Kick Drum Therapy Is Denver's Newest Label Devoted To Techno
Lenhart's journey to founding Percussion Therapy has been a long one, beginning with his musical childhood in Florida. On weekends, her father would play funk and pop records by artists like Stevie Wonder and Mariah Carey. "When he pulled out the record player and opened up some LPs, I knew it was going to be a music week," he recalls.
Not surprisingly, Lenhart began to discover his musical talent early. He learned to play the keyboard at the age of six and the drums at the age of twelve. He remembers enjoying his first taste of techno at the same time as Jan van Dahl's Castles in the Sky.
Lenhart brought his love of music to every classroom, playing in the high school band and developing a unique taste for European techno music. His college classmates introduced him to the sliding power of a digital audio workstation (DAW) and produced his first song. But music remains a passion project for him, smoking in the background as he concentrates on his work as a designer.
The pandemic changed Lenhart's priorities to accommodate his musical endeavors. My father died in 2021. “He was a great inspiration to me. I feel like I can still relate to him musically."
Like much of the country, Lenhart was alone when he was locked up and remembers feeling very lonely. As clubs and venues began to reopen, he dove into Denver's techno and house scenes, seeking a therapeutic release from the music he loved and a community of like-minded people.
Fortunately, Denver has a thriving house music scene filled with extremely talented techno artists and passionate fans. House music is a genre of uptempo electronic dance music that originated primarily in Chicago's gay, Latino, and black clubs in the 1980s, mixing 1970s disco music with synthesizer-based rhythms. It got its start Denver-style in the 1990s, when raves moved into and around the city, and in the early 2000s, when Red Rocks Amphitheater began hosting electronic shows. Beatport, an online electronic music source, was founded in Colorado in 2004 and many. Electronic pioneers settled here, including Morton Subotnik.
In Denver's burgeoning EDM scene, Lenhart met a group of tech enthusiasts through mutual friends, and together they attended everything from the Electric Forest Music Festival to Red Rocks. Returning home one Sunday morning after the weekend, Lenhart and his friends encounter a street sweeper. "He had a bass voice," Lenhart said. "We are relieved about that."
The moment inspired the SWEEPR moniker, but that's not the only aspect of Lenhart's musical brand that was born out of memories with friends. His entire musical personality is based on a love of community. The two antennae coming out of the "S" in the SWEEPR logo represent a group of friends whose members affectionately call themselves "Slugs".
In the year 2022, Lenhart is passionate about performing and producing music. "I feel like I'm a good producer in this music scene, you have to be a good DJ," he said. "And to be a good DJ, you have to create music. I feel like they complement each other." So he does both live performances and DAW-produced electronic tracks, mixing elements of European techno with great melodies and lyrics. He released his first self-released single, Bad Dreams, last November and will release his first EP, Night Shift, on Friday May 12 via Kick Drum Therapy.
Lenhart founded the label after learning some hard lessons during his first few months in the music industry. In January, he signed his first single, "Overtime" to Blue Soho Records. "It seems like a lot of labels are building a portfolio of songs that they own the copyright to," he said. "The artist does not reveal himself on you."
And what happens to the careers of the artists whose music they own after five years? Lenhart wanted to make sure he was always in control and believed labels would work best for their artists, so he and his best friend set to work creating their own label and launching Kick Drum Therapy in April. Regarding the name of the label, Lenhart explained: "[Electronic music] is healing because you're with your band, you're