ANDY MURNANE INTERVIEW

Andy Murnane is a co-founder of Dawn Raid Entertainment a record label/management company from Auckland, New Zealand. It has signed many New Zealand Hip-Hop and R&B artists such as Savage, Adeaze, Aaradhna, The Deceptikonz, Devolo, Ill Semantics and more. After a series of successes Dawn Raid Entertainment announced the closure of the record label in 2007 due to liquidation but was back in business later that year and saw unprecedented success with the single “Swing” by Savage which achieved platinum plus sales in the US.

Currently Dawn Raid Entertainment is under the Frequency Media Group umbrella along with Dirty Records which sees 3 of their artists (Aaradhna, David Dallas & P-Money) signed to record labels in the US. Grindin’ caught up with Andy soon after finishing the 3rd US tour for Aaradhna and the news that she had just won “Album Of The Year” at this years New Zealand Music Awards.

What are your earliest memories of music?
Garage parties growing up in East Auckland, (before I moved South) My Dad held parties at the house and so did the neighbours who were mixed Maori and Polynesian families in our street, and we always had great times, playing league on the street, dancing away to oldies, 50s / 60s Doo Wop, Rock N Roll and early Rhythm and Blues. I knew I had rhythm early cause all the older Maori ladies always wanted to dance with me God blessed me with that one.

Who were your influences coming up?
My first ever cassette tape that I can say was mine that I bought, was Michael Jackson “Bad” 1988, the first Hip Hop record I ever owned was a 12” of DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, (I stole it if I remember correctly, by sliding it under the Record Store back room door by the Street Fighter 1 machine in Pakuranga town centre LOL) not long after New Edition, Bobby Brown and then came N.W.A, Public Enemy, Eazy-E, King Tee and 2 Live Crew got my attention, and I was hooked, 1989, I was 10 years old. My brother was 12 and he was deep into Gangster Rap, and was active East Side tagger/graffiti artist, it was everywhere I looked, I fell right in and I never left.

How and when did Dawn Raid first start?
I dropped out of school and 16, but then re-enrolled into pre-business school in Otara, South AK, (MIT – Which is the course you take when you haven’t got the grades to get in to business school) which is where I meet Brotha D, that was 1995, seems so long ago…..We basically connected over music and hustling at school, Slanging bootleg t-shirts and stuff like that around the campus, D was already in music with his group “Lost Tribe” on UPR Records with the Fuemana Family, I was invited into the fold, and we started Dawn Raid Entertainment as a feeder label to UPR, in 1996.

Along with Dirty Records Dawn Raid were the 2 most prominent labels in the first golden era of New Zealand Hip Hop how do you look back on those times?
I loved every minute of those years from 1999 – 2005 it was a real struggle and hustle everyday for us trying to compete against the major labels in NZ who were trying their hand at Hip Hop as well, and as indies we did it, and we did it with NZ Hip Hop, we went back to back, hit for hit with the Dirty Records guys, and it was a lot of fun, there was a few silly moments where we didn’t agree on certain things, around the time the Hook Up Tour went national in 2004, but that all comes with youth and not knowing who you are when you’re young. We fought a few battles that didn’t really matter, but I’m glad with people like Che-Fu, Scribe, P-Money, Mareko, Savage, Deceptikonz, we were able to pick the whole scene up and give it some light which carries on until right now with David Dallas, P-Money and Aaradhna’s success in the US.

In 2007 after a lot success Dawn Raid suddenly went into liquidation what lessons did you learn from this time?
You as the owner of the company are solely responsible for every action and move taken by your company, or any employees of your company regardless of whether it was you who made that call or not, and every so called advisor, accountant, lawyer, business partner, friend and foe, will walk away the moment there is trouble. To me it was very unnecessary to be target like that by the tax department and others, when million dollar (white) corporates do it all the time with little consequence. It was disappointing for the Polynesian community as we were their leaders, but we were very young and didn’t understand everything we should have, we got made an example of in the media and it even went as far as parliament debate at the Beehive (NZ Parliament Building), its in the NZ history files, to this day I have my thoughts on that and one day when I’m old, maybe we’ll revisit it. We work hard everyday now, to make sure that we can bring that happy positive vibe back to the Polynesian community and NZ/Pacific in general.

As men myself and Brotha D stood up, took it on the chin, ate some humble pie in public view, lost a few houses in the process and learned some very valuable lessons about life, and who will stand up with you when the fire is on….But, I wouldn’t have it any other way, as its all part of life’s journey, and I’m sure if you ask Brotha D he’d say the exact same thing…. Additionally some very strong minded men, helped us on the other side and bought the company out, so that we could regroup and live to fight another day as Dawn Raid Entertainment and here we are, Dawn Raid Ent LLC ( US) charting albums all over the world in different genre’s, sold millions of records, Aaradhna just won “Album Of The Year” and have artists signed on 3 different US Major labels.

Dawn Raid quickly bounced back in a major way with the massive success of Savage’s 2 million plus sales of “Swing” in the US. A large part of it was down to the placement of the song in the movie “Knocked Up” how did that happen?
Early on we recogonised the importance of sync placements, and making sure our music catalogue had representation for TV/film & gaming, we partnered with Universal Publishing Australia in 2005, and we’ve been working every year since, pitching and placing our songs in film and TV, Dawn Raid songs have been in a lot of Hollywood films, “Swing” just got a key scene placement in “Knocked Up” which made the difference, it opened the flood gates but there are a lot more that people just haven’t realised. This year alone we’ve secured 2 games, and about 3 US TV shows, its an on going process.

