Brendon Collins is a DJ based in Saint Louis. He is also the man behind Tulipa recordings, a label that has signed a number of major dance music artists since it’s inception 5 years ago. It has earned recognition from the likes of John Digweed himself. Brendon is also a quality producer, returning this month with a new EP named Arcus / Coulees (which was recently featured on Beatport).

This week, we sat down with Brendon aka DJ Summer to ask him what he would tell John Digweed if he met him in person; and which artists he would love to sign on Tulipa recordings, Mr Guy Gerber, if you read this, make it happen, the whole state of Missouri will be truly thankful!

Hello Summer! Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.

– Tell us how did the idea of Tulipa come up? What made you decide to create the record label?

Well, I’ve always been into making and releasing music. As a little bit of a back story- my first “record label” Felony Records was born in 1995 when I was 13. Right before, I had set up a studio in my home for recording my alternative rock band at the time and was tinkering around with beats and synths. Soon I had made a whole rap album and decided to sell it. Basically Felony Records was me slingin’ tapes and CDs at my school. Many years and musical styles later, the idea for Tulipa came to me right after I had released a minimal / tech-house EP on a boutique label, Redflux Cinnabar. Creating a home for my style of music seemed really exciting to me. As for the name, I was digging up tulip bulbs in a garden one day in 2010 and the rest is history…

– What about the other aspects of the label? Are you the type of guy who does it all or do you hire someone to do the artwork?

I do all of the A&R, financing, licensing, promotion, decision-making, and networking, but I do have a crew of people that work for me. I have an talented artist from the UK named Justin who does the Tulipa artwork. I also have a manger for my events, Diego, and a mastering engineer, Werner Niedermeier, who gets all of the Tulipa music to sound heavy and club-ready. My French friend Enzo does our Youtube videos. Despite having a team, I spend the majority of the free time that I still have working on the label. Not so much time these days with a one year-old daughter… but that is what the late hours are for.

– How do you choose the artists on your label? What kind of sound are you looking for?

I ask the artists that I like for tracks. Tons of demos roll into the inbox as well and as long as they are personal emails and not mass messages I will check them. As far as sound…well, I used to say that Tulipa is a cross between Cocoon, Bedrock, and Supplement Facts, but it has evolved into so much more than that. Really, Tulipa music ranges from techno, tech-house, all the way to deep house and minimal. There are a few common denominators though; the music has to be hypnotic, somewhat moody, mixed very well, and has to be functional for a dance floor. Finally, and most importantly, it has to something that I would play in my sets.

 – The remix “Everything Comes in Threes” by D Nox & Beckers is the number one selling track on beatport with Tulipa. What kind of impact this had on your label?

 The remix has introduced Tulipa to a larger audience. The moment I first heard the remix I knew it was going to be huge. The bass line is incredible. We had some delays on the release and I was playing the mix for months before it was public and each time, the reaction was huge. D-Nox, Beckers, and Dave Seaman were like “we really need to get this out there ASAP”.

– Do you try to give guidance to certain up and coming artists? Do you think it is the role of a label to ask the best out of each producer?

I do this all the time. My artists and I have discussions about whether the demos in question are already perfect or still need some adjusting. I can’t speak for all labels obviously, but with Tulipa I tend to give guidance when needed. For example, Swyft kept sending me tracks persistently and I kept asking him to change things, add elements, or remove this part or that bit. Eventually, he started sending me tracks that blew me away.

-Is there a particular artist that you would be happy to sign on Tulipa recordings?

Guy Gerber… (Pause, smiling) I am still working on it 🙂 Fortunately, I have been able to sign most of my favorite artists already. But really, there are always more popping up on my radar. It’s endless. I always keep one ear to the street. Some of my nights are spent listening to new artists on Soundcloud.

-How were you first introduced to Djing? Did you have a friend in Saint Louis who was already playing?

Electronic music made its way into my life one whimsical night at Club Liquid (that used to be here in STL) in 2000. Shortly after, I moved to New Orleans for college and started going to the State Palace raves. It was there that I discovered my desire to start DJing. I was spinning records in my apartment in NOLA for a couple of years and then I began to playing out at house parties… I was pretty, uh, mediocre at best. My sets were a combo of progressive house, trance, hard house, and disco. It was strange. During this time I was also playing in different rock bands and was keeping my focus more on that. But it wasn’t until 2006 when I heard John Digweed play in Nashville that I really fell in love with a new sound. He played music that balanced on the fine line between futuristic techno, house, and minimal. This has been the vibe that I have been chasing ever since.

