Row Records

Row Records is a German record label from Jena, founded in 2014 by Paul Ormanns and Christian Petzoldt. »Jena is not exactly a metropolis« Ormanns says openly, when speaking about the pretty international roster of his label. In the Thuringian city you will find at least two institutions, which are widely known to the scene over the borders; the club Kassablanca and the record store Fatplastics, at which Ormanns operates behind the till. It was there where an opportunity arose to establish a label. »I simply wrote to Keita Sano and Die Roh and explained to them the rough concept and they could imagine it. Afterwards everything came into play« remembers Ormanns. He got his good friend Petzoldt involved and he in turn hired the artist Alexander Neugebauer for the artwork. Suddenly a rough concept turned into a refined one, that included rustling dance music with all kinds of unusual influences – the main thing is, is that it sounds raw. Row already attracted a lot of attention with the first release by the Japanese producers Keita Sano. Even the online platform resident Advisor published a review without ever receiving a promo from the three. Whether Ormanns’ position at Fatplastics was a deciding factor? »One know the distributors and their channels of distribution, that somehow makes many things easier«, he admits about his »dream job«. However for Row it’s all about merit.»For us the vinyl is also the prettiest format, to listen to music from and even to collect«, says Ormanns – a directive, which is evidently reflected in the limited, decoratively presented releases by Row. Everything sounds watertight, however there is not a master plan for Row. »It must just somehow work out on a musical and personal level. Every record should represent itself.« Whether it is Sano, the Italian duo, or the Milanese group MCMXC, the main thing is that it sounds raw, or more precisely; Row.