Sebastien Devaud, AKA Agoria, announced earlier today that he is parting ways with InFine Music, the label he co-founded in 2006.
"I've been thinking about this for one year now, and today I think it's OK for me to leave the label," Devaud said over the phone this afternoon. The main reason, he said, is because he needs more time to work on some high profile side projects. "I'm working with some pop singers, mixing some albums; I give my ear to them. And a new soundtrack project that I need to work on... I am also playing every weekend and still making new music, and I don't want to lie to artists and say, "OK, I'm behind you," and not be able to do it, so it is a matter of choice in a way." Devaud didn't want to say which pop artists or film makers he was working with until the projects are finished.
Infine Music was born in 2006, the brainchild of Devaud, his childhood friend Yannick Matray and Alexandre Cazac, the French label manager for Warp Records. The imprint launched with a remix EP for Francesco Tristano's Strings of Life, and from there developed an eclectic catalog that included records by Apparat, Clara Moto, Rone and Aufgang among others, plus numerous releases by Agoria himself.
Six years on, Devaud feels that, for better or worse, Infine Music has taken on a life of its own. "I never thought it would be my day job," he says. "I am really happy for all that we've done, for example signing new comers like Arandel, Rone. But now there are so many artists and it is such a big label, a lot of time I'm doing nothing for the music, just meetings and working on the business side of things."
Devaud doesn't see himself starting a new label at this point, but says that if he were the sole creative force behind Infine, he would have kept it going. "If I was the only guy making the decisions, I would have continued for sure. But if you are not 100% happy with some choices and if you don't think all the directions are totally right, and it starts to take a lot of time and money and everything, and you have a lot of propositions it becomes difficult to do everything."
Infine has a busy release schedule following Devaud's departure, with albums from Rone, Danton Eeprom and Spitzer all in the works for 2012.
"I have no ego problem with leaving things running behind me... I think Infine doesn't need me any more, the label will grow up and it will be fine without me. There are a lot of albums coming out next year. I think it will go well."