-If you could choose one city where to DJ at where would it be?

I love playing in Saint Louis if the crowd is great and the sound system is fantastic. Hopefully I will be playing shows in other countries sometime, but really it’s kind of up to how well I can balance time between my family, my label, productions, and a touring schedule. But if I had to choose one place to DJ it would either be Berlin or Buenos Aires, I think. Tokyo would be pretty awesome too.

-Is there any major event where your label could showcase its artists? Such as Movement, BPM or WMC? Are any of those events appealing to you?

Recently I started the Tulipa_Live event series which showcases Tulipa artists only. We had the first show in September with Ryan Crosson, myself, Don Tinsley, and Luke Hansen. I plan on keeping about 3-4 months between events in order to keep things special. The next Tulipa_Live show will be in the works this month. My event manager is looking into having a WMC Tulipa showcase but I think that the most logical progression is to do something in Detroit during Movement.

-Do you consider pressing vinyls in the future for Tulipa? Those artworks would look great on a hardcover. 

Thanks, and yes I have been looking into it. Right now it’s not on the agenda for 2016 but certainly will be for releases down the line.

 -Let’s talk to Summer the Producer. Your EP Arcus / Coulees with Swyft is out on Beatport. Great music! How did you guys make the song together? Is Swyft based in Saint Louis as well?

Glad you’re digging it man. Arcus was an idea that Swyft originally came up with and I added elements to it. Coulees was an unreleased track I made about 2 years ago that Swyft rebooted with a bigger room sound. Swyft is quite an elusive character; he is based in Saint Louis and is sort of my protege, I guess. I’m not sure if he wants me to reveal his government name or not so I won’t say. He does have a lot of cool stuff coming out on Tulipa in 2016. I’m looking forward to the next gig so I can drop his new EP. The tracks are huge and I’m hoping the reaction will be too.

-Is there any artist that you would like to collaborate with?

I don’t try to collaborate with too many people. The tracks I’ve done with Swyft and T/LEC are the only collabs that I’ve done in the past few years. I would love to collaborate with Pig & Dan or Gerber maybe, but I don’t know how the styles would mesh. Maybe it could work, maybe not. Those guys are on another level.

-You told me that you love your hometown. How is it important to you to represent Saint Louis, Missouri?

It’s very important to me. Saint Louis has a really dedicated techno and tech-house scene and over the years I have watched STL DJs and producers evolve into talented and seasoned individuals. T/LEC aka Tony Bove and I first played out together in 2008 and we jokingly decided that we were the “Sasha & Digweed” of Saint Louis, haha. He has made a huge impact with his Napalm shows. There are so many other cool crews too, the 314techno guys are coming up; Inicio has been rocking, Badassness, Alphahouse, 4sho, Panoptic, B&W, Sweet Underground, and so many more. Besides the music, I love the city itself. Been in Kirkwood for a couple of years now and don’t plan of moving anywhere else.

-We heard you are obsessed with perfection. Can you tell us more?

I am huge into the programming and mixing process when DJing. It is very important to me to have clean mixes that are seamless and powerful. When spinning I usually keep the next 2-3 potential tracks in mind to figure out where the vibe should go. I’m also a bit old school as I love the thrill of mixing live so I only use CDJs or vinyl when playing. Give me an A&H Xone:92 and 2 CDJ-2000s and I’m content. 

-Apart from making music, what do you enjoy doing?

A lot of non-musical things. My wife and daughter always come first. Secondly, I love guitar and have been playing for 21 years now. One of my other big passions is meteorology & storm chasing. I have a small team of guys that I chase storms with in spring and summer. We travel to states as far away as Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, etc. I am also an endurance runner. I run or bike at least 2 hours a day and am preparing for a marathon in March. Ah yes… too many hobbies, so little time.

Someone by the name of John Digweed had some very nice words for your label, what would you tell him if you had him in front of you?

I would try not to be too star-struck and then give him “the nod”. For real though, I would thank him and then probably give him some tunes to check out. And try not to pee in my pants.

In case there is anything that we may have missed, is there anything else you would like to share with your fans?

We have some amazing music coming out on Tulipa this year, I can’t wait to share it with you all.

Words by Rico – Rico is a Tour Guide, a Tri-Athlete and a go-go Dancer. Originally from Paris, he is part of a music duo named Wolf Story.