“Music is a common language for many. You can stand next to someone who does not speak your language at a concert, yet still share the same experience and understand it equally. Sport is the only other format that can also do this. Even film and theatre are reliant upon language. This has been an important teaching to me.”

Darrel Sheinman: Gearbox Records Legacy

Darrel Sheinman is the founder and head producer at Gearbox Records, a vinyl-led label combined with in-house mastering and cutting studio based in King’s Cross, London. A drummer from the age of 13, Darrel played in various punk bands before moving to jazz, groove, and funk. Whilst pursuing successful careers as a commodities trader and maritime security professional, Darrel continued to nurture his passion for music via his habitual crate-digging for rare, original Blue Note pressings and a strong addiction to high fidelity audio. In 2009, this led to a change in career path and the beginnings of Gearbox Records. Initial Gearbox output stemmed from Darrel’s explorations of the British Library archives, which led to a slew of first-time commercial releases from cult British jazz icons that included saxophonist legend Tubby Hayes and pianist Michael Garrick. Under the mentorship of famed engineers Sean Davies, Darrel was inspired to build an all-analogue cutting and mastering studio based around vintage vacuum tube tape machines and a 1967 Haeco Scully lathe, to which one can attribute the signature “Gearbox sound.” More recently and under Darrel’s A&R leadership, Gearbox has been at the forefront of the UK contemporary jazz revival, having released music with acts such as Binker & Moses, Theon Cross, and Sarathy Korwar. As well as jazz, Gearbox has evolved organically into other genres and styles of music, from Brazilian no wave to ambient electronic to lo-fi soul, with a focus on quality being the deciding factor.

(Photo: Darrel Sheinman)

A frequent visitor to Japan, Darrel holds a black belt in kobudo martial art practices, something that he shares with legendary pianist and Gearbox signing Abdullah Ibrahim. His admiration and appreciation of Japanese culture led him to introduce monthly “kissaten”-styled listening sessions to the Gearbox studio, open to the public, which proved popular and have resulted in a monthly residency on London’s Soho Radio show. Ever the entrepreneur, Darrel opened a Gearbox Japan office in Spring 2020, making Gearbox one of the first ever independent labels to do so.

Interview by Michael Limnios       Special Thanks: Darrel Sheinman & Nick Loss-Eaton

How has the music influenced your views of the world? What moment changed your music life the most?

I think the world has influenced my music choices rather than the other way round. For example I got into punk when 16, not just because I like punk but because as a drummer it was a way to rebel as a teenager, especially attenting a deep establishment British private school. As I grew older, I was exposed to more and more music, mainly through travel and gigs. On this journey, my interest in jazz was rekindled, which I learned from my father at a young age (2 to 10 years old) as he played Dave Brubeck, Ian Carr, Miles Davis and Joe Harriott in the house continually. I also started drumming very young, and was heavily influenced by Stuart Copeland, drummer of the Police.

Hearing music around the house from my father playing reel to reel and vinyl and listening to him playing John Peel shows influenced me most. My father being english and my mother being Nigerian meant I had an interest cultural upbringing, as my mother also listened to Fela and other African music. Then buying my first vinyl record David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust was a memorable moment

How did the idea of Gearbox Records come about? What characterize label’s philosophy and mission?

I started the label because I felt a lot of music was not being mastered and produced to a high quality anymore in the CD generation. I came from the audiophile sonic quality angle. So I sought out the best mastering houses after securing rights from BBC on some early jazz radio broadcasts. This was back in 2009, when vinyl sales were at their lowest. I researched more music at The British Library and started to build a small catalogue just producing 500 records for each release. It took off, as Japan would buy half the stock, allowing me to break even. On the back of this, I built my own mastering studio in King’s Cross and taught myself production and record cutting techniques by speaking to legends such as Ray Staff (Air), Rudy Van Gelder (Blue Note), Sean Davis (Decca) and later Hugh Padgham, with an emphasis on the whole signal path being all analogue. Adam Sieff, a director of Sony Jazz joined the company and taught me about the industry. We made and continue to make records of the highest quality. 

