Ben and Leo Sidran, local enaissance men"" in the music industry, have recently created their own record label, Nardis Music, in part with Liquid 8 Records and Entertainment.
Ben Sidran, who has worked with Steve Miller, Boz Scaggs, the Rolling Stones and other big names in the industry, was motivated to start a label because it gives him the perfect chance to work with his son, Leo.
""For years I wanted to start a label with Leo that we could do together,"" Ben said. ""Leo's a great producer.""
The Sidrans believe the benefit of a smaller label is that it allows them to have a more intimate relationship with the consumer base.
""If we only have 10,000 copies of a Clyde Stubblefield record that has sold, that means that every copy is kind of a collectors edition,"" Leo said.
For him, the best part of producing on the Nardis label is the chance to create albums that reflect the genuine personalities of artists.
""You are a couple degrees removed from Clyde, as opposed to holding an Outkast record where you feel like you're one of millions.""
Despite Madison's current lack of a quality mid-sized venue, Ben and Leo believe the city itself is a great place with a lively enough music scene to support a new label.??Ben, who has been in Madison since the 1960's, reflected, ""The diversity of the players, the talent, the development is so much more mature today."" Leo echoed a similar sentiment.
""Musically, with the kind of music and talent we have, we have the talent and we have the musicians and we have the energy to be a really strong scene,"" he said.
Their?? first release on the new label is by legendary drummer Clyde Stubblefield. In the '60s and '70s, Stubblefield played with James Brown, and is often refered to as the ""most sampled drummer.""
The story behind the creation of the Nardis label, particularly the creation of the Nardis logo, reflects the personalized touch that the Sidrans hope to add to albums they produce. In the '80s, Ben had a radio show on National Public Radio that provided him with the opportunity to interview Miles Davis. While Ben and Davis were talking about music, life and the importance of balance, Davis began to sketch a stick figure man in a yoga pose. After the interview, Davis signed the sketch and gave it to Ben to keep. This sketch is now the logo for the Nardis label.??
Coincidentally, years before Davis and Ben ever met, Davis wrote a song about nuclear energy entitled ""Nardis,"" which just happens to be Sidran backward. Ben and Leo agreed that this title would be the most clever way to proclaim their own originality.
Ultimately, the Sidrans feel it is a great time to be starting a new label.
""Independent labels are in the position to make more money, to be more successful, and to have a more meaningful relationship with the people that buy their records than major labels right now,"" Leo said. He added, ""I think we are in a really good situation because we have distribution all over the country and we have the possibility of distributing all over the world.\
