AUTO11

Alessandro Crestani of Best Kept Secret
interviewed by Paola Sorrentino

We understand you’re not a musician. That’s strange, because most label people are musicians who were “forced” to create labels because, sadly, nobody else would distribute them. What was your reason then?
It’s true, I’m no musician and I realize that it can seem strange to create a tape label when you’re not an artist. But music always had a huge role in my life, in the most pleasant and in the darkest moments. What’s more, years ago I used to write a lot of short stories and I remember that everything I wrote came from the music I listened to. Sometimes a song’s lyrics gave me an idea for a plot, sometimes I had an idea myself but I wasn’t able to develop it, until I found the song or the album that said the same things I wanted to say but had been unable to focus on. However, what convinced me to begin the Best Kept Secret adventure were the last four or five years of my life, my worst ever. My favorite bands and musicians kept me company throughout them. Until I told myself “I want to do something for music, beyond just listening to it.” Because I don’t play an instrument, as I said, my only way was to publish other people’s material. Of course I had only a few cents in my pocket and I had no idea where to start until I started to explore the world of tape labels at the end of 1996. I was already aware of the existence of the “scene,” but, for some reason, I never bothered to look into it and see what it was about. It took me only a few months to decide this was the right path to follow. At then end of May 1997 Chris McFarlane, a musician recording under the name Suretoss, paid me a visit during his tour of Europe. I told him what I was planning and asked if he’d be interested in publishing some of his songs through my label. He liked the idea and we agreed to publish his tape as the first of the catalogue. Then I started asking for advice from all the people I was in contact with. I asked my friend Silvia to help me with designing and printing the covers, and a year later Best Kept Secret was born with the tape Harmless Intentions ’94-’97.

How many new musicians contact you every week/month/year? And where do they hear about you?
I never kept count, to be honest. What I know is that during the first year, it was nearly always me who contacted the musicians I liked, asking if they were interested in doing something with me. An exception is Vinyl Bill, a band from Aberdeen, Scotland, who as early as July 1997, not even three months after the creation of BKS, sent me a demo because Alan Davidson told them about me. Davidson, aka The Kitchen Cynics, from Aberdeen, is one of my all-time favorite hometaping artists. After the first year, things changed slowly and the number of musicians who contact me increased. My tapes have been reviewed in several paper or online zines, so, you know, people are talking! And I can only be glad about it.

How do you choose what to release and what to avoid?
It depends. If a tape is totally dedicated to one band or author, the sound quality must be at least passable. When I do compilation tapes, if I find a song I like and I have the opportunity to use it, I’ll use it even if the sound is abysmal. It only happened a couple of times. Like on the compilation Broken Bits Of You And Me, but I never regretted it. Compilations are made to offer many different things to the listener, and even if the sound quality can sometimes drop, I don’t think it’s that much of a problem for the listener. Well, it’s not much of a problem for me, at least. Maybe if I was a musician I’d think differently, I don’t know!

I’m guessing that no money changes hands between Best Kept Secret and the artists, so what kind of business deal do you have with them? Are they just grateful to be released?
True, I don’t pay for the music I publish. It’s not formal. The musicians keep the rights to their music and can reuse the songs any time, in any way, while I promise to promote them as much as possible. Some radio deejays play songs from my tapes on air. Don Campau in the US and Lord Litter in Europe work their butts off trying to promote some really independent music, so we share the same goal! And my tapes are reviewed rather often in zines and on websites. Of course some very hostile reviews can happen, but it’s normal, and bands and musicians generally look for the most widespread feedback possible, either positive or negative. That’s why they are glad to work with me, especially when they have never released anything before.

What labels influenced you?
Definitely Blackbean and Placenta, even if it’s not a tape label, because of its explicitly lo-fi attitude and for the variety of sounds it offers.

Are you also active in your local music scene or do you only work “long distance”?
I only work long distance, I have no interest in the local scene. It may be a mistake, but it’s because one day I’d like to pack up and go somewhere else, to the UK or, even better, to the US, so my attention is focused on those places and those artistic scenes. I don’t know if it will ever happen, but hope doesn’t cost money....

Where will Best Kept Secret be in ten years?
I have no idea. I don’t think about it. I live day by day. And if I didn’t, I could lose my motivation instantly. CDRs and MP3s are slowly killing tape labels. In ten years, Best Kept Secret may not exist. Only a few people still understand the charm of homemade cassettes, of the do-it-yourself ethic. When I contact a new band or musician, they often answer “come back when you’ve gone digital”. Sure, CDRs are made at home too, but, at the risk of sounding like a hopeless reactionary who can’t see a few inches from his nose, I think tapes are the DIY format par excellence.

Do you also distribute your tapes in music stores? What’s the reaction?
Some of my tapes have been distributed through mail orders, but not much. I prefer to do everything myself, it’s more fun and I’ve met a lot of new people.

Are there any styles of music you’ll never release?
I surely will never release all the genres I’ve never gotten into, like hardcore and metal. Best Kept Secret is a “pop” label. I know, you’re going to ask me what “pop” means. I don’t know myself. I work through my sensations, they guide me when choosing what to publish.

Who’s your all-time favorite band?
The Church. Incredible. I like many other bands as well. The Feelies, Yo La Tengo, old US Paisley Underground bands from the eighties, but the Australians are a cut above the others. I saw them live in Milan in May 1990 and I’m praying that they come back to Italy one day.

Describe a day in the life of a tape-label honcho.
Er, I don’t know what the days of the other label guys are like, mine are pretty normal. I wake up, have breakfast and check my e-mail, then I start studying. The highlight of my day is around ten am, when the postman arrives. If there is nothing in my mailbox I’ll be depressed all day. If there’s a CD or tape I will listen to it after lunch, or before going to bed that night. Meanwhile I look at my correspondence, answer letters and e-mails, cut and fold the covers for the tapes I have to send out, and so on. Couldn’t be more ordinary, as you can see. I’m probably the only label publisher with such a dull life, what can I say….

Alessandro Crestani
via Biron di Sotto, 101 - 36100 Vicenza Italy
email: acrestani@telemar.it