Stay The Course Records

Stay The Course Records

Location: Brooklyn New York

Stay The Course Records, founded by Matthew Rivera out of his studio in Brooklyn, is a label for those who crave authentic man made music. His sound is as genuine and sophisticated as the artists whom he produces. D.A.P. a.k.a. David Andrew was signed to the label in 2013. Though his lyrics are raw and real, his appearance on stage is dapper and fresh with an eye for detail. Edson Sean a.k.a. Linden Troy a.k.a. Gerald Trotman has a voice so controlled and smooth that it commands the entire room. His poetic lyrics show a real understanding of the art of songwriting from the heart. Sitting down with STC was an inspiring experience hearing natural born artists expressing the importance of what they choose to do.

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So Op a.k.a. Matthew Rivera
Occupation: Record Producer
Location: Brooklyn, NY

I don’t think music it is a choice necessarily, I just do what makes me feel good. Sometimes there’s that thing inside your head, maybe its not a voice necessarily, but it pushes you in a certain direction. I just go with the flow. To me I am always happiest when I am being creative. It’s almost like meditation in a way, I’m not really thinking about it. I wouldn’t say I made a choice. It’s something I can’t escape. Sometimes it even makes me sad. It’s not the easy way. I feel like there are a lot easier ways of living this life. When you become an adult and have responsibilities, it doesn’t make any sense to choose art. But when I’m sitting at a computer doing something that doesn’t make me feel good, I naturally want to just go into a room and hit a drum.

Any art that you choose to do you have to be a fan first. If you are not a fan or a lover of it then you are not really doing it, I don’t think. You need to be completely influenced and enraptured in this thing before you actually do it. You need to incubate. It took me a long time to settle into a zone and genre. What do I like about music? Its like meditation honestly, its something you can feel physically. I don’t know the science behind it, but I don’t question it I just accept it. I like everything about music. I like listening to it and discovering stuff that not a lot of people have heard. I love hearing people interact with each other on a spiritual level. It’is an amazing form of communication between people. As a listener, or watching people on stage having this dialogue- and you know when people have played together for a long time they know each other really well and they have a good relationship with each other and the music is better. There is a communication, really subtle things are happening, and its amazing because you’re not talking. But people are giving each other space and room. It’s really beautiful. It’s a dance when its done right. I have played with people that don’t communicate well and it sucks. As a musician, you need to be like a good person- generous and thoughtful- you need to listen. I love everything about music from the discovery, the acquisition, telling people about it, learning about how it is made. I like to know. I’m a record fiend. I look at the back of records to read who produced it- as much information as there is about it I like to read it.

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Edson Sean a.k.a. Linden Troy a.k.a. Gerald Trotman
Occupation: Musician
Location: Brooklyn, NY

I choose art, period. Not only am I a musician, but I am a visual artist as well. I find art is a therapeutic form of expression. I always say that music is my medicine because whatever is going wrong or there are things that I want to explain but can’t explain or I don’t have the words to do it, I can always express that through music. The reason I love music is because it doesn’t matter what language you speak, that’s the language that everybody can understand and relate to. Even if they don’t understand the words, sometimes the feeling or expression you’re trying to convey can be expressed through music, it doesn’t need language. You can have a song without words, and whatever you were feeling when you were creating that piece can be conveyed in the moods of the music. That’s why I love this form of art. You can paint pictures without pencils and brushes. Each sound has a different color, that’s how I see it. That’s why I love it. I want this to be my life.

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D.A.P. a.k.a. David Andrew
Occupation: Rapper
Location: Brooklyn, NY

I choose music because that is the easiest way of communicating my thoughts and having it encapsulated for a long period of time. I feel that once you have said what you have said on a song, you can live on even after your presence. That’s why I choose to express through music because I want the streets to hear it and I want the sounds and the feelings and expressions of what I believe in to come through in a musical sense. I feel that music is definitely something that stays the longest. A tune, a song, or a chant that is constantly repeated stays in your membrane for a the longest period of time. That and a smell. What I love about music is definitely that there are so many flavors and there are so many visuals to music that a lot of people don’t really get to experience. I feel like if you just take time and not hold yourself to one genre or a stereotype like ‘black people like this type of music, white people like this type’ and just open your ears. First of all, get yourself a good headset, get yourself a good sound system and just enjoy music like that. That’s what I really do like about music, the triggers, the healing factors of music. I could have a bad day and zone out and listen to good music. I feel at peace and in my zone. That’s why I love it. Whoever hears this interview should definitely support Stay The Course Records. We are trying our best to do something that is authentic that has a vibe to it that we hold true. Like Tribe Records back in the day, those kind of dudes had that unscathen sound, that rusty dusty type of drum. That’s pretty much me, I like vintage, I like everything that is old. If you’re a fan of that, show your support for Stay The Course Records.

Love Stay The Course Records as much as we do? Support their kickstarter fund to keep their sound alive! kickstarter.com/projects/1030024264/from-90s-hip-hop-to-militant-jazz-stc-presents-dap.com

You can hear more from them at staythecourserecords.com

Krista Moy
Krista Moy
Krista believes that art is an expression of one’s soul in unlimited forms and experiences.
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