Boston based rock band Ruin/Renewal recently released the Chess Club EP on Portsmouth, NH based indie label Burst & Bloom Records. Says the band’s guitarist and founder Josh Pritchard “[Burst & Bloom’s] Dylan Metrano has been putting together shows since I played in bands in high school. I think the label is an extension of that effort – a roof for everyone’s work to exist under. The “everyone” I refer to is the network of people that is rooted in Newburyport, Massachusetts but now working throughout New England and elsewhere.” He adds that the decision to release Ruin/Renewal’s records on Burst & Bloom felt totally natural. “So much so that I can’t really remember the conversation where that relationship was established,” he said. “It sort of had been already.”

To learn more about Burst & Bloom Records, SongCast recently sat down for a Q&A with Dylan Metrano:

Q: When was Burst & Bloom founded and by whom?

A: Burst & Bloom has sort of always been around. There’s a CD compilation called The Chain Bridge, featuring bands from Newburyport, MA that came out in 2004 with the Burst & Bloom name on it. Before that, there were some records, tapes, CDs, comic books and stuff without any “label name” attached. It’s always been me and various friends working together on stuff, and putting things out in a limited way. In 2009, the Burst & Bloom name was dug up again, and Guy Capecelatro III and I started putting out more things under that name.

Q: What is the “mission” of your label?

A: We are not on a mission, really. We’re just creative people releasing things that interest us, made by ourselves and our friends.

Q: Who are the artists on your label?

A: We’re currently working with Guy Capecelatro III, Mara Flynn, Hello Shark, Tommy McCaffrey, Mutes, Ruin Renewal, Audrey Ryan, Tiger Saw, and Tiny Fires. We’ve also done several compilations, which feature scores of other bands. We’re likely to release more things by any number of other friends.

Q: How/why did you sign these artists? What was it about their sound that interested you? And how did you find out about them in the first place?

A: We’ve only released work by people we know, and most of the time, we’re creating something that may not have existed otherwise. And we are usually involved in the projects to some degree. But not always.

We are also committed to producing books, comics, zines, films, concerts, magic shows, happenings, dances, boat trips, plays, and anything else that will keep the fires burning.

Q: Tell us about one of the challenges of running an indie label.

A: The only challenge, really, is feeling some level of frustration when something that we and our friends put lots of love, time, money, and passion into fails to reach much of an audience only because we don’t have the financial resources or hipster cache to really get it out there in the way it deserves. But that’s common to most tiny DIY labels, I’d imagine.

Want to learn more? Visit: http://burstandbloomrecords.com

The SongCast Crew