Our mission and philosophy is to deliver the highest quality in whatever we do. In collaboration with Sean Davis (IBC, Decca) and Barry Grint (Alchemy; Air), we were first to write a mastering quality control document for mastering for the Music Producers Guild.

”We focus on jazz, electronic and folk because I consider it “music for the people”. They are genres which are inclusive and bring people together and evoke emotions. There are other genres which are highly tribal and exclude people.” (Darrel Sheinman / Photo by Neil Thomson)

Why do you think that the vinyl albums, analogue and audiophile sound continues to generate such a devoted following?

It sounds good and the whole process is ritualistic. We can be nerdy about it. The equipment can be collectible, as are the vinyl records. Valuable first pressings are like first edition books. Very rare and very special. All these points are the makings of a hobby as well as a business. With digital taking over, people have lost a connection to physical objects, and it is not only music with its vinyl products which has seen a revival, but many sectors have experienced a return to the tangible. We are humans and are built for the savannah, yet our social conditioning has gone beyond our nature and innate desires, which are all still tactile. We need this!

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

There is plenty of great new music. I do not do this from a nostalgic point of view. Although favouring analogue, I do so because I am honest with myself and know it sounds better to me. The equipment from the golden age of recording and playback (1930s to late 1960s) was not built to a price. It was built for cinemas of 3000 people and making expansive recordings. Everything was built by large telecoms and engineering companies. They competed for the best sound recordings. It was a science where very one wore lab coats and had that mentality. Like a space race. Money no object in an era where people could make proper money from music. Now there is so much content made cheaply and at home. Very different. I think the future will be more balanced however. Many are re-awakening to good sound quality. 

Artists and labels will have to adapt to the new changes. What are your predictions for the music industry? How do you think the music industry will adapt to it?

I think the current music industry model is broken. It is based on old fashioned principles where there were fewer artists and less competition. Being signed by a label or publisher meant large investment and a good chance of a huge audience. A successful 7 inch single release would sell 1m copies in week one. Now a million streams makes $4000 to be shared between distributor, artist and label, and getting 1m streams is very difficult. We need to build on direct fan engagement from label and artist. Super fans are very invested in their artist and will pay good money for tickets, vinyl, CD, streams, videos and other merch. Look at Taylor Swift…many spend $800 a gig ticket and go multiple times. This needs to start happening at the lower tiers too. We have some ideas using Web3 technologies to engage fans through “tokenomics”. By tying real world assets to this digital economy, it will grow and lose the scammers who are just out for a fast buck. It be a real and useful platform.

”Our mission and philosophy is to deliver the highest quality in whatever we do. In collaboration with Sean Davis (IBC, Decca) and Barry Grint (Alchemy; Air), we were first to write a mastering quality control document for mastering for the Music Producers Guild.” (Darrel Sheinman / Photo Courtesy by Soho Radio)

What is the impact of music -and especial of Jazz- on the socio-cultural implications? How do you want the music to affect people?

We focus on jazz, electronic and folk because I consider it “music for the people”. They are genres which are inclusive and bring people together and evoke emotions. There are other genres which are highly tribal and exclude people. Much as I might like to listen to this sort of music from time to time, it is not music for the people. That is where we are at. I do not like it when a record shop salesman makes someone feel small because they do not understand the genre or are snobby about it.

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music paths?

Music is a common language for many. You can stand next to someone who does not speak your language at a concert, yet still share the same experience and understand it equally. Sport is the only other format that can also do this. Even film and theatre are reliant upon language. This has been an important teaching to me. There is now a lot of research going on as to how music can help with mental illness and even hypersonics possibly having benefits on physical health. 

What are you doing to keep your label relevant today, to develop it and present it to the new generation?

We are disrupting the old model with Web3. This will help us improve our working capital position through pre-orders, as labels have to front load funding of releases 6 months before release and then wait a further year or more to recoup after release, assuming it sells. Even the distributor only takes stock on consignment/sale or return, so all the risk lies with artist and label. Web3 will enable the attached token to the vinyl purchase to give other benefits to the fan, including buying and selling the token should they wish. Fans will participate in the success of the record and receive further discounts down the road. And best of all, we will be selling direct to the fan.

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(Photo: Gearbox Records logo and studio based in King’s Cross, London UK)