to have you on and to get to know you and the label Cyber Vibe better. Tell us what’s been keeping you and the label busy lately.
Thank you so much for having me here at 6AM! There is a lot that we are currently doing around the label. Outside of the normal business of signing tracks and building relationships with artists — we are doing so much in terms of helping artists hone their craft, understand the basics of the music business, as well as marketing and advertising strategies. We’re trying to build a community of artists by leveraging our Discord channel to connect artists and keep them engaged on these topics. Getting more experienced artists in touch with newer producers allows everyone to benefit from the conversations we’re trying to build around all aspects of the “business” of music.
“We’re trying to build a community of artists by helping artists hone their craft, understand the basics of the music business, as well as marketing and advertising strategies.”
Cyber Vibe Records stresses the importance of educating their artists.
We are also focused on building remix competitions for the large community of what might be considered underground artists — not just a simple, “Hey remix this track and win some prizes”; We actually offer intensive feedback with all of the submissions that range from anything about the arrangement or sound design of a track, all the way to the mixing. It’s a personal philosophy of mine that both, giving and receiving feedback, are what truly help make an artist grow — which in turn makes them a better songwriter.
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“We actually offer intensive feedback with all of the submissions that range from anything about the arrangement or sound design of a track, all the way to the mixing. It’s a personal philosophy of mine that giving and receiving feedback help make an artist grow — which in turn makes them a better songwriter.”
Cyber Vibe Records does more than showcase music, but also uses the artist’s music as key teaching tool for them to grow.
We also make sure that the tools we give away as prizes are things we (the team at CVR) would use regularly. We’re not going to offer something that we haven’t taken the time to take for a test drive. Our current remix competition features some incredible prizes from the likes of IK Multimedia, D16 Group, Cherry & Baby Audio, as well as lesser-known companies like Abstrakt Music Lab and Artistry Audio, and we can say with certainty, that these companies make amazing products, because we use them in our own productions.
“We also make sure that the tools we give away as prizes are things we (the team at CVR) would use regularly. We’re not going to offer something that we haven’t taken the time to take for a test drive.”
Cyber Vibe doesn’t stray from giving the best quality.
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Your love for Progressive House, Melodic House, and Techno has played a role in your pursuing your own label. What is it about these genres that resonated with you? Any favorite DJs that inspired you, or still inspire you to this day?
The one thing that will forever resonate with me is the ability to tell a story — taking the listener on a journey. I prefer to refer to songwriting a little like writing fiction — you have characters, settings, plot/events, and the story is told for the listener to take this journey — for me, this is exactly the same in almost all music. I first originally noticed this when I picked up Tiesto’s In Search of Sunrise Volume 5, specifically Disc 2 — every track is very memorable, and that whole mix is so moving, yet each track tells a phenomenal story on its own, but combined tells an epic overarching theme — and that is what personally inspires me; it’s the level I strive to produce in my own music, and help others gain in theirs.
“I strive for the ability to tell a story while taking the listener on a journey. I prefer to refer to songwriting a little like writing fiction — you have characters, settings, and plot/events — for me, this is exactly the same in almost all music.”
Create music the same way you would create a story.
When it comes to more modern artists, I laugh because anyone who knows me would know that I would say Colyn. I absolutely cannot shut up about Colyn. Colyn is an extremely minimalistic Melodic House and Techno artist and I absolutely love the way he tells a story with so few instruments — it’s always so moving to hear his work.
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Your label is built on the principles of educating new artists on production, marketing/promotion, and uplifting them during their journey. At 6AM, we also agree that artists should have the right tools and be around the right community to succeed — after all, it can get tough in this community. What inspired you to create the label as more than just a place to release music, but as an uplifting and mind-enriching space?
When I started my journey back in 2005, the internet wasn’t exactly in its modern form where communication and information were literally at a fingertip. I didn’t exactly have anyone to turn to except my copy of Rick Snoman’s The Dance Music Manual — which I still suggest new producers read to this day. Sure, we had forums to try and get answers to questions we may have had, but we didn’t have the instantaneous ability to ask someone with more experience in a subject and get the answer.
“When I started my journey back in 2005, the internet wasn’t exactly in its modern form where communication and information were literally at a fingertip. I didn’t exactly have anyone to turn to except my copy of Rick Snoman’s The Dance Music Manual and we didn’t have the instantaneous ability to ask someone with more experience in a subject and get the answer.”
The internet has shaped the music industry continously — it’s different than what it was 10+ years ago.
Even though there is an instantaneous plethora of great information available on the internet in terms of audio production, I began to notice and found a lot of it to be a bit misleading or not contextualized, so artists were doing things that hurt their productions based on someone on Youtube doing it “that way” without understanding why. So I took it upon myself to try to cater to a community built on not just proper information, but a community full of like-minded individuals who just wanted to become better at a set of skills — a set of skills that they felt like they needed to learn because they just wanted to express themselves because they heard that one track that changed their life — just as I heard music that has changed mine.
