For this third interview we went to meet Lucas, a founding member of Apollo 71. This Parisian instrumental band, which explores the sounds of 70's progressive rock through electronic music and trip-hop influences, has just released its first EP SATURN V..

Apollo 71 used our pre-order platform to finance the production of their vinyl, which was a first for all of its members! The group and its fans have just received their records, and we wanted to collect Lucas' opinion on this experience.

Can you present the band and its project?

Apollo 71 is about 3 former highschool friends who decided to make music together. In the beginning, we mostly did covers, but quickly decided to make our first EP – that’s why we made in-house recording sessions of our own compositions during the summer of 2021. As I am finishing my studies in sound engineering, we were able to record everything ourselves, so the project is 100% self-produced!

How was Diggers able to help you with your vinyl project?

I was already a customer of Diggers Factory before launching our project, so I already had a certain affection! It was the “Dub Tunes” vinyl by Tommy Guerrero and Trevor Jackson at Ed Banger that made me discover your website. I didn't know about the pressing service until the partnership between the Vinyl Box and the Hands Up webzine (for which I am a writer). I kept the info in the back of my mind, thinking that when time would come to produce our own music, Diggers Factory could help us. For us, it was important to physically realize this project, and we are all record collectors so vinyl seemed ideal. The problem is that we didn't know anything about it: clearly, without your funding platform, we would never have done it because we would never have known how to proceed.

What are the strengths and advantages of Diggers in your opinion?

Above all, it’s how very intuitive it is: someone who has no notion when it comes to production can quickly find themselves lost in the world of vinyl, and Diggers Factory really helped and guided us throughout the whole process. It is a very accessible and functional service, for everyone. And it's ideal for freelancers who don't have a structure to manage everything for them. In addition, the platform on which we were able to develop our project page works very well, everything is very clear. Finally, I found that communication with the team is a big strength of the company: there is always someone ready to answer our questions and guide us as best they can. We really felt supported throughout.

Why, and for whom would you recommend Diggers Factory?

I highly recommend Diggers Factory to any artist releasing a first project. The pre-order system makes things real, concrete: it's great to have your own record in your hands. And it's an incredible feeling that there is a real product coming to people nowadays when everything is digital. On top of that, it pushed us to professionalize very quickly: we had to find out and learn a lot about licensing rights, pressing rights, vinyl mastering, etc.

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Follow Apollo 71 on their socials!