An Interview with
Juteopolis Records
Photo Provided by Juteopolis Records
05 May 2020
‘Juteopolis Records’ is a Dundee based record label set up in 2018 by Padraig Devlin. It first began as a university project, after identifying a gap in the market: “but then this quickly turned into a passion” of Padraig’s and has since, “never looked back.”
The inspiration also came from his friends, who at the time were forming their own band, “so the two went hand in hand and they became the first signing.”
Record labels are required to choose their own unique name, so I asked Padraig, why ‘Juteopolis’, who reveals it has special roots to where he is from: “Juteopolis is a word that’s been used to describe Dundee, my hometown, for years. Dating back to the golden era of Jute, Jam and Journalism. I’d seen the word used by local clothing brand Postal and thought it was a really cool idea, so decided to change the name of the label from ‘Spun from the Law’ to ‘Juteopolis Records.’”
The Dundee record label is not limited to specific genres or styles when looking to sign musicians. Currently they have signed three local bands such as 'The Roques', 'PLASMAS', and 'Midnight Alleys.' 'The Roques' happen to be the very friends who began the same time as ‘Juteopolis Records.’
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“Juteopolis is a word that’s been used to describe Dundee, my hometown, for years"
The work process of the label entails strongly promoting each bands recording’s and “online presence.” To do this, they send off tracks, contact the press and confirm gigs. They also ensure to regularly update and post to social media to “spread the word” about each band’s upcoming projects and music.
“We also double as a promotions company, so we put on the occasional show ourselves as well. As the bands continue to grow, the label continues to grow which, in turn, provides a wider scope for future releases/bands that we get involved with.”
‘Juteopolis Records’, views Scotland’s current music scene, regularly has something new to offer: “I feel there’s new music popping up every other day and it really does cover all bases genre-wise. There’s a few areas that seem to have a really cool image to go along with the music which is becoming more and more apparent and effective in the current market as well.”
“I feel there's new music popping up every other day and it really does cover all bases genre-wise"
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 which has forced the UK to go into lockdown; ‘Juteopolis Records’ have had to reschedule shows. During this time, they are also maintaining a strong social media presence such as sharing content of past gigs and providing album recommendations.
“It’s also not ideal that it has become more difficult for bands to write new material with the situation so it has kinda pushed any planned releases back about 6 months but as long as we can keep coming up with other creative ways to push content in this trying time, we should be all good. As long as everyone’s safe.”
Despite this, the record label is eager to continue working on future plans and projects. These include releasing new singles and rescheduled shows towards the end of 2020, which they are “really excited for.”
“We’re also involved in the running of local indie/alt. club night ‘MAD Sounds’ as well and are in the midst of getting some mixes recorded from a few bands across the country, so look out for that.”
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"As long as we can keep coming up with other creative ways to push content in this trying time, we should be all good"
To end, I asked Padraig what his favourite part of running ‘Juteopolis Records’ is: “My favourite…is just being part of the ever-evolving and growing local music scene in Dundee. It’s come a long way in the past few years. Meeting people/bands and making contacts in the industry is another exciting part of running the label. Also, seeing the bands that we work with growing and sharing that process is very rewarding.”
Author: Karina Caulfield