Tom Morello know for bands such as Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, his solo guise The Nightwatchman and political activism, has launched a record label, dubbed Firebrand Records. Co-founded with Ryan Harvey of the Riot-Folk Collective, Firebrand launches today with a digital sampler of music from Harvey and some underground activist/musicians in the mold of Morello. In addition Harvey and singer songwriter Ike Reilly, Egyptian Ramy Essam, indie rockers Built for the Sea, Swedish punks Lycka Till, and Bronx-based post-rock singer Bell’s Roar, will be the first releases. Hear the compilation’s lead track, ‘It’s Like That’ by Baltimore rapper Son of Nun – below.

 

In an Interview with Rolling Stone, Morello detailed how the label was formed and what to expect

“People always ask me, ‘Why aren’t there artists writing lyrics like Public Enemy or the Clash or Rage Against the Machine? And my answer is always, ‘There are. They may not be currently at the top of the chart and you have to seek to find them, but there are.’

On the first official release:

“Ike Reilly’s Born on Fire. In my view, he’s one of the best American songwriters of the last 10 years, both in delivery and lyrics. It’s, like, part Springsteen, part Replacements. And we grew up in the same hometown, Libertyville, Illinois, where Adam Jones of Tool and Marlon Brando came from as well [laughs]. There must be something in the water there, for a suburb known principally for its Buick dealership.”

On if the label will be fair and fair to artists

“Well, we are not a non-profit label. We may be more accurately described as an anti-profit label [laughs]. In 2015, nobody with any sense is starting a record label to try and become Interscope Records. We have a very clear mission, and that is to bring global revolutionary music to everyone who wants to hear it. As someone who’s spent a couple of decades with various labels, I see it exclusively from the artist perspective. We’re not trying to get rich off Firebrand Records, we’re trying to enrich people’s hearts and minds.”

“I mean, Ryan comes from the D.I.Y. anarcho-punk folk scene. And for me, in both Rage and the Nightwatchman, we were not, like, label dudes. So a crucial part of it just have it be very artist-friendly.”