Interview: Dean Bein of True Panther Sounds

By Liu Kai, 2010年 9月 30日

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专访纽约独立厂牌True Panther Sounds老板Dean Bein

Dean Bein is the founder of True Panther Sounds, a Matador imprint that he started with some friends in San Francisco in 2007. Now based in New York, Dean oversees releases of True Panther’s artists, including Girls, Glasser, Magic Kids, and Real Estate. Dean came to Beijing with Delorean, another True Panther band that was invited to play as part of Vice x Intel’s Creators Project. Their gear was locked up at customs so they couldn’t play, but we met up with Dean and Ekhi, Delorean’s vocalist/bassist, at D22 on their last night in Beijing.

Liu Kai: When did True Panther start? How did True Panther get started?

Dean Bein: I guess it was 3 years ago now… It wasn’t really serious until maybe about a year and a half ago. It started as a really small punk label, putting out 500 copies of singles by our friends’ bands, mainly from San Francisco/Bay Area. That was always the only real goal or ambition. At a certain point a few of the bands started having a lot of success so it grew a little bit. It started with a few of my friends and I, and then they both sort of stopped so I was just doing it myself. Then Matador took notice, and they brought it in.

check out Girls’s music on True Panther’s site

LK: How does the collaboration with Matador work?

Dean: [Matador] liked the music and they wanted to bring in a different voice to the kind of music they were releasing. [True Panther] is under them, it’s an imprint, but I still run everything and am responsible for the records that are released. But for certain big records like Girls, Delorean, Magic Kids or Glasser we get to work with other people in the office like the publicist, the sales people and marketing people.

LK: Now True Panther is based in New York?

Dean: Yeah, I moved there almost three years ago. Pretty soon after we started.

LK: You came to Beijing because Delorean, one of your label’s bands, was invited by the Creators Project to play. What are your impressions of Beijing as a first-time visitor?

Dean: It’s been great… We’ve spent the last four days walking around completely lost and confused, but enjoying some really beuatiful places and good food. It’s a completely new world and it’s really cool to see parts of the music scene really clearly starting and being at this really exciting point.

check out Delorean’s music on True Panther’s site

LK: Delorean is from Barcelona, how did you get in touch with them?

Dean: [Vocalist and bassist] Ekhi came and read a paper he wrote for a magazine and we had mutual friends, so he crashed on my couch for a week and a half. Then last summer Girls and Lemonade played at Primavera Sound Festival [in Barcelona]. Lemonade bought me a ticket to come out and we all stayed at Ekhi’s apartment. Then as [Delorean] recorded their record they would send me tracks just to talk about the music, and when he sent the last track of the album we said “Wait… this is really amazing music, and we’re already friends, we should work on this record together.”

LK: Have you enjoyed any BJ bands?

Dean: Yeah, I really liked Re-TROS and New Pants [at the Creators Project show]. I saw Carsick Cars and Brain Failure before… I saw Brain Failure when I was a teenager in San Francisco and Carsick Cars I saw when they came to New York and they were really good. There’s a lot of cool music obviously. It feels like a really young, growing punk scene which is so awesome. People are excited and don’t seem cynical, there seems to be a lot of music being made.

stream live recordings of Re-TROS and New Pants at the Creators Project show

LK: What differences have you noticed between the Chinese and American music scenes?

Dean: China reminds me of when I was a teenager in San Francisco because music was really informal, just people starting tons of bands and playing do-it-yourself venues, figuring it out as they went along. At some point some of them move on and get bigger, but that’s never anyone’s primary goal. It’s more about having fun and creating a community. I moved to New York when I was older and it’s a little more expensive so it’s a lot harder to have a more informal community, people take their bands a lot more seriously and sometimes it takes the fun and experimentation out of it. But here [in Beijing] it seems really cool, there looks like there are a few venues that all kinds of people can go to.

LK: How often do you see live music in the US?

Dean: I go to see live music 4 or 5 days a week usually. Every bands stops through New York so there’s music every night. If I had an infinite amount of energy I’d go every night.

LK: What kind of venues do you go to in New York?

Dean: There are a few punk houses that have shows, but mainly clubs. A few people set up all-ages shows. In New York it’s a lot more strict with alcohol so you can’t get in certain places if you’re under 21. There are a few people who do all-ages shows that are a little more experimental, and big bands also play them. New York is cool… the funny thing is you almost get cynical because there’s so much music that you take it for granted. You take that opportunity to see live music every day for granted. But it is incredible.

LK: What are True Panther’s plans for the future?

Dean: We’re putting out a Glasser album in two weeks. She’s a woman from California who lives in New York now, and she’s almost like Kate Bush, not in her style but the idea, using the voice as a beautiful instrument. I always like putting out singles and 12 inches, there’s going to be a single from a band called Real Estate, a single from a band called Cloud Nothings, and a new Girls records probably at the end of the year. I’m so new to this that I’m trying to take it all very slow and make sure I have enough time to treat every band’s record with respect and give it the time and attention it deserves.

buy the new Glasser album on True Panther’s site

LK: Would you want to work with Chinese bands at some point?

Dean: The thing I’m most excited about right now is to go home and listen to all the new music we’ve been given and bought, I’m stoked for it. The best part of going to a new city is you get all this new music and work through it. I think it would be cool to work with Chinese bands. I’ve been lucky to get to put out records with people from all over the world, so if i can be of service and it makes sense to a Chinese band then yeah, sure.

LK: Last question: What would you say to Chinese people interested in what you’re doing?

Dean: The funny thing is it seems like a record label is the least important thing in China… Fundamentally a record label’s job is to sell music, but that doesn’t happen as much here. Honestly I think that’s amazing. It’s wonderful that people are exploring more music and opening their ears to new-sounding things. So I would just say keep going, keep experimenting!

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