INTERVIEW: 25 Releases of Blossom Rot

Tell us about what prompted the label?

A shared dream of both of ours that we made into reality. Wanted to make some noise in the world and, with our powers combined, cause some mighty ruckus.

How has Blossom Rot evolved since its founding, both musically and in terms of community?

Building community is at the heart of everything we do, and something beautiful that has started shining through is all the crossover between our bands – whether it’s sharing members, designing posters for each other, jumping on each other’s tour supports, or forging meaningful friendships. Given our extremely limited resources, we have to be pretty discerning with what we take on these days but we’ve never limited ourselves by genre – I suppose we naturally gravitate towards sounds that are kinda raw, unfiltered, DIY-leaning. It’s especially exciting to be doing second or third releases with some of our earliest signings – it’s inspiring to witness the musical evolution of our artists, and know we’ve played some small part in facilitating that growth.

The label champions a variety of different local bands. What sounds are you drawn towards when seeking releases?

I feel like we’re drawn to the people making the sounds, music that comes from their heart and soul that they believe in creates a sound you just can’t replicate. 

Has the local music scene shaped the identity of the label in any specific way?

Absolutely – we are lucky to have inherited some brilliant bands from bygone local labels that walked so we could run such as Chapter, Milk!, Spunk. And we regularly listen to our beloved local community radio stations to keep across what’s what and who’s who. We are a cross-country bizniz, operating out of the Illawarra and Naarm, so running the label has been a beautiful way to bridge the gap between the scenes. People in the underground music community are so lovely and supportive – it’s been very encouraging seeing such a warm response to what we do.

What are some of the challenges you face when running an indie label?

Time and energy! It’s a full-time workload that we both squeeze into whatever hours we have outside of our full-time jobs and our own bands/other creative projects, so we often need to remind ourselves to set boundaries to avoid burn out. Also, money, duh. No one has any. So that’s a constant thing.

How do you see the role of physical independent labels shifting in today’s music landscape, especially with streaming and social media?

Great question. In spite of everything going digital and everyone having the literal history of music right at their fancy little mouse-clicking fingertips, it’s clear from our artists and audiences that there’s still something sacred about a physical product. An album cover can be another portal into the sacred world of the artist’s vision. Designing an insert with lyrics and thank-yous, choosing the vinyl or cassette colour, creating a tangible item that reflects all of the passion and energy that goes into recording an album – it’s a significant part of the process for an artist. It’s also another way to share moments with fans, which often gets lost in a noisy and suffocating online world: meeting someone at the merch desk after a show, them hunting you down for a signature and a chat, is a reminder of what your music can mean to someone. It’s really so moving when we get to watch an artist see their own LPs, hold them in their hands, often for the first time ever. 

What are some of the Blossom Rot highlights over the years?

Nat: Having our label party in Feb of this year was such a beautiful time, a total takeover of the Curtin hotel with our bands downstairs and upstairs, a raffle and giant merch desk with all our releases. I was smiling ear to ear for the whole day and night, it felt like a community had come together

Soph: I really had the best time at Indie Con 2024. We were invited to speak on a panel, and ended up meeting so many incredible people – felt like a really validating and pivotal time for Blossom Rot. Also, hitting up Cassie Ramone on Instagram and releasing an Aus-exclusive pressing of her last solo record was a total pinch-me moment.

How did the collaboration with Loose Tooth come about?

Our shared friend Sholaki (of Jen Cloher, East Brunswick All Girls Choir, all around best drummer in melbourne etc fame) heard LT were looking for a new label home after Milk! closed up, and planted the seed that we would be a good fit. The seed blossomed and here we are with a beautiful garden (thank you Sholaki). Soph was very starstruck as their 2016 hit ‘Bites Will Bleed’ was a really influential track on her own musicmakin’ with Body Type.

Favourite track on the New Age record?

Nat: Sun is such a country epic, and I also love Bianca Meyers, so catchy
Soph: ‘Suffering’, ‘Bianca Meyers’ and I honestly cannot stop singing ‘Walk Away’

What’s next for Blossom Rot after this release?

Oh man we have a calendar full of releases until mid next year already. Every time we say we need to slow down and chill the f*** out, some incredible artist comes a-knocking with something we can’t possibly say no to. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.