Eddiegordon

Neo Records

NEO Records – from Sandstorm by Darude to innovation with online radio in Ibiza streaming live audio and visuals of the world famous sunsets around the Globe from Cafe Mambo. We had a landed-on-the-moon moment the day Roger Sanchez was No:1 with “Another Chance” in the UK singles chart on Sunday 9th July 2001 and the next evening doing a Sunset broadcast live through our set up in Cafe Mambo, San Antonio, Ibiza. Not only could you hear Roger’s set online you could see him via the 7 different positioned camera’s and the sunset with everything being streamed, audio plus visual via the infamous Spanish internet telephone lines. That moment, as I walked into the DJ booth area, on Monday 10th July 2001 stopped me in my tracks as it captured everything that was possible for the future. Looking at Roger at the decks playing to the sunset, then looking at him on the computer monitor being beamed live on the internet to anybody in the world watching via ibizamix.com, I realised “oh my God this idea really works”. On his first full day at No:1 Roger Sanchez is doing his thing for us here in Ibiza with a big smile on his face. Thank you once again Guardian Angels for another “moment” to always cherish. An idea now fully born, like one of your babies in the delivery room, it’s alive and the gears of life change.
From the 2002 summer on the idea was used by the BBC every year after – but I saw the potential first and more importantly without endless BBC budgets we got it working. You must trust your gut instincts when you know logically that something can work. I remember nagging two of the Mambo DJ’s Pete Gooding and Jim Breese to use the Mic so listeners knew it was Cafe Mambo in Ibiza and now today they both have Radio Shows and Cafe Mambo do too. Thank you Javier, Miquel, Pete, Jim, Matt and Nikki (and of course the S-Man).

Here's the press release Nikki sent out Monday 10th July 2001

Roger Sanchez live from Ibiza

"Catch the S Man playing a live sunset mix tonight"

Roger Sanchez, currently riding high at number one in the UK charts with Another Chance, is playing a live DJ set tonight from Cafe Mambo, Ibiza.Worldpop/dance have teamed up with Ibizamix.com, the internet radio station to bring you the action streaming into your home as if you were there! The S Man will be cutting up all his favourite house tracks, old and new before ending with the sunset at 9.30pm. Not only can you hear the mix but you’ll also be able to watch all the action on the wheels of steel thanks to the 7 webcams set up inside the Mambo DJ booth and pointing at the beach and sunset. Ibizamix.com are broadcasting live 16 hours a day throughout the summer from Mambo with other sets lined up from Judge Jules, Roger Sanchez plus all visiting famous DJs spinning at Mambo. Go to ibizamix.com at 8pm (7pm BST) to watch Roger Sanchez. The sunset is at 9.30pm (8.30 BST).

Below is a screenshot of Ibizamix.com from Sep 2001

Neo Records and the recordings.

Neo is Latin for New. A new beginning for a lot of people and my first real venture into the world of the independent label away from major company funding. We signed our first track from Rotterdam by flying a 2 seater plane from Biggin Hill to the Rotterdam city airfield. We walked into the Dutch label’s office with our flying gear on and announced “we’ve come to sign that Shrink record”. The Dutch guys Peter and Pete were so surprised that we’d actually flown ourselves over they signed the record to us straight away. Then we all went for lunch laughing. Fun days. I still speak to Pete and Ronald (Shrink) today and that was April ’98.

A great logo for an exciting, innovative label with some great music from wonderful artists promoted by some real people who loved their music. Put into liquidation by the closure of Strictly Rhythm Records in NY who owed us a lot of money, over $700’000, and even more, they owed us honesty, the truth about their impending closure months before the day I discovered it by accident when I walked into their New York office and found that all the staff had been laid off with only the owner and lawyer still at their desks. If told before we could have moved our huge USA hit project by Darude to another Warner label and kept the whole thing moving forward. As it was Warners were still selling Darude’s debut album and 12″ records across the USA for months and months after with “Sandstorm” the biggest dance single in the US that year, but we would never see $1 of those sales ever. Walking back into the sunshine of Broadway, Manhattan that afternoon, on Sep 22nd 2002 was like coming out of the Doctors after being told you have a terminal problem. I knew in an instant that all our hard work for 4 years and the jobs of all the Neo staff was to be brought to an unthinkable crashing end. Within 5 months the decision to close Neo was taken starting a long three year process of legal nonsense. Nice work stinky Finklefish !

Looking through the sheer size of catalogue below I now fully appreciate the work done by many to bring us so much good music. All the artists, the great people including (in no preferential order) Russell Allen, Michael Archer, Alex Anderson, Richard Baskind, Stewart Rowell, Darren Hamer, Daniel Sherman, Richard Smith, Paul Newton, Angela John, Hayes Hickman, Nikki Wright, Jacqui Li, Jeff, Lisa Blofeld, Trevor Porter, Minnie, Lottie, Jess, Kelly, Nichola Smith, Tammy Cartwright and Winston. Thank you very much for coming to work and giving your very best to the journey of this label, it couldn’t have happened without you. Quite a body of work for an indie label over 4 years. Eddie Gordon