Tikal Sound Records Interview

TIKAL is Arthur, who first fell for guitar and rock/metal as a teenager in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. With plenty of energy and drive, Arthur managed to get his band of the time onto the stage of a high school festival in Bordeaux — a first taste of live performance that set the course for everything that followed.
He went on to study audio at a vocational college in Montpellier, while his youth took shape through countless wild techno nights and free parties. That deeply underground world sparked a love for alternative and electronic music that hit him hard at 18.

From there came a growing interest in reggae, funk, hip hop and then techno. With the same drive and determination, Tikal built a sound system with friends. Eight years later, he took the leap and invested in VOID Acoustics Stasys to launch his own sound hire company: Tikal Sound. A real milestone. Since then he's provided sound for La Fabrique for nearly a year, the Groov'Ming Festival at La Mongie in the mountains twice, and a salsa festival at La Guinguette de Lupiac three times.
It was around 2017/2018 that he crossed paths with Nkod from OQP Crew / Sound Conspiracy, through a mutual friend — Mark alias 4Q from Total Resistance / Sound Conspiracy — and the label Tikal Sound Records was born, with the goal of pressing their own vinyl records.

Sound Conspiracy is a collective made up of OQP Crew, Facom Unit and Total Resistance. Some went on a road trip all the way to India; others settled in Italy. Several members of Spiral Tribe came along for the ride.

One thing led to another, and a new collective emerged: TetraBass, a non-profit association with Arthur at the helm as president. Why "Collectif TetraBass"? Partly because Eric Paquot, aka Le Troll à Roulettes, president of Quin Té Bass, is tetraplegic — but also because the name reflects the coming together of four crews:

• - Tikal Sound Records + Live Sans Limite (Nkod)
• - Quin Té Bass
• - Enko D Sound System
• - Kezako Sound System

As a label, TIKAL now has a solid back catalogue of around thirty vinyl releases. And on top of all that, Arthur wears another hat entirely: for nearly two years now, he's been running a pizzeria in the Gers with his wife.

> THE LABEL'S VINYL RELEASES <

At the start, Tikal Sound was purely a sound hire company. It was about a year and a half later that it evolved into a label: Tikal Sound Records.

The name Tikal comes from a Mayan civilisation that originated in Guatemala.
I felt the need to find a name that connected to that. It wasn't obvious, but at the time I was running the hire company alone, and the label was a sole trader setup too. Even today, Tikal remains a fully independent label operating under my own name.

My role is to handle everything: gathering all the information needed to produce a record, liaising with graphic designers, artists and the mastering engineer, filing SDRM declarations with SACEM to obtain reproduction rights.
I also take care of packing and shipping orders to customers and record shops, both in France and abroad, and manage all the bookkeeping. We're now transitioning into an association structure under the name Collectif TetraBass.

In this world, versatility is everything — and you're proof of that. These are jobs driven by passion. You have to love what you do every day, stay connected to your network, keep the energy up. But above all, the passion has to be real. That much is obvious.

During my time in Montpellier I organised free parties and in doing so met some genuinely remarkable people, the kind who wear their heart on their sleeve. They introduced me to artists I'd never have found on my own and welcomed me into their circle.

It goes to show: you have to find your way into the scene and stay open to the people in it. When you do, you discover far more normality — and far more humanity and professionalism — than the outside world tends to assume.

Collectif TetraBass is a non-profit association founded by four people:

• - Eric Paquot from Quin Té Bass
• - Arnaud Salvador from Enko-D Sound System
• - Emmanuel Ponce from Kezako Sound System
• - Arthur Claveau, myself, from Tikal Sound Records

Why "TetraBass"? Four crews, yes — but also because Eric Paquot, aka Le Troll à Roulettes, president of Quin Té Bass, is tetraplegic.
Even though the collective brings together an association, sound systems and a label, we each remain fully independent. Tikal Sound Records puts out its own vinyl; Quin Té Bass organises events. I serve as president and am the main driving force behind the association. But everyone has their place and their strengths:
Eric, our treasurer, handles the accounts and artwork — and is an artist himself. Arnaud, vice president, manages the artist roster and communications — also an artist. And Cathy, our secretary, takes care of all the admin — and is an artist too.

We each bring something the others don't, and that's the whole point of an association as far as I'm concerned. Every vinyl release is driven by whoever is investing in that particular project.

Vinyl is of course something millions of people connect with, and I was lucky enough to grow up listening to it with my (adoptive) parents. I still remember putting on Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Neil Young, AC/DC, the Rolling Stones...

I've never actually DJed — I've always been drawn more to the technical side, which is what led me to study audio. But I've been building a personal collection over time, records I'd never give up: rock, reggae, punk, techno — every genre I love.

Why not CD? I think vinyl just draws people in more than CD ever did. Even if you can mix with CDJs, vinyl has always been the heart of techno culture. There's a warmth and grain to it that gets under your skin — mine included.
CDs take up less space, but their environmental footprint isn't that far off from pressing vinyl.

From the moment I stepped into this world, I was drawn straight to the underground — the old guard, as they say: Spiral Tribe, Facom Unit, OQP Sound System, Network23, LSDF, Narkotek, Nonem, Capsule Corp...

Then one day, through a friend who used to drive for our free parties, I had the immense privilege of meeting Bryan from Weasel Busters. A genuinely good person with solid values. From that point I found my way into his circle of friends, the Patetik crew — Florent, Jérémie, Laurent.
A lot of my inspiration has come from the people around me at any given moment. Every label has something to offer.

With friends we're building our association to press vinyl records together, pool our individual skills and create something that feels like a real family. We're about thirty people and everyone brings something different to the table.

We'd love to celebrate three years of Tikal Sound Records and the first anniversary of Collectif TetraBass after next summer — but between running the pizzeria and life in general, the timing and headspace aren't quite there yet.
On a more personal level, I'd like to build a small recording studio down the line and take a graphic design course too.

Great question — honestly, I'm not sure. Probably fine, given that I spend a huge amount of time either listening to tracks from our artists or scouting music from others to make sure each release fits together well. I don't think there's much of a divide between north and south — music connects people regardless of where they are and keeps everyone going.
For now, I'm not looking for much more. My projects are slowly coming to fruition and that's enough for me.