LimeWire Music Blog

Dan Koplowitz, founder of Friendly Fire Records, had the foresight to sign the likes of Asobi Seksu, David & the Citizens, and Elk City. We recently caught up with the music maven to get more insight on the rapidly growing label. Interview by Kelly Smith.

What was the first release on Friendly Fire?

The first record I put out was the self-titled debut album from New York’s Asobi Seksu, which came out all the way back in 2004. To this day, it remains one of our best-selling releases. Putting it out was a real learning experience for me – I’d never put out an album before!

Any band you regret not signing?

Yes! Lots. The Go! Team, the Shout Out Louds, Fujiya & Miyagi… the list goes on. That being said, I feel hugely fortunate to be able to work with the roster of bands we have on Friendly Fire… I feel like I can say in all honesty that I truly love every single band on the label. But if, say, Spiritualized ever wanted to sign to Friendly Fire, I certainly wouldn’t complain!

What labels do you admire? Why?

There are so many labels out there that have served as a huge inspiration for me – half the reason I got into the business was out of a tremendous respect and admiration for all the creative, boundary- pushing independent labels out there. I’m a fan of some of the larger, more obvious indies – Sub Pop, Matador, Domino – but there are also a lot of lesser-known labels whose output I consistently enjoy: Morr Music, Secretly Canadian, Kill Rock Stars, Kompakt, Ghostly International, Flameshovel, Anticon, Burnt Toast Vinyl, Marriage, Hardly Art, Modular, Tomlab, Quite Scientific, Adrian, Rune Gramofon… man, the list goes on and on.

If Friendly Fire had a mascot, what would it be?

I wish we had an office cat or dog that we could claim as a mascot, but sadly Friendly Fire is, at present, an animal-free office. But I’ve always liked seahorses – because they nurture their young and they look super rad. Maybe our mascot would be a seahorse… ON FIRE!!

Ever had to post bail for one of your artists?

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to answer that question without betraying the trust of my bands… I can say that, because more than half of the bands on Friendly Fire are from outside the United States (at present we have three American bands, three Canadian bands, a Swedish band and an English band), we’ve had plenty of headaches bringing bands into the country without running into problems with immigration. And one of the bands on the label, while they were touring the states and staying at my apartment in Brooklyn, accidentally opened the fourth-floor window that was holding my air conditioner in place and knocked it out the window. D’oh.

Would you rather be a roadie for Whitesnake or sell merch for Hannah Montana?

Totally the merch. I LOVE Hannah Montana! Yeah!

If you weren’t here answering these questions, what would you be doing?

Discovering your next favorite band.