Paul Tao and Niki Roberton of IAMSOUND Records are just about the coolest cats in the music biz. They pretty much knew yesterday about all of the cool music you like right now. We recently had the opportunity to talk shop with these music mavens.

944: Tell us about IAMSOUND Records; the name, the people and the music.
NIKI ROBERTON: I started IAMSOUND Records about a year and a half ago purely as a digital label to release music that I liked and listened to. I employed Paul Tao soon after due to his knowledge and experience in the blog world (Absolutepunk.net/Hatesomethingbeautiful.com). I used to be a video director and worked under the moniker of MADEBYROBOTS. I liked the simplicity of that name and wanted my label to have that same vibe relating to what we do, but in a tongue in cheek way. The primary purpose of starting IAMSOUND was to discover and nurture original and inventive artists regardless of genre - to take the talent we see in them and bring it to the widest possible audience, without having to compromise the qualities that set them apart in the first place. We want to be able to reinvent ourselves to be consistently relevant to the culture and music that fits the new generation of music listeners, but at the same time maintain the IAMSOUND brand in a way similar to [other record companies] Domino and XL.
 
PAUL TAO: Niki started IAMSOUND Records and I was very excited to come on board to work on the label. Like Niki said, I've been working in the blog world for a few years now, helping to run Absolutepunk.net and my own LA music blog, Hatesomethingbeautiful.com. So we figured it would be a great matchup for a blog person with a digital label. We realized that we have very similar music tastes, so from there on it has been working out great. I think one of the best parts about IAMSOUND is that we don't restrict ourselves genre-wise. There are a lot of indie labels out there who focus on only club-centric electro, indie pop, psychedelica, etc., and while they can be successful in their niches, we pride ourselves on not pigeonholing our bands.

944: What do you look for, and how do you find new talent?
ROBERTON: I primarily want to look for a band or artist that is doing something a little bit left field. I like all kinds of music but I just want to work with artists who are thinking a little out of the box and trying something new and creative. For finding new talent: word of mouth, networking and blogs.

TAO: Since we're a primarily digital label, I have to say that things like MySpace, blogs, etc., are a huge resource for finding new talent. It's amazing how a band half a world away can upload one song one day and the next day we can find out about them and instantly hear what they have going on. Of course I'm a little partial to blogs, since I have one myself.

944: We're obsessed with the song "Brainless." Tell us more about Sunny Day Sets Fire?
ROBERTON: The guys in the band are from Canada, Hong Kong, Italy and London. They are a great live band and just have a perfect mix of folk, pop and electronic. I think they have made a wonderful album which we are releasing on May 6.  I'm so proud of them.

TAO: The full-length album is called Summer Palace, and definitely is something we are very excited to be releasing. I think that once people hear more of them, they will fall in love with them like we did. They've been compared to a lot of different bands but that's because their songs don't all sound the same, which is refreshing to me. We're also releasing the Stranger/Remix EP on February 26 that has the first single from the full length ("Stranger") as well as remixes of other SDSF songs by artists like CSS, The Cool Kids, Mad Decent, XXXChange, Baron von Luxxury and The Slips.

944: What are you listening to right now?
ROBERTON: Right now I am listening to the new Crystal Castles record, but I am also listening to Hot Chip, Cibelle, Gonzales, MGMT, Late of the Pier and Primary.
   
TAO: At this moment, I'm listening to The Hood Internet's Mixtape Volume 1. The Hood Internet are two awesome mashup DJs that usually put mainstream hip-hop with random blog-centric indie bands. It's always fun to listen to them. Recently though, I've been listening to the new Hot Chip, HEALTH, Hercules & Love Affair. I don't mean to be just listening to artists that start with the letter "H," I promise.
     
944: If you could work with any artist in the world, who would it be and why?
ROBERTON: I also manage record producers and one of my clients was recently asked to work with Madonna. He eventually could not do it due to other commitments. I nearly cried when I found out because I still have my lace gloves at home from my "Like a Virgin" days.

TAO: David Bowie. I might not kill to work with him, but I wouldn't be much against severely maiming someone to work with David Bowie.

944: Anything exciting going forward for IAMSOUND?
ROBERTON: We are releasing two full lengths [albums] this year: one by Sunny Day Sets Fire on May 6, and then the other by The Black Ghosts later in the year. These will be our first full-length albums so we are super excited. We have loads of EPs coming up and Paul has his singles club where he can test the water with stuff he likes.

944: Last but not least, can we have a fashionable IAMSOUND totebag?
ROBERTON: Of course!!

Hear the future at www.iamsoundrecords.com