Ernesto Rodrigues Interview

Tadeusz Kosiek - Are you the only owner of Creative Sources Label?

Ernesto Rodrigues - I guess the answer to that question may be yes. Nevertheless, in practical terms you can say Carlos Santos is a very important contributor to the way my label works. Almost all graphic work is produced by him and as you can imagine that is not a minor task in our job.

Tadeusz Kosiek - Why did you decide to establish Creative Sources Recordings?

Ernesto Rodrigues - Firstly it was to become the label to produce and edit my own work. It was the only solution to achieve that here in Portugal. And it was to be specifically an Improv label. I started from scratch and still have absolutely no financial support. Then as time went by and I realized other musicians were showing interest in also have their work released by me I decided to follow that path - keeping in mind my own criteria as far as choosing what to release. At this moment there’s an increasingly number of musician sending me their proposals and the label as become more and more international.

Tadeusz Kosiek - What is the status of your label?

Ernesto Rodrigues - Creative Sources is a non profit home organization whose profits (when there are any) are all invested in releasing other productions.

Tadeusz Kosiek - What criteria or guidelines do you go by when selecting musicians for your label?

Ernesto Rodrigues - There’s no recipe in which that criteria is based upon. I usually receive sample cds from musicians interested on having their work released by CSR and it all resumes to listening to it. If I feel it matches the overall spirit of the label I contact the musicians and we're on. The label is mainly focused in the new tendencies but I somehow feel the need to not loose all links with some other forms which might in some way be related or connected with it.

Tadeusz Kosiek - What size are usually the editions of CSR records?

Ernesto Rodrigues - All CSR editions have been 500 cds. The reason for such a low number is the fact this is not a best selling music as we all know.

Tadeusz Kosiek - Which of them sells the best?

Ernesto Rodrigues -To be honest it is hard to give you a straight answer to that question. The fact is that this is a music which doesn’t sell a lot no matter where you are or where you're from. Usually if you talk about the lesser known musicians what happens is that distributors from their countries will make slightly larger orders then they do from other musicians. In the end you can’t say an item sells better than any other.

Tadeusz Kosiek - Which record released by your label do you admit to be the most important? and why? and which do you like best?

Ernesto Rodrigues -If you forget the first cd (Multiples) which started the label and was obviously very important for me, you can say all CSR productions are the most important for me. I tend to see this label as a work in progress and all that happens in it in our daily activity is what makes it alive and makes me happy. Whenever I receive a new sample cd which I like and decide to release. That is the most important thing for me. So I’m looking forward to keep receiving more and more quality music all the time.
Since I feel this label not as an egotic project but mainly as a vehicle to try and give visibility to something you could label as underground aesthetics which is usually bearly known or even totally unknown.

Tadeusz Kosiek - Are you now at heart a musician or a label owner?

Ernesto Rodrigues - Above all I’ll always be a musician. To be a label owner in my case was like an accident and a natural consequence of being a musician in my surroundings and doing the music I do. In the future you'll tend to be more and more your own label owner as the traditional and old way, the big record company - where room for these marginal musical expressions tended to shrink - is disappearing and new spaces keep opening in the new coming smaller labels.

Tadeusz Kosiek, April 2005