[Audionet] How would you describe the sound of Afe Records? What would you tell about your music to people who haven't heard any of your releases?

[Andrea Marutti] It would be almost impossible to describe the sound of Afe because Afe doesn't focus on any particular sound or musical trend. All the music released on Afe is made with extensive use of electronic instruments and that's it... No matter if it sounds like Ambient, Techno, Industrial, Synth Pop, Downtempo, etc.: if it's good and it's electronic there is a strong chance that Afe is interested to release it.The aim of Afe is to break down the barriers existing in electronic music and its efforts are addressed to all the fearless / open-minded listeners who will be able to get over the terrible shock of seeing such extremely different productions standing side by side. I know that this may sound pretentious or even arrogant, but with its high quality releases Afe is taking CD-Rs into another dimension: you won't find crap artworks and packages, lo-fi recordings and so on. All Afe products are released with the best possible materials and quality. A lot of care and passion is put into assembling each and every disc. Even thought most of the Afe releases are limited to a few hundreds of copies, or even less, they can compete and often win over regular CD releases.

[Audionet] When did you start Afe and where did you find the name for the label?

[Andrea Marutti] Everything started in 1995 when I released a few tapes of my music on purpose of gifting some friends of mine with them. The label didn't have a name at that time, then I had the chance to release music recorded by some of my closest friends and I felt the need of giving the label a proper name. I choose Afe (which stands for "Another Friendly Edition") because I thought it was a good idea to clearly state what the label attitude was.Even thought now I'm dealing with a lot of people and lots of releases are regularly added to the Afe catalogue, I try to keep everything on the same friendly level as it has always been.

[Audionet] What is the position of Afe in Italy? How popular is this kind of music there?

[Andrea Marutti] Afe is getting more and more recognition these days and was recently quoted as "the most important CD-R label in Italy" on Blow Up, the best-selling italian alternative music magazine. Maybe they were a bit too much enthusiasthic about my work, but it's a pleasure to receive such positive feedback.It's a fact that these days my mail-box is regularly crowded with demos and that many well-known artists have showed interest in seeing their music released on Afe. Most of the Afe releases are also getting good reviews on the web and in the press among regular CDs. This is my biggest satisfaction because people is often confused and think about CD-Rs as a low-budget un-professional thing. That is untrue with Afe releases and maybe this will help to change the situation.I wouldn't say that the music released on Afe is very popular in Italy among the public, it's more popular among the critics. People is being feeded with a lot of propaganda and most of them don't like to "search" for things, they just take what they are given... I guess that too many people here have lost their curiosity and this is too bad. I don't mean to say that it's bad for Afe, I mean to say it's too bad for their lives.Anyway, Afe releases are getting distributed worldwide, I would be glad if they were more popular here in Italy but that is not so important.

[Audionet] What is Afe for you? Hobby or full time job?

[Andrea Marutti] Afe is an underground label. The "biggest" Afe release was made in 333 copies only. It's not a big business and I'm glad of such situation: I have a regular job and Afe is just my passion, not a way of earning more and more money. That is not the point.If I wanted to earn money with Afe I wouldn't release the music made by unknown bands and musicians, but I would focus only on more famous artists. I could do it, but I won't. Afe has its "best-sellers" each now and then, and that is a good thing because they help to produce all the other releases. When I choose an album for release I never think about its selling potential. If I like it, I release it. That's all.I'm going to co-produce a few regular CDs with another bigger italian label during 2003, Eibon Records, but essentially I want to keep Afe as it is now: a small friendly label where I can take care of every aspect of the production with the kind help of a few friends and feel 100% satisfied of every single disc along with the artists who made the music and the people who buy them.

[Audionet] How many releases have you done until now and which ones are your favorites?

[Andrea Marutti] As I told you before, the first Afe releases were tapes, there were 8 of them in total during 1995-1997. The first Afe CD-R appeared in 1998 and since then more than 50 full-length albums and 10 EPs were released including two big box-sets and some 3” discs. I obviously enjoy all the music that I release, but of course I have some favourites.I find that among the latest Afe releases Dronaement’s “Yr” is really the best one. In my opinion his dronings are pure magic. I feel very well whenever I listen to them. This is also the very first Afe release that includes a multimedia section. There will be more in the future.Frog Pocket’s “Caric Kils” is another favourite of mine. He calls his music “splatterbeat-folk-tronica” or something like that… it’s the weirdest sound you will ever have the chance to listen. John C. Wilson, the man behind Frog Pocket, is a very talented guy. I always thought that he was going to be a star one day and it looks like that day is coming very soon: his music is about to be released on Mu-ziq’s label Planet Mu and on Benbecula in the U.K.Going back to 2001 I have another couple of favourites, they are True Colour Of Blood’s “The Significance of Secrecy” and Bad Sector’s “Retrovirus”. Eric Kesner of True Colour Of Blood makes great ambient music using only guitars and effects instead of the usual array of synthesizers and samplers. I will also have the great pleasure to release his latest album sometimes during this year. I guess that Bad Sector needs no introduction, he’s one of the most well-known and respected italian experimental artists. I truly believe that his “Retrovirus” is a real masterpiece that ranks among his best works. Its mixture of dark ambient and more noisy patterns is simply perfect. He’s great.

[Audionet] Do you get many demos from young talented musicians? Do you like to listen to them?

[Andrea Marutti] Yes, the number of demos I receive is increasing day by day. I would say that most of them are very good with a few exceptions. Anyway, it would really be impossible to release all the good stuff that I receive… Of course I like to listen to demos because there’s always the chance to know interesting people and music. It takes some time, but I usually write back a few lines to all the people that send me their music for evaluation purposes.

[Audionet] You will release the first album of Slovakian band mindMap. Why did you decide to release their album? How do you like their music?

[Andrea Marutti] I received a 4 tracks demo from mindMap about one year ago and I was quite impressed by their music. That was the first time I promised someone a release on Afe even thought I only had the chance to listen to a few tracks instead of the complete work. You can’t even imagine my surprise when I recently received the definitive master for the album… most of their latest tracks are even better than the ones I listened in the first time!They decided to contact me after speaking with Stefan of Drone Records in Germany and I am so happy that they did. Their album entitled “Plochy” is out in March 2003 and it surely is one of my favourite releases ever. If there has to be an album that synthesize all the different styles of electronic music released on Afe, that is “Plochy”. It has ambient textures, it has songs, you can dance to certain tracks and you can appreciate all the research that went into crafting the sounds on others. It’s a 360° journey into the realm of the electronic sound and I’ll try my best to promote it.In a perfect world mindMap’s music would be released on a major label and would sell thousands copies… This is surely not a perfect world, but I truly hope that this release on Afe will help mindMap to get a wider audience and showcase their big talent. mindMap deserve attention from the music industry, if their music would reach the right ears I’m sure that they could make a living out of it. That’s for sure.

[Audionet] Are you informed about the scene in Slovakia?

[Andrea Marutti] I would be a liar if I say so… I’m not in touch with anyone in Slovakia except mindMap. There are a lot of good bands and musicians in every Country and I am sure that Slovakia is no exception at all. Maybe some of them could have a look at the Afe web site and download some mp3 files to see what this is all about.