We were lucky to catch up with Denni Kindred, aka. Longstocking, recently and have shared our conversation below.

Denni, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Launching Feral One Records has been my most meaningful project lately. I’ve had success producing and DJing on my own path but I would see Seattle producers, who are incredibly talented DJs as well, get cold shouldered much as I would early on. What made that more difficult to witness, is that the producers here are often risk takers and hone in on a unique sound. This is the underground’s purpose and what it’s starving for. When I name all the artists based here to out of state artists, they are shocked to learn many of the artists they admire are creating out of Seattle. There are many reasons for this occurring, but this label will show the world who is leading Seattle’s rising 20s. The recent Seattle Volume 1 compilation was such a smashing success, artists big and small, old and new, are gearing up for Volume 2 already. Equally exciting is maintaining this fresh direction for the label and applying this to artists across the globe. This first Seattle based volume showcases myself, Jon Lee, Simon Houser, EMUH, Rachel Vick, Wolfstax, Jesse Leer, Tokita, Tony H, Sam Hipp, Snapdragon, Madlon and Reverend Dollars.

Feral One Records is exactly what my dream label would be. It lifts up music and artists that do not fit a niche dance label. It is home for the more adventurous that are creating sounds that push genres into new directions, We’ve heard what’s been offered over the last decade and are ready for our new era.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I grew up a bit of a feral skate/surf punk, but 80’s Breaks and New Wave planted electronic seeds that could not be shaken. While skating since I was around three, I also got into Breaking, as that’s what all the kids were doing around LA. Because of the area and time I was also introduced to lots of Punk, Hardcore, Industrial and Alternative music. KROQ in the 80s and 90s went off big time and introduced me to a ton of music. After moving to Florida I began surfing and hanging with other boarders and we would just dig into these music rabbit holes as DJs do on the regular. Eventually some of us started started a Punk band. We practiced across from a disc golf course, so naturally we were called The Frisbees. I played drums did vocals, which led to me making music with other folks down the line before I eventually landed in Seattle. I began DJing and producing under Longstocking a few years back and things just took off from there. Because of this wide variety of tastes I’ve acquired over the decades, my sound encompasses many different dance genres. I’ll continue to keep expanding in that sense.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As time goes by faster and faster, as is the perception while we age, it becomes more and more apparent that our time here is incredibly short. Fame and wealth have never been a strong desire as it rarely if ever makes a person better. It took many decades of pain and humbling to become the person I am. Those two things would only undue all of that work. With that said, I would really like to leave my mark in a way that is true to me. One of the greatest gifts I’ve enjoyed from creatives of the past, is a brilliant body of work to enjoy. I’d like to do that in the form of a discography that touches those like myself.

The only way to make this body of work stand out, is to take those risks. If you aren’t making a new fresh sound, then everything you toiled over gets lost in a sea of static. For most, that is fine, because we all get into music for different reasons. Some for clout, money, sex, attention, etc and others, because we can’t breath if we don’t and if I must create, then I’d rather be a misfit stamping a lasting impression through time.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Perfectionism can work against you in such a devious way. Generally, I’ve grown to assume if I work on something more and more, it will just get better. That is the case quite often, but sometimes you can inadvertently overwork something or get bogged down in the details. Obviously, you need to get somewhat granular in the mix downs, but unnecessary details can be a sneaky hurdle. My early work was far from perfect and in hindsight, I don’t want it to be. It’s laughable the shoddy work I did when I look under the hood of my earliest tracks, but they sound great anyway! It didn’t matter the path I was taking or that I wasn’t producing efficiently. I got the sound I needed in the end.

Think of your favorite artists and bands. Now think of their earlier work and how raw and imperfect it was production wise. It’s the raw imperfection that we love about the early stuff so much! Applying this to myself and keeping that perspective has gone a long way in me finishing projects and appreciating the rawness of my early work.

Contact Info:

• Website: feralonerecords.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feralonerecords/
• Other: https://linktr.ee/feralonerecords

Image Credits
Photos: Lindsey Sutton Album Art: Machado Leão (BR) & Denni Kindred