My journey as a “spider-web-music-addict” continues through this endless sea of sounds that can be heard everywhere and at every moment of the day—an essential companion on the journey of our existence. This time, with my “eardrums and bells” wide open, I’m heading to Tokyo, Japan, to check out All Horned Animals, a small but very interesting label that I often mention here on Kathodik, particularly regarding its releases—always small, carefully crafted musical gems. I was already somewhat familiar with this label thanks to knowledge, here, with one of its two founders, Sacha Bonaffini, who is also involved with his own label, Sleepers Records. I hadn’t yet heard the other side of the All Horned Animals story, and I was able to do so thanks to the generosity of Sarah Rende, co-founder and the driving force behind the label’s philosophy. Enjoy the read.
Here you can find the Italian Translation
When, where, and how did the idea to found the All Horned Animals label come about?
We are two behind All Horned Animals, Sacha who has another label, Sleepers Records, and myself.
The idea came from Sacha but what probably whispered the idea to him is that I grew quite obsessed with CDs while in Japan and I was regularly showing him my findings.
It took me a while to agree to a partnership and build the label as a duo, first of all because Sacha already had Sleepers Records and also because I knew that if I was in, I would be all-in and I wanted to make sure I really wanted to get myself into it.
What really convinced me was my love for the Japanese scene. I remember a specific moment in Tokyo. Actually to give a bit more detail, it was while I was at Shozin Fukui’s bar -the director of 964 Pinocchio, I felt it absolutely made sense to start this project. Shozin was playing some CDs by Coil and Nurse With Wound that evening. And the more I was diving into the Tokyo scene, the more I saw building this new project as something quite meaningful. However, I wanted to distinctly separate Sleepers Records and our new project, we grew AHA from total scratch.
Around the time of our second release, we started working with our graphic designer and sound engineer. We like to be faithful to the people we work with, so for us, they are part of AHA and what we have built so far.
What musical genre do you focus on? And why?
Our original idea and direction were to focus on releasing Japanese artists, but we ended up also releasing English artists. AHA is very much connected to Tokyo and it will likely remain that way, but we don’t really want to focus on a specific genre or direction.
Maybe all the artists we have released so far and are planning on releasing can be considered “experimental” in the broad sense but to be honest I think we just want to release artists we feel drawn to. There might be a natural coherence that emerges and some disruption as well.
We just really love each artists we release.
Our last two releases and our next three releases will be by Japanese artists only, we came back to our original intent but we might escape it again.
Has your musical style changed over the years?
The first music I felt consciously drawn to as a teenager was progressive and psychedelic rock. I was also listening to a lot of music coming from the UK. I thought that growing up in Western Paris was far less cool than anywhere else on the other side of the Channel, although I did like some French bands like Gong or Bérurier Noir. My musical tastes evolved and changed, but I probably never fully cured my britophilia, especially when it comes to music.
If I think about it, more so than my musical style changing over the years, I think it’s the place I gave to music and the approach I had to it that really evolved.
I think for some years, very differently from my teenage years and from now, my approach to music was very passive and was a reflection of my social surroundings.
Paradoxically, or maybe naturally, I progressively reclaimed an active movement towards re-defining my musical taste, and I reconnected with music on other, deeper layers of myself, which at the time I was probably only experiencing through reading.
Moving to Tokyo was a later turning point as well. I think I started to go to live shows much more often than I had been while still living in Europe, and I also got to know the works of artists I didn’t know.
I don’t know how my approach will evolve and change again, but I like music to shake me a bit or decenter me, almost as if it was bringing me a new perspective.
Your releases are on CD. Do you have plans for other formats, such as vinyl or digital? In your opinion, which format best expresses your musical philosophy?
We wanted AHA to be a CD label. Our first release, ‘Next Millennium Vibrations’ by Magical Power Mako, includes a very long track. It was impossible to release it on vinyl, and it was perfect like this. As I mentioned, I grew quite fond of CDs, the size, how clean the sound is, how accessible the price can be while remaining a physical object.
Eventually, we decided that we would be doing a vinyl release from time to time, so there will be one out soon, but it will be a 7-inch.
The only thing we will not change our minds on is that we will never do digital releases.
What are your thoughts on co-productions between record labels?
We haven’t done it yet, but we do exchange with other labels that we really like and respect. We like how labels can be supportive of each other. Why not an actual collaboration or co-production? It has to creatively make sense, though.
What do you think about using social media to promote awareness and listening to your label’s music? Are you active on social media?
We sometimes have this romantic desire not to use any social media or the internet to talk about our label or projects. But at the end of the day, despite all its bad aspects, social media is a good way to connect with people. We are absolutely pleased that some people got to know our label, and especially the work of the artists we release, thanks to our social media pages.
We are just trying to be mindful of the way we use it and what we post. Our main focus when posting on social media is that people get to know the work of the artists we release on the label, and we would like the way we communicate on social media to reflect the importance that this has for us. We’re devoted to the work of our artists, that’s the main point. Selflessness, that’s what we’d like the label to convey, some sort of selflessness, as if AHA was its own living entity, only at the service of its artists and with no one behind it.
If I look back, I sometimes wish I’d known about some bands or artists earlier, and it makes me feel even more concerned about making sure some people who may like this kind of music can be reached. Social media is a good way to reach people.
How do you approach the promotion and distribution of the music you release?
Our approach is very much the same as what I said about social media. We take to heart the fact that the work of the artists we work with can reach people. As a label, we feel it is our duty to make sure the CDs or records are distributed correctly, and for that we are grateful to our distribution partners.
We don’t really approach what we do as promotion, it’s just about making sure our CDs and releases are out there, so that whoever is interested in them can find and buy them. We are probably not good at promoting anyway. We are a small independent label, and this comes with its fair share of difficulties. Nonetheless, we try to build solid and genuine working relationships, whether with shops or distributors. Nothing should feel forced. We do our best, but we evolve at our own pace.
We very much enjoy organizing events to showcase the work of artists we like. Perhaps that could be considered a form of promotion, in the sense that it helps the label reach more people, but this is not really how we approach it either.
Are there any future projects in the works, such as a book telling the label’s story?
We have some behind-the-scenes stories, but we’ll keep them for much, much later. The label is still very much in its infancy, and if they are ever worth telling…
Writing, however, is an important medium and intrinsically connected to music. The work of musicians is very often connected to writing. Musicians and writers/thinkers have always greatly influenced each other. We’d like to write and have artists write about their work, the ideas behind their work, their influences. Maybe it could take the form of a magazine, maybe a book. That could be something interesting and worth doing.
To wrap up the interview: what upcoming releases are in the works?
We are actively working on several new releases, and 2027 will be a busy year if all goes well.
Things take time, and we try to enjoy the process of putting each release together.
One of them has recently been announced: it’s a reissue of ‘Love & Banana’, a 7-inch record from 1969 by Tokyo Kid Brothers and Apryl Fool. We have been working with Makoto Inoue (Inoyama Land, pre-Hikashu), who takes care of the Tokyo Kid Brothers archive, to make this release happen. It has been quite a pleasure. It should be out in February 2027.
Another one has been in the making for a long time, and the production is moving at a slower pace. We hope to be able to announce it towards the very end of the year.
We have a third release in mind, but it’s still at a very early stage. This one would be a collaboration between artists. Actually, we would like to bring together some unexpected collaborations. That’s one possible direction we’d like to explore with the label.
We are also working with our dear friend and artist Rinji Fukuoka on a release, but we’d better not spoil anything just yet.
Link: All Horned Animals Instagram Profile
Link: All Horned Animals Bandcamp Page
