Thanatosis produktion

By Ken Waxman

Curiously, the dictionary definition of thanatosis is that of “defensive behavior where an animal simulates death to avoid predation characterized by a state of apparent paralysis and unresponsiveness to stimuli.” The curiosity is because Thanatosis produktion is also the name of a Swedish record label which since 2016 has specialized in releasing cutting edge music characterized by slow build up and gradual development.

“I haven’t studied ethology, but to be a goat and play dead to stay alive seems to me like an interesting, creative and possibly effective strategy,” jokes Stockholm-based label founder Alexander Zethson, a pianist/keyboardist, who leads his own bands and is member of others. “The connection between the music and the concept is that I aim to release music that on the surface may seem stagnant but bubbles in the deeper layers. I also saw it as a counterpoint to the current mantras in society that tells us to do more, make more, sound more and louder, take space and so on and so forth. I reckon that maybe doing less, stepping back, doing nothing can be a radical act of resistance sometimes. But of course the name paradoxical since I myself have been living the life of a workaholic during the last few years.”

The last phrase may even be an understatement since the Thanatosis catalogue now includes 44 Thanatosis CD or LP releases, eight download-only and four single releases with more already planned. Furthermore although he plans to release about four productions a year, 2025 which will see 13 physical releases. “I started the label to release my first solo album, the double CD pole of inaccessibility, which didn’t find a home anywhere else,” he explains. “Then a few years later I did the next release with music by a friend, and realized how much I enjoyed working for someone else’s music. From a catalogue of two releases in 2019, it grew to eight in 2021 and quickly went off the rails from there.

“There’s a lot of great music out there with extreme dynamics and big expressive gestures, I just wanted to provide something else under the Thanatosis umbrella,” he adds. “I love music that can be listened to in detail, blasted in one’s headphones or at extremely low volume on the stereo, with open windows, so that the sound of the music mingles with other sounds. I love the uncertainty of not knowing ‘was that from my speakers or from the apartment or from outside’. It seems to me there are also moments where the background comes into foreground.”

Frankfurt-based pianist Miharu Ogura, who has recorded two Thanatosis discs and has one in preparation clarifies that “what I find special about Thanatosis is its openness to a wide range of musical genres – the label has a strong and coherent aesthetic, and it trusts that vision. The label valued my performance and my music, which lies in the field of contemporary “classical” music, in a more honest and purely artistic way—one that suggests the possibility of receiving contemporary music in a broader and more open-minded context.”

Although Zethson is Thanatosis’ only employee, other help out with design, PR and text writing. All the discs are available through Border Music/Redeye distribution, with the majority of releases also available on most streaming platforms. Usually 300 copies are pressed or double that number up 1,000 if the music is on CD and LP. Demand has meant that a few titles such as Ogura’s Stockhausen disc and a 7-inch single by Zethson and Johan Jutterström) have sold out with discs such as Vilhelm Bromander’s first LP, Johan Berthling’s solo album have been repressed.

Lund, Sweden-based saxophonist Martin Küchen confirms the label’s appeal. “Thanatosis is a very serious and dedicated label that really makes the best of each release.” He notes that every detail is thought through from the recording to the mix and master. And then there’s a lot of consideration regarding the artwork and cover. On top of that the PR is very ambitious and always seems worthwhile.” Küchen has recorded two solo discs for the label a duo with Sophie Agnel plus as a member of Angles and the Vilhelm Bromander Unfolding Orchestra already has a solo vinyl single ready for release in 2026.

Three Thanatosis CDss have also been co-released with American labels and one with an Italian one. Although there are no plans for further cooperations, those production resulted from his admiration for the particular labels and in he case of the American ones, they added US distribution local retailers experience.

How has Thanatosis been financed over the years? “Mainly I’ve used money that I’ve earned from playing concerts and touring,” explains Zethson. “The musicians most often contribute themselves, but the exact terms depending on if there’s financial support from somewhere, and for example if I have initiated the project or not. I’m trying to find solutions that makes it feel reasonable for all parts involved.”

Furthermore, he notes “Thanks to a still existing, yet rapidly declining, governmental support for culture in general and phonogram production in particular, I’ve sometimes been privileged enough to get partial funding from the Swedish Arts Council, and in rare instances other foundations.”

”To record on Thanatosis is a bit of a misleading description since in case of release request, most often I receive raw or final mixes,” he clarifies. ”To publish on Thanatosis is more often the case. I’m getting request from all over the world, some of them I’m not sure if they check out the catalogue at all, while others seems really tuned-in to the label profile, feel a musical kinship to it, and want to be a part of the catalogue – which is of course really flattering for me.” Adds Ogura: “They’re one of the best organizations I’ve ever worked with. There is a strong sense of trust, professionalism, and hospitality in everything they do.”

As for formats he has his preferences. “I love CDs, and it’s a piece of cake to produce in comparison to the quite frustration LP-processes, plus it’s doesn’t take up as much storage space and is cheaper to send out. But if I could choose, I’d make LP editions of all the albums. I enjoy the act of listening to a LP, the tactility of the object, the designs that the larger surfaces allow. As for now, the majority of the releases are available on most streaming platforms, but this might change in the future, since I value the physical format far more highly and the streaming platform industry is generally exploitative and problematic in so many ways.

“Streaming doesn’t at all contribute in a mentionable way to the sales,” he clarifies. Bandcamp on the other hand is an extremely important tool to reach out with the music and to get some sales. That platform is quite different from the other platforms I know of. Also in the sense that you can have a direct connection to the buyer, so it becomes a human contact which I value highly. I’m doing physical albums and trying to break-even or even go on the plus side, so Bandcamp’s selling tools for physical products, and not least physical records shops are of huge value.”

While more important issue are planned for the rest of 2025, there are no designated 10^th anniversary plans, except as perhaps planning a large celebratory live event in Stockholm. The new session are one by Kory Reeder, the Lovers duo and in honor of composer Helmut Lachenmann’s 90^th birthday Thanatosis a collection of all his solo piano pieces, produced by Miharu Ogura.

After all Thanatosis is designed as a boutique label. As Zethson notes: “I’m not interested in appealing to as any people as possible. I’m just trying to create something specific with the catalogue and a whole that follows one or a few very different threads.”