Everybody and their mother has an opinion on the state of the music industry these days. Where the talent is, who is putting out quality music, there isn’t enough of this or there is too much of that. But in Sioux Falls, SD a group of friends decided to affect change themselves. Thus, Different Folk Records was born. It takes a special kind of person to decide that their passion for music was strong enough to step into a notoriously difficult industry and start your own business. Now the minds behind Different Folk are getting ready to release their first wave of albums, specifically on vinyl for you collectors out there, and they’re sellin’ em cheap.
The label’s focus is clearly set on the folk ensembles and singer/songwriters of South Dakota. What better genre could there be for a grass roots indie record label like this than good old folk music? DFR has advertised a lineup of one woman acts, string bands, dobro accompanies, and well crafted Americana, so there is more than enough variety to get people excited. So far the label has only released previews but from what I can tell, Different Folk will be a useful tool to help artists with their own respective quality additions to the American folk tradition, make music and find listeners around the country and hopefully the world.
Here is a quick preview from new Different Folk artist, Jamie Lynn with an excerpt from her song “North Wind.” I hope you enjoy.
You can preorder these records as well as some DFR merchandise at their website here. Remember small record labels like these are what keeps the music industry honest these days and they need our support, especially in their infancy. I can’t recommend looking into this label enough and grabbing another album for your collection, this type of project matters.
Now that I’ve stepped off my soap box, you can listen to more of their previews on their youtube channel. I’m super excited to get into the Different Folk sound and look forward to hearing what else they can bring to folk music.
-Ryan Schmitz
