Prophecy Productions

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Prophecy Productions
Active years since 1996
founder Martin Koller
Seat Zeltingen-Rachtig , Germany
Website www.prophecyproductions.de
Label code LC 10160
Sub-label Lupus Lounge, Auerbach sound carrier
distribution Soul food

Prophecy Productions is a German music label based in Wittlich , which was founded in 1996 by Martin Koller.

history

Martin Koller has been using the name Prophecy for a small mail order company that he runs since 1993. However, Koller sees the actual birth of the Prophecy Productions label with the release of the album A Wintersunset ... by Empyrium , which was originally supposed to be the only release under the Prophecy name, but its success spurred Koller to continue operating the label.

Even in the early years, Prophecy's interest in publishing the entire work of individual musicians and the close ties of some Prophecy musicians to their label showed. In 1998, a new band of Paragon of Beauty musicians, Autumnblaze, and Sun of the Sleepless, a side project of Empyrium's Markus Stock , were signed. In the further history of Prophecy, numerous other collaborations between the label and new projects or bands follow this pattern.

Also in 1998 a long-term cooperation with Markus Stock and his recording studio Klangschmiede Studio E was decided, through which a continuously high standard of Prophecy's music productions should be achieved. In the same year, Prophecy released Hallavedet, the first official release of the progressive folk band Tenhi . The Finnish group quickly developed into one of the most popular Prophecy artists and is currently (as of 2020) still under contract here.

In 1999 Prophecy announced contracts with the established and renowned groups In the Woods ... and Bethlehem . With this Prophecy got two A&R coups, which brought the label a significant increase in attention and increased its status.

The next groundbreaking subcontract is that of Dornenreich in 2000, whose Prophecy debut Her von Welken Nights (2001) is one of the most successful releases in the label's history. Dornenreich have also remained loyal to Prophecy since then and are among the label's flagship products.

From 2002 Prophecy also appeared as a book publisher . The translation of the book Lords of Chaos by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind was published. The book Looking for Europe followed in 2005 , in which the Neofolk scene is described. The book publisher operates under the Banner Index Verlag .

In 2003 The Vision Bleak were signed, which became very important in Prophecy's history. For their first album The Deathship Has a New Captain Prophecy was able to arrange a cooperation with Otto Mellies . The second work Carpathia - A Dramatic Poem developed over the years into one of Prophecy's greatest economic successes. With their third album The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey , The Vision Bleak reached the first place in the German album charts for Prophecy in 2007 . The following albums Set Sail to Mystery and Witching Hour also entered these charts. For Set Sail to Mystery , Prophecy 2009 also received financial support from the Initiative Musik . In the same year a US tour of Secrets of the Moon was financially supported by the Initiative Musik.

In 2007 a contract was signed with Alcest , which over the years has become the most successful band on the label. Alcest's ambitious fourth album Shelter was recorded in Iceland by Sigur Rós producer Birgir Jón Birgisson and includes a guest appearance by Neil Halstead , the head of the shoegazing pioneer Slowdive . Shelter also marked the highest chart placement of a Prophecy publication before it was discontinued by Kodama , also by Alcest, published two years later . In addition to numerous other chart entries in Germany, the USA, Finland and Norway, Alcest toured in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia. Alcest are among the most prominent representatives of Blackgaze . Due to the continuous collaboration with Alcest and other groups such as Les Discrets or Lantlôs , Prophecy has an important role in this scene. Alcest are now under contract with Nuclear Blast .

In 2010, the sampler Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings was released on Auerbach sound carrier, a double album that unites numerous greats and newcomers of nature-related folk music with mostly exclusive contributions. With the song The Days Before the Fall , the sampler also announced the reunification of the now disbanded band Empyrium.

Finally, Empyrium also ensured the first public recognition of Prophecy's economic achievements: in 2011 Prophecy Productions were given so-called Silver Awards for the first three Empyrium albums by the European independent label association Impala . These stand for 20,000 albums sold within Europe. In the following year Prophecy also received Impala Silver Awards for further albums from Dornenreich, The Vision Bleak, Alcest and Sol Invictus .

In 2014 Prophecy was represented for the first time with two releases simultaneously in the Media Control Charts - the Empyrium album The Turn Of The Tides and the Empyrium vinyl box set 1994-2014 .

Prophecy Productions has also had an office in North America since 2017 and is increasingly signing artists from the USA and Canada.

Business philosophy

According to his own statement, the basic idea behind Prophecy is the release of "atmospheric music that is out of the ordinary and transcends genre boundaries". In addition, the business philosophy is based on the three pillars of persistence (long-term cooperation with the artists, close customer and fan loyalty), high quality (sound carrier editions with special production, presentation and design) and community (multiple collaborations among Prophecy artists, close relationship to fans). A large number of their groups have accompanied Prophecy from the first album and publish the complete works of the musicians.