What are some of your memorable moments from that time at one point Savage seemed to be in huge demand in the States?
My most memorable moment was July 2008 with Savage at the airport, we’d been working the “Swing” single signed to Republic Records since April, we’d done our first radio promo tour, had gone home to NZ, and were back starting stage 2, we did about 5 smaller mid-west cities and then flew into LA, just as we walked out of LAX, I got a call from Avery Lipman, “Swing” is the #1 most requested song at American radio that blew my mind! From that day, I knew everything we had worked for was possible, and we could do it again. Haven’t stopped since.

What artists are currently on the Dawn Raid roster?
Aaradhna, Swiss, David Dallas & P-Money (via Dirty / Duck Down ), Monsta G, Three Houses Down, Brownhill. We also manage the VP Records catalogue (Jamaica) for the South Pacific, and distribute the YGB Records label home to the very talented Home Brew, @Peace & Team Dynamite.

Dawn Raid is the leading Polynesian record label in the world what do you look for in an artist to consider working with them?
Firstly for a direct Dawn Raid Entertainment artist signing, you have to be of Polynesian or New Zealand descent I’m pretty sure we’re the only label in the world that has that as a signing requirement, after that its purely the individual talent of the artist and Brotha D giving you the green light, I never make the final call on who we sign, I leave that to D and his ears for example we’ve only ever had 1 female on Dawn Raid – Aaradhna, because reality is, D believes we haven’t seen anyone on the female side that can touch her vocally, so that’s what it is. If you don’t get the pass from Brotha D, you’re not getting signed LOL.

One thing noticeable about Dawn Raid is your bond with Brotha D what makes your partnership work?
Brotha D took me under his wing as a 16 year old youth and welcomed me into their Samoan family, I was looking for my spot in life, Brotha D is a street legend in New Zealand and was already very well know from the NZ -Boo Yaa Tribe days of 80s & 90s before I came along, he’s my brother, father and best friend in this world the smartest most talented music ears in the business. People get my Uso wrong all the time, cause he looks scary if you don’t know him. But he’s the realest dude I know, heart of gold. Fuck what you heard, they don’t make them like Brotha D no more and that’s real.

Dawn Raid now falls under the Frequency Media Group umbrella alongside Dirty Records amongst others. How did the relationship with Frequency come about and what are the differences/benefits compared to when you were fully independent?
The forming of FMG actually came from Callum (Dirty), we (D & I) approached the guys and said let’s form a more dynamic working relationship as young indie labels executives, put the past behind us pick the best artists from our respective camps and make a concentrated push towards bigger markets like the US, UK and Australia. It’s a brains trust where we can share ideas, and the best man for the job, gets the job. Two great examples of the combined efforts are Aaradhna “Treble & Reverb” album produced by P-Money and the Duck Down signing and releases of both P-Money “Gratitude” and David Dallas “The Rose Tint”, “Falling Into Place”, very proud of all the FMG team on those releases, that’s how it should be done. Without the team you’ll only get so far, and I put that on everything.

You have currently relocated to the US with Aaradhna who is being introduced to that market. What are some of the challenges you are facing and how has she been received so far?
The biggest challenge is – 1. Money and 2. What’s a Samoan / Indian singer by way of New Zealand doing singer Soul/R&B music in the US? The US market can be slow to catch things that are different, but we’re slowly breaking those doors, with great music and a relentless tour schedule and just doing the yards to show what the team has to offer America. Aaradhna has completed 3 US tours this year alone, we’ve charted US -Top 40 releases with Aaradhna, David Dallas, P-Money and Swiss in 2013……It’s working, and 2014 is looking even better.

What approach do you make to breaking an overseas artist into the American market has the previous success with Savage helped in any way?
Basically it all comes down to your networks, relationships and the talent of the artist your working with, can’t nothing happen if the artist isn’t an incredible talent first. I learnt a lot from Savage’s run in the US, it’s a huge musical landscape, with many moving parts, no 1 formula works every time. My best piece of advice for any overseas market, is get the right label partners on the ground, you need an in-market team, step 1.

How did you keep on top of the game in the ever-changing music industry?
Get up early, stay focused on the job at hand, work more than you party, party less than you hit the studio. No excuses. Watch and listen to everything that is happening around you in your music world and everyone else’s. Most of all have fun, support your brothers, stay happy and do you.

For those unfamiliar what 5 tracks/albums do you feel best represent New Zealand music?
Herbs – French Letter
Scribe Feat. Savage & David Dallas – “Not Many Remix”
Dam Native – Behold My kool Style
Aaradhna – “Wake Up”
David Dallas – “Runnin”

You won the 2013 NZ Music Manager of The Year Award what did that mean to you?
Well firstly we won that as a team, everything I do, I do for the team, they just happened to single me out as I’ve been working on those particular projects, that said it’s always nice to be recognized by your industry peers and it was nice to receive something personally after many years on the grind. I gave the award to my Mum, so you know how that goes.

What’s been the best piece of advice ever given to you?
“Well Done Is Better Than Well Said”, meaning let your actions speak for you, and not your mouth, words are meaning less, I watch what you do, not what you say.

What does the future hold for Andy Murnane?
I’m staying in LA for the near future, more records, more hard work, more fun and being a good Dad for my two sons, who are hitting their teenage years. I’m trying to put a couple more million sold RIAA US Plaques on my wall.

What’s your definition of Grindin’?
My definition of grindin’ is this – sometimes your best isn’t good enough, you have to do what’s required! #DAWNRAIDDIRTYFMGGANG.

Interview by Duggs.