www.musicweek.com PROFILE KILLING MOON ‘DON’T CHASE THE LABEL DEAL’
Achal Dhillon and Ally McCrae spend their days helping new music get heard through Turn First Artist subsidiary Killing Moon, alongside various other personal projects and live events
LABELS n BY RHIAN JONES
F
inding a space in the crowded music market is a tricky task. When faced with an infinite amount of competition online, it’s not hard to
see why new artists might feel defeated. But making a mark should be down to one thing: the quality of the music. One good song can launch an artist’s career if it reaches the right ears and making sure it does it what founder of music company Killing Moon Achal Dhillon (pictured, right) and DJ/artist manager Ally McCrae (pictured, left) have spent their careers aiming to do. “There seems to be this prescribed format about
how certain people perceive the so-called ‘career path in music’ and artists just need to concentrate on their craft,” explains Dhillon. “There are certain companies out there that make you feel like you’re nothing without them. One of the points we’re trying to prove is that you can just have a good song and, coupled with the right amount of exposure, there’s no telling where it might go.” Founded in 2010 as a tastemaker blog, Dhillon
– who was working in A&R – launched Killing Moon to have an outlet to shout about the new music he was passionate about. It has since evolved into a label, management and events company. While the label taps into the resources of the Universal-owned Turn First Artists, Killing Moon is largely left “to its own devices”. It acts as the more left-field arm of the pop-centric Turn First (which counts names such as Rita Ora, Conor Maynard and Iggy Azalea on its roster). “In terms of going after certain artists for releases, Turn First more or less leave us to it really,” says Dhillon. The label released its first compilation New
Moons in January, featuring artists such as Fickle Friends, Racing Glaciers and Laurel. The first ever Killing Moon tour followed in May, headlined by Sons Of Lovers. McCrae got involved to have a more permanent outlet through which to give acts he rated a leg up while presenting the Introducing show alongside Jen Long on BBC Radio 1. “I’d get involved with bands that I loved and their management would ask if I could play [their tracks on the radio show] again at the end of a seven week campaign. I’d have to say no because I’d have so much to get through that I wanted to put on,” he explains. “It was nice to be able to offer [a place on the compilation] to bands that needed that extra push.” Due to budget cuts, Introducing is off the airwaves as of September, and McCrae has plans to take more of an active role in Killing Moon. Compilation number two is out on September 15 and the company’s first Club NME takeover at Camden’s Koko will take place on September 19. Names championed by Killing Moon that’ve
since gone on to big things include Royal Blood, Clean Bandit, Alt-J (known as Films at the time) and Foxes (then known as Louisa Rose). “We’re not tied down by genre or by any motive other than, ‘Here’s a great track, listen to it, we like it for this, this and this reason,’” adds Dhillon. “We’re about more than assimilating the artists. Rather than appropriating them into our brand, we
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“There seems to be this prescribed format about how certain people perceive the so-called ‘career path in music’. But artists just need to concentrate on their craft. There are certain companies out there that make you feel like you’re nothing without them, we’re trying to prove that you can just have a good song. Coupled with the right amount of exposure, there’s no telling where it might go” ACHAL DHILLON, KILLING MOON
want to do something with them that’s mutually beneficial.” Dhillon’s more than happy to act as a springboard for artists who then go on to sign major label deals. “Royal Blood signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell two weeks after we posted a blog about them,” he explains. “They were destined to be huge and needed a huge input of finances. But we’ll continue that association. In terms of running a music company, I don’t believe it’s always about the deal. It’s about the relationship - if a deal comes of it then brilliant, but if not, we’re not going to force anyone like, ‘If we say this about you, you have to sign to us.’ We’ll find other ways to interact with the guys and that’s applicable to a plethora of different bands. “One of the things I love about music is that it
does come down to that one thing to tip the balance and change everything for an artist. It could be one show, song, radio play, blog post, compilation release, tour or conversation. We’re just trying to give as much gravity to that and use this clout that we’ve got to help other people, not as a charity, but because a good song deserves to be heard.”
NEW MOONS: VOLUME 2
Released on September 15, Killing Moon’s second compilation features 26 up-and-coming artists that Achal Dhillon and Ally McCrae support. The first release, New Moon, remains the label’s fastest selling release, despite not having any marketing spend behind it. “I want Volume 2 to be louder, amplified,” says Dhillon. “We absolutely love these bands and want more people to take notice of what they are doing.” Names to have made the track listing include: - Money For Rope (pictured): a three-piece surf/garage/soul outfit from Melbourne, reportedly known for their ability to “evoke a punter’s desire to really move”. - Washington Irving: the Glasgow electric/folk band have been described as a mix between Mumford And Sons and The Clash and have toured with fellow highlanders Frightened Rabbit. - The Casket Girls: signed to Graveface Records in the US, the ‘eerie- pop’ trio is formed of sisters Phaedra and Elsa Greene and producer/ label head Ryan Graveface. They’ve just come to the end of a US tour. Others on the CD include Rare Monk, John Joseph, Brill Racing, Glaciers, Taymir, Radio On, Fickle Friends, Holy, One Bit, Jack + Eliza, Jay Brown, St. South, Strong, Asian Mothers, Deathcats, The Wild Curve, Oh Volcano, Model Aeroplanes , Looks, IDLES, Clubs, Cheerleader, Parla and Remi Miles.
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