Hello everyone!
Glad to have you here. Today, we are unveiling our newest venture - okla records. But first - some history.
A couple of months ago, in early 2023, Michał invited Bartek to play a concert. He was hosting the 'Syntezy' ('Synthesis') showcases in one of the neighbourhood cultural centres of Nowa Huta, the socialist utopia city built by the newly in-power communist regime of Poland that wanted to prove what it's worth (now it's a suburb of town it was built next to - Kraków). 'Syntezy' were a place and a time, a semi-regular shindig where local artists could present their work, get some experience, hone their craft, and talk to other artists. Maybe even sell a record or two. At that point, Bartek hasn't played a show in about 7 years but he thought - why the hell not?
Flash-forward, they meet up again, up north this time, in the breezy town of Gdynia, a port city built by the Polish government after the First World War in the wake of the Treaty of Versailles' decision to make the main port town, Gdańsk, a 'free city' not affiliated with either Germany or Poland. Between slices of pizza, with the July sun beating down relentlessly, he floats the idea of a label.
Bartek thinks - why the hell not?
In the months since, we've ironed out some kinks, made some plans, collected some demos. Our resident designer reached into heaven and hell to produce unique covers.
We're as ready as we'll ever be. Onto the future.
We want okla to be a furthering of the synthesis ethos, a place common, shared, speckled with experiences of the artists that have trusted us with their works. We want to showcase works that we love and know you will too as well. Our heart lies in ambient and our releases will be available in low-run, professionally-dubbed cassettes, as well as digitally via our Bandcamp page (streaming services will follow after a brief period of exclusivity). We will release three albums every quarter (this will be a 'batch') and if you get all three you will get not only our eternal thank-yous but also, and arguably more-importantly, will save on the albums themselves and the shipping.