Interview: Dan Storper, Founder Of Putumayo World Music

Dan Storper

Putumayo is a pioneering record label which makes fantastic music from all corners of the earth accessible to everyone. We caught up with their founder, Dan Storper, to hear what he has to say:

What inspired you to start your world music record label Putumayo all those 15 years ago?

DS: A series of serendipitous happenstances. I was on my way back from Bali and stopped off in San Francisco. While walking to an art exhibit in Golden Gate Park, I heard an African group performing. Their music had brought several hundred people of different ages and backgrounds together on a beautiful day. When I got back to NY, I walked into one of my retail shops and they were playing heavy metal music. I got annoyed and decided to focus on putting an in-store soundtrack together. The response to that music was so positive, I decided to put out a CD which was well-received and sold well and here we are 15 years later.

Why did you decide to call the label Putumayo – what is behind the name?

DS: It’s a river and valley in southern Colombia where I collected handicrafts in the 1970’s. It’s quite beautiful and I loved the name more than any others I came up with.

Putumayo is known for its colourful artwork that makes the brand so prominent – what is the story behind the artwork?

DS: The British artist, Nicola Heindl, and I had a mutual friend who was the retail display director for our stores. I’d bought one of Nicola’s illustrated greeting cards and it was up on my bulletin board. Our mutual friend mentioned that Nicola was coming to NY from London in a few days and asked if I’d like to meet her. I asked her to do the first CD cover and people liked it so much, I decided to continue to work with her over the years.

Putumayo has also donated money to different charities from around the world such as Coffee Kids, Oxfam, Amnesty International to name but a few. How do you go about choosing the charities to donate to?

DS: We look for charities which do good work in the regions where the music comes from and have tried to pick ones we feel we can trust.

What is the process of choosing the music for each compilation?

DS: While I always make the final choices, I have several people who help me research the music. We spend a lot of time listening first to our database of more than 10,000 songs. We get submissions all the time and we travel extensively looking for music. We also ask our staff to participate in listening sessions and I eliminate songs that the group doesn’t care for or I don’t find appealing after many listens. And, then there’s the sequencing which always takes a lot of time.

Which album has been your favourite compilation to date and why?

DS: There are many favourites. One is Cape Verde because I put it together after a fascinating trip to the Cape Verde islands off the coast of Senegal. I was struck by how much great music this small population has produced. Another Afro-Portuguese blend that I love is the music of Brazil and Samba Bossa Nova and Acoustic Brazil are among my favourites. And, I love French music, so our 3 French CDs, French Café, Paris and Acoustic France are among my favourites. I also enjoy our Latin CDs such as Congo to Cuba and Latin Lounge and our African CDs like Acoustic Africa. Our kids series also is something I’m proud of. World Playground, our first kids release, is among my favourite Putumayo CDs.

What other world music compilations can we look forward to in 2009? And which ones are you excited about?

DS: I’m really happy with the way the first few of 2009 are shaping up. African Reggae and India (February), Salsa (March) and Italia (April) are sounding really good.