Artist-owned record labels are nothing new. Zeds Dead has Deadbeats. Truth has Deep, Dark, and Dangerous. Clozee has Odyzey. Excision has SUBSIDIA… the list goes on.
As an artist, owning a record label is a powerful opportunity to explore a creative vision without limits. It’s also a great way to promote smaller artists who represent innovation. Record label owners (especially those who are also artists) are tastemakers. But the best tastemakers see beyond the music.
This is the ethos behind INZO’s new record label, Local Void.
INZO, whose real name is Mike Inzano, is a world builder. His music transcends the traditional parameters of dubstep, future bass, downtempo, and any other genre you might assign to INZO. Since 2015, Inzano has created ethereal experiences for listeners, often sourcing inspiration and samples from philosophers like Alan Watts. His music has a clear message: Embrace the present.
His record label, Local Void, is a vast new expansion for this creative ethos. Learn more about the sci-fi inspiration for Local Void’s imaginative identity, how music might be shaping human evolution, and how nature plays a crucial role in Inzano’s creative process.
You just launched your own record label, Local Void, alongside the label’s debut single — a cinematic collab with LSDream titled “Artifacts of a Higher Dimension.” I sense a lot of sci-fi influence in this new venture… would you say sci-fi plays a role in shaping Local Void’s sound and brand?
Definitely, but I like to think of it as sci-non-fi, like scientific nonfiction. I’m a huge astronomy nerd… I love space travel; NASA, SpaceX, Carl Sagan, Interstellar, all that sort of stuff. I love the idea of becoming multiplanetary and preserving consciousness.
The science of music and sound waves is mind-blowing too. Sound waves exist naturally. Birds chirping, the sounds of nature… It’s all very musical in a way. In the modern age, music is much more digital. But when we make music, no matter how “electronic” it is, we’re still doing our own natural interpretation and expression through sound waves. The fact that the right concoction of sound waves can enter our eardrums and cause a chemical reaction in our brain, which releases serotonin and dopamine that makes you feel good, is so cool. Whether you believe it’s spiritual or not, I think there’s a deeper reason why music exists.
Do you have a vision in mind for the world you want to build with the Local Void record label?
For sure. The term “local void” literally represents an empty void in space where there’s a minimal amount of matter. No stars, no gas, no planets; it’s a real void. This record label is designed to be a blank canvas for artists to create whatever world they want within the void.
I definitely see the sci-fi element. But the INZO project is also often associated with natural elements in your music and visual experience. Would you say nature inspires your creative spirit?
Absolutely. When I look at something beautiful in nature, I often envision and hear an entire soundtrack around a scene. That’s the foundation for many of my musical ideas before they eventually evolve into something else. But yeah, nature inspires me in the sense that the natural world emits a musical vibe to me. The desert sounds a certain way in my head. So does a waterfall.
I like to create music in nature too; Blookah and I went to the Moab desert recently to record some tunes for our ambient project. We set up a makeshift studio in the middle of the desert and we kind of painted the picture of what we were seeing with our music.
You moved to Colorado four years ago, which is one of the best places in the world for nature-lovers. Has living in Colorado impacted our relationship with nature in any way?
Well my parents actually had a place up in Beaver Creek when I was growing up, so I’ve been coming to Colorado pretty often for most of my life. Colorado has always been a second home for me, and I think that played a subconscious role by exposing me to nature in such a real way when I was a kid. As I got older, as with most things, I began to appreciate all of the nature in Colorado much more. When I was living in Chicago, I always missed the mountains. The music scene in Chicago is great, but I realized how much I love the mountains in Colorado. The music scene in Denver is great too of course, but the mountains… they’re inspiring.
It must feel so awesome to sell out Red Rocks this year! There are few places in the world that combine nature and music the way the Red Rocks Amphitheatre does. What makes Red Rocks such a sacred space for music (specifically bass music)?
Aside from the physical attributes of the giant red rocks… People generally feel comfortable at Red Rocks. The way the seating is set up, people usually get to have their own space, which is great. The actual amphitheatre is a bowl shape, so it feels like you’re in this valley of rocks. Being in that space is very humbling. It feels huge, but also reminds you that we’re so small. Somehow, with all of that, it still feels intimate.
Also — the musical history there is insane! All the legends have played there… The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and every other legendary artist you can think of. That’s so cool to me.
I’ve had my fair share of spiritual experiences at the Red Rocks amphitheatre… there is something very special about that venue. But I think music in general can be a spiritual experience. Do you feel the same way? Is music a spiritual experience for you?
I’d say so. Spirituality is such an umbrella term. People have their own interpretations of spirituality. To me, spirituality is succumbing to the unknown and not really having the answers to certain things. Like why music can make us feel so good… scientifically, we know the process of how this happens, but no one really knows what purpose music plays in evolution. That’s where the unknown comes in. Why do we instinctively long for and have a desire to share musical experiences with each other? It’s built in the human blueprint somehow.
I think spiritually, music and art will play a long-term role in shaping human evolution and consciousness by encouraging people to come together to share something they love with each other. That creates an environment for empathy, and creates a common ground. Hopefully, every time we go to a show or indulge in things like music and art, we feel a little less divisive and different from one another.
I love that… the more we talk the more I understand why Alan Watts shows up in so much of your earlier music. Can you pinpoint what originally inspired you to weave Allan Watts into the INZO project?
When I first heard Alan Watts, I was at a relatively low point in my life, literally googling “how do I stop overthinking?” I came across the speech that’s included in “Overthinkinker” and once I listened to it… it was like, damn, I know all of this stuff but it still feels so great to hear it. Sometimes you don’t know how to process your own thoughts or conceptualize something until you hear it said in a very comprehensive way and that’s what Alan Wats was for me. It’s so poetic, and it had a massive impact on me the first time I heard it. I knew I wanted to share that message in my music.
Using my music as a medium to share Alan Watt’s message was the goal at first. I feel like I’ve done that as much as I can at this point. I’ve shared most of the Alan Watts quotes that have really had a massive impact on my life. There’s so much more I could include in my music, but I never want it to feel disingenuous or forced.
I totally get that. Regardless, I think it’s so cool that you’re introducing these philosophical concepts and spiritual ideas with people through your music, who might not have been exposed to it otherwise. Do you ever think about that?
Totally. I’ve had tons of fans tell me I was the artist who got them into electronic music initially, or I was the first electronic show they attended. A lot of those people discovered me from “Overthinker” which features a speech from Alan Watts. It feels great to know I might be a gateway for people to discover certain philosophies and genres of music.
Launching Local Void definitely feels like a new phase for the INZO project.We’ve talked about the world you’re creating with Local Void, but I’m curious about the community aspect. What are some of the main goals and aspirations that you have in terms of creating a community where people can exist with this music?
Firstly, music aside, I’d like it to attract good people. I’m hoping the vibe attracts a tribe because in a sense, the label feels like a way for me to give back to the music community. I’m so blessed to have built up a platform that I can confidently release my own music on, and I want to use that to help other artists.
Most of the tunes that are coming out on Local Void this year are my own tracks. I also have an ambient project with my friend Blu. I think a few of those tracks will also be released on Local Void. The goal is to get the steam rolling to get some attention focused on the label, then start releasing music from other artists. We have close to 200 submissions already just from our submission link, and I have a handful of artists that I’m personally reaching out to see if they want to do a body of work, or any sort of single on the label. It’s very exciting.
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