“I began to notice and found a lot of information available on the internet, in terms of audio production, to be a bit misleading or not contextualized — so artists were doing things that hurt their productions based on someone on Youtube doing it “that way” without understanding why.
I took it upon myself to try to cater to a community built on not just proper information, but a community full of like-minded individuals who just wanted to become better at a set of skills.”
The backbone of Cyber Vibe comes from Alex’s personal experiences of not having proper guidance from the web or from like-minded artists.
It’s seriously powerful what music can do to the human experience, and in order to get to that level of production, understanding the concepts behind ordering sounds this way, it’s vitally important to the community we’re creating. We say on Discord a lot: “don’t just apply this plug-in or this effect, without understanding what it’s doing, and why you would put it there” — too often, someone comes into the community and asks “what’s your favorite xxx?” and that’s often not the best question for what they want to know — what they’re really asking, is: “why would I use THIS tool in the first place, and why would I avoid using THAT one?”
“We say on Discord a lot: “don’t just apply this plug-in or this effect, without understanding what it’s doing, and why you would put it there” — too often, someone comes into the community and asks “what’s your favorite xxx?” and that’s often not the best question for what they want to know.”
Asking the right questions will give you the results and answers you’re looking for.
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As an uplifting and mind-enriching space, the label is having a remix competition where DJs can win studio/hardware prizes such as the IK Multimedia Uno Synth, and various sound packages. That’s honestly amazing, and a great way for DJs to get their art out there while having fun and winning tools in the process. Would you say that this competition is a great way for new DJs to push themselves beyond their comfort zone?
There are so many great prizes and tools for this quarter’s competition — a big shout out to my A&R Brian for acquiring some insane prizes for every competition we have had this year.
Something we love to see in these competitions is the expansion of the original idea, so pushing oneself beyond their comfort zone can be really important. Even if the Original Mix isn’t exactly your style, there are so many ways to do a remix and make it sound how the remixer thinks it should sound while still holding true to the original ideas. For example, in the past two competitions this year, we had a Drum and Bass remix for each of those that were so unique and original that we ended up loving them so much that we decided to release them alongside the first-place winner.
We feel if you haven’t pushed the envelope in terms of sound, arrangement, genre, or really any part of the song, you’re not doing yourself the right service. Experimenting is the ultimate goal in music production. Trying to figure out a unique take is what it’s all about. If everyone used the same blueprints, then we would all live in the same houses, and driving down the street would be boring, and life would be bland. It’s amazing to hear a track and go: “I’ve never heard anything like this before” and that’s what we’re looking for in the remix competitions. Blow us away.
“We feel if you haven’t pushed the envelope in terms of sound, arrangement, genre, or really any part of the song, you’re not doing yourself the right service. Experimenting is the ultimate goal in music production. Trying to figure out a unique take is what it’s all about.”
Don’t fear the unknown — grasp it and create it into anything you want.
Speaking of DJs, your label has recently pushed out some Sept. featured tracks from Reqe, Dozikur, and will release the latest track “Breaknoise” from 2WIN. What was it about these artists, their music, and their vision that you felt was a great fit for Cyber Vibe?
There are so many different reasons I choose a track to release, it makes it really difficult for me to pinpoint “Oh this is the exact formula of what we are looking for” because let’s face it — if everything sounded exactly the same, music would be really boring. I’m always looking for “Does this convey emotion, does it tell a story?” I do always keep in mind, “Is there anything I can do to help this artist do better with this track”. Most of the time, I have no advice but every once in a while there are a few artists who need a nudge in the right direction to help take their track from good to great.
I know Brian is always listening and can spot a good track with his long experience being a DJ. We are always passing back and forth on potential tracks when we’re looking at potentially releasing to see if one of us spots that thing that makes a track special. I’ll also say there are definitely differing opinions on which tracks are going to make the cut, and that’s the best part of music, is that it’s subjective, but we generally know when one track is a cut above the rest. Our team tends to look for that one theme or one element that really grabs the listener. If I had to give advice to any new artist about what to focus on, I would tell them to make sure there’s a clear motif, or element that defines your story — the listener can follow that and the artist gets their track signed.
Reqe’s track “St. George’s Day” is so profound in the story that it tells, it’s so moving. Reqe gave us a clear defined story and made it emotional. It really touched our ears in a very profound way, but kept that danceable drive, that we felt would make a great dancefloor track as well. Most of all it’s a very unique track.
