Based in Málaga, Amuza Producciones is a production company dedicated to independent, original, and high-quality cultural projects. In its relatively short history, it has focused on offering something different and always adding value to every idea it undertakes. Following the recent release of Little Book of Horrors, they shared their vision, enthusiasm, and future plans with lodemasesruido.com.
Who are Amuza Producciones and what is the idea behind the project?
Amuza Producciones is made up of four people who love culture in general, who one day decided to take a step forward and launch our own projects, mainly supporting emerging artists or those involved in the independent scene, while also supporting established artists and adhering to the principle of quality in all our work.
What difficulties does a small production company like Amuza face on a daily basis?
In our personal case, the main difficulty lies in making high-quality products with small budgets, something that to date, and with a lot of effort, we are exceeding.
What is the process that leads you to say “this artist interests us”? Do you go out “talent scouting,” or do the musicians contact you?
Once we have a clear idea of what we want to do, we go hunting for artists who fit our projects, although there are exceptions. And naturally, we work with them again on other projects where they’re a good fit.
What does a musician need to have to get on Amuza’s radar?
Creativity and quality in their work; it doesn’t have to be commercial, it just has to fit into our projects.
Most netlabels today opt for a digital format, distributing music online. Amuza, however, has chosen a more traditional distribution method: physical formats. Why? Will you explore digital distribution in the future? And vinyl?
Although we will soon explore the digital format, we are committed to the physical; deep down we are romantics and we love being able to touch our products, and of course, this will also include issuing some vinyl records; we have already thought about it.
You’ve also released projects that go beyond a simple CD album. Is that the only, or perhaps the best, way to add value to the product?
The truth is that we want to add value to our products, that’s why we focus more on the physical format where we can present our work in a very special way and ensure that everyone who buys one of our products has a unique and high-quality collector’s item in their hands.
So far you’ve focused mainly on electronic music, specifically synthpop. Why? Will you continue in this direction in the future, or are there plans to diversify your catalog?
For now, we’ve focused on this particular style because we love it and because there are some great artists on the national scene, but to be honest, if you listen to some of our compilations like Synthetic Generation or Little Book of Horrors, you’ll see other styles are also very present. In the future, we’d like to add other genres to our catalog; in fact, we already have our eye on a few artists.
Eleven Spanish artists are participating in Little Book of Horrors. Does Amuza have a policy of giving visibility to national talent?
Although we are open to any national and international artist, the truth is that we like to support homegrown artists because we have great talent here; you just have to look a little to find top-level artists.
Both Silencio de Metal and Little Book of Horrors combine electronic music and comics. How did you come up with this fusion? Are you aware of any precedents for this format? Do you know if it has been successful, either among comic book fans or electronic music fans, or both?
As we’ve already mentioned, Spain boasts a wealth of talented artists across a multitude of creative fields. That’s why we decided to combine two of them: music and comics. We took advantage of our connections to top-tier artists like Juan Antonio Torres ‘El Torres,’ the only Spanish screenwriter who regularly publishes in the American market, and Carlos Vaso, founder of the legendary duo Azul y Negro. It’s a relatively unexplored fusion, but one that’s proving incredibly successful. By unifying both artistic disciplines into a single product, we offer something extra, transforming our work into collector’s items and cult classics.
In the electronic music genre, what’s your take on the national music scene? And in other countries? Do you have any contact with musicians, producers, or communities related to electronic music outside of Spain?
The Spanish electronic music scene is sadly relegated to the sidelines, despite having top-tier artists whose work would likely be more widely recognized had they been born elsewhere. The Spanish music industry plays it safe, opting for the same formula or, worse, repeating itself endlessly: the same product under different names. Currently, we have no contacts with producers and artists from other countries, although we do closely follow what’s happening abroad.
What plans does Amuza have for the future, in the short, medium and long term?
We’ve just begun, and our creative energy and capacity are at 100%. We have big projects in mind, not only in music; we’re a producer of cultural projects, and we’ll soon surprise you again with new artistic facets. In the short term, though, what’s coming up is the release of the first CD from After the Rain, one of the bands that regularly collaborates with Amuza. You’ll discover an exceptional and incredibly high-quality work there. Plus, you’ll soon have the opportunity to explore much more of that work because we’ll be releasing a free EP download. As you can see, we’re still looking ahead, slowly but surely.