Muncey wrote:Although I get the difference between DMZ & Hessle, I don't agree you still can't compare. Greatest label depends on what you define a great label as, if its based on the quality of music.. of course you can compare DMZ & Hessle. If your idea of a great label includes pushing new artists forward obviously you can't compare them. If your idea of a great label is the relevance and importance it had in a scene, again you can compare.
Theres no official criteria on what is or isn't a label.
I don't disagree entirely, but it's an odd comparison since both release music very differently, not in that one is a label and one isn't. You can definitely compare DMZ's output with Hessle's output and say 'I like DMZ better than Hessle', and I'm not saying that labels are good for 'pushing sounds' or 'getting artists heard'; what good would it be if all the artists a label introduces are shit vs a collective self-releasing music that is great?
But I do believe that the output of either label will be of such a different nature, that I don't think you can make a fair qualitative comparison. DMZ releases a very specific aesthetic (even the heavier/wobblier tunes definitely fit with the dubbier ones) by a small number of musicians in limited quantities. Hessle releases an ever-evolving range of aesthetics from an expanding roster of artists. And considering those factors, I don't believe it's a fair comparison. The same way I wouldn't compare, say, Remarc as an artist to Reinforced's entire back catalogue.