Dozikur’s track “Downshift” reminded me a little of some music we released last year from HassegawaH. It’s so simple and light, but extremely powerful. It fits extremely well as the end of the summer, heading into fall (for those in the northern hemisphere), as a time of reflection that the holiday and time off were over — and it’s time to return to the house, and prepare for what’s to come with the changing of the leaves and the changing of the season. I thought it was great that we released that track when we did, to highlight its story.
2WIN came at us so hard with this two-track EP. I love a lot of different genres of Dance Music, even though we have our niche inside of Progressive House and Melodic House and Techno I also am very fond of peaktime and hypnotic techno. This EP delivered my needs for peaktime bangers. The release gets the blood pumping, and really drives a heavy sound, which is something that attracted us, and fits in any warehouse or dark techno environment.
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We can’t wait to see what’s in store for you and the label — definitely keep doing what you’re doing. Is there anything else you’d like to share?
There is so much that we are in the process of starting or have already started. I decided that tools should be available as well as affordable to artists. I have a deep personal belief to never master your own mixes/tracks — and a lot of artists in this community are a one-person show, so they tend to master their own music. So I decided that Cyber Vibe Records would offer affordable quality mastering for artists on our website. Now it’s not just a “hand us a mix and we master it, boom — done” kind of thing. We are interested in working with the artist to ensure that they are getting the most out of their mix before going forward with mastering, and we believe that there is a lot of value in that kind of one-on-one setting.
“I have a deep personal belief to never master your own mixes/tracks — and a lot of artists in this community are a one-person show, so they tend to master their own music. So I decided that Cyber Vibe Records would offer affordable quality mastering for artists on our website.
We are interested in working with the artist to ensure that they are getting the most out of their mix before going forward with mastering, and we believe that there is a lot of value in that kind of one-on-one setting.”
Being an artist doesn’t mean you have to go through the process and production alone.
We are also going to start offering one-on-one mentorships. Everyone has something different that they feel they need to learn from mixing to sound design, and we have a team available to cater to individual needs. New producers always struggle with the thought of “am I doing this right?” and they can ask questions in forum settings, but they may get 5 different answers — with mentorship, they’ll have access to someone that can not only show them a technique but give them the reasons behind it in the same setting. We’re going to get mentorships going as a launchpad for rapid growth for producers.
“We’re going to get mentorships going as a launchpad for rapid growth for producers. New producers always struggle with the thought of “am I doing this right?” and they can ask questions in forum settings, but they may get 5 different answers — with mentorship, they’ll have access to someone that can not only show them a technique but give them the reasons behind it in the same setting.”
Educating artists and expanding their minds is always a pivotal move for Cyber Vibe Records.
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This year, we will be giving out really well-engineered starter sample packs for artists who either need samples or hoard them — you know who you are. I personally hoard samples because sometimes it’s better to go through a sample pack and choose the sounds that are most suited for your sound and style than it is to keep the whole pack that could often go unused. Most of these packs will be catered to Progressive House as well as Melodic House and Techno. I’ve also personally been working on a Progressive House Melodic House and Techno Preset pack for U-He’s Diva. It’s full of patches that I personally use and is modeled after a lot of modern sounds that are found throughout those genres of music. It’s set up to be a great primer for anyone just starting or a great addition to your library of presets.
“I personally hoard samples because sometimes it’s better to go through a sample pack and choose the sounds that are most suited for your sound and style than it is to keep the whole pack that could often go unused. This year, we will be giving out really well-engineered starter sample packs for artists who either need samples or hoard them.”
Sample packs can be one of the most feasible ways to create your sound and style.
Brian also has recently started up a blog on the Cyber Vibe Records website where he discusses Tools, Tips, Hardware, VSTs, and other topics that he is very passionate about. It’s updated on a weekly basis so there is always something new to read from him. He even makes video explanations on a lot of the tools that he talks about.
We are exploring ways to move into live shows and performances. We are trying to find interesting and unique ways to expand not only our reach but the reach of our artists — after all, this is a community. If anyone would like to contribute we are very open to new ideas, and we’re interested in hearing what creative thoughts people have on how to reach audiences. If there are ideas that need to be discussed, we want to start those discussions.
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Most of all, If you’re interested in learning more and honing your craft — we have a dedicated and welcoming community of producers and engineers in our Discord server that just have a love of music. Also, be sure to give us a follow on our social media. Our Facebook is geared more toward general news as where Instagram is dedicated to our releases, and our website has a blog and updates on the different areas of the business we’re operating. We want to make it easier for anyone to interact with us, and get in touch with us about how to contribute to the community, so keeping lines of communication available is very important. If you have a track you think may be of interest to us, find us on labelradar, as we are featured there, and love their platform and tools.
Connect with Alex Shlatweiler: SoundCloud丨Facebook丨Twitter丨Beatport丨Instagram
Connect with Cyber Vibe Records: Website丨SoundCloud丨Facebook丨Twitter丨Beatport丨Instagram