Stylistic orientation and sub-labels

Already with the first label releases Prophecy presented an extraordinary stylistic variety: Empyriums A Wintersunset… offered anthemic, romantic metal with folk influences, Nox Mortis' obscure Doom Metal in the shadow of hatred , Penitents Melancholia a combination of dark wave and neoclassic , Oberons Oberon avant-garde pop and Nærværs Nærvær psychedelic acoustic music. This diversity and unpredictability has always been cultivated by Prophecy and has become a trademark of the label. Thanks to the unconventional and selective approach in their choice of artists and the resulting originality of the published music, Prophecy has earned a reputation as a “quality label” with both the press and fans.

In 2003, the sublabels Lupus Lounge and Auerbach Tonträger were launched in order to provide customers with an orientation aid and to help the press and sales partners to classify the stylistically broad repertoire of Prophecy . While Lupus Lounge primarily works with selected musicians who can be attributed to or are rooted in extreme metal , Auerbach Tonträger is primarily dedicated to music that, due to its predominantly acoustic instrumentation and its calm character, can be described as contemporary folk in the broadest sense.

Even if Prophecy's artist portfolio includes unconventional, atmospheric metal and melancholic, nature-loving acoustic music, the label's spectrum also includes artists from the genres of progressive rock , pop, indie rock , shoegaze, singer-songwriter , electronica , Neofolk , Wave , Ambient , Doom Metal , Stoner Rock or Neoclassic.

Prophecy concert nights and other live activities

In 1999 Prophecy Productions organized their first label festival under the name “Prophecy Concert Night”. It took place on November 20th in Leiwen on the Moselle and featured performances by Paragon Of Beauty and Nox Mortis as well as the only concert by Sun Of The Sleepless to date. In May 2001, a number of other concert nights followed in Zweibrücken , Bielefeld and Erfurt , where Dornenreich, Blazing Eternity and Mysterium performed, among others. The last Prophecy concert night for the time being took place on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the label in 2006 in Zeltingen-Rachtig. Dornenreich, among others, had their first appearance in over four years, and The Vision Bleak played one of their rare concerts with the classical ensemble The Shadow Philharmonics.

In addition, Prophecy has been organizing tours (including Dornenreich, The 3rd and the Mortal , Antimatter , The Vision Bleak, Bethlehem) since 2001 and has also organized impressive individual concerts by Empyrium in the Christ Church in Bochum and the Passion Church in Berlin .

Furthermore, the first Prophecy Fest took place in the Balver Cave in 2015 . Over the years, in addition to label artists, groups valued by Prophecy, other groups such as Hexvessel or Bohren & the Club of Gore have performed there. A first Prophecy Fest on American soil took place in Brooklyn in 2018 .

Bands

Bands on Prophecy

Bands on Lupus Lounge

Bands on Auerbach sound carriers

Former bands

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Article for the tenth anniversary of the label. metal.de; Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  2. ↑ a b The album received an Impala Silver Award in 2012, see Impala Sales Award Winner 2012. vut.de
  3. ↑ Chart tracking: The Vision Bleak ( Memento from November 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) musicline.de
  4. ^ Artist profile The Vision Bleak. initiative-musik.de
  5. ^ Artist profile Secrets Of The Moon. initiative-musik.de
  6. ↑ Chart tracking: Alcest. ( Memento from September 9, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) musicline.de
  7. ↑ Chart successes from Prophecy publications. de.prophecy.de
  8. ↑ ALCEST - sign to Nuclear Blast and currently working on new album! ( English ) nuclearblast.de. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  9. ↑ Impala announces Europe's best selling independent artists . impalamusic.org
  10. ↑ Impala Sales Award winner 2012. vut.de
  11. ↑ Empyrium: Double chart entry for “The Turn Of The Tides” and “1994–2014” in Germany . de.prophecy.de
  12. ↑ Kevin Stewart-Panko: German Label Prophecy Productions Wants to Conquer the American Metal Scene ( English ) vice.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  13. ↑ a b Prophecy Label Profile. de.prophecy.de; accessed on November 6, 2014.
  14. ↑ Drautran: now available from Prophecy Productions . the-pit.de; accessed on November 6, 2014.
  15. ↑ Klimt 1918: Just In Case We'll Never Meet Again . musikreviews.de (review); accessed on November 6, 2014.
  16. ↑ Lupus Lounge Label Profile. ( Memento of October 11, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) prophecy.cd; Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  17. ↑ Auerbach sound carrier label profile. ( Memento from October 11, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) prophecyproductions.de; Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  18. ^ Event page Prophecy Productions concert night. last.fm; accessed on November 6, 2014.
  19. ^ Prophecy Fest ( English ) prophecy.de. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  20. ↑ Matt Bacon: Prophecy Fest Comes To The USA! ( English ) metalinjection.net. October 16, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2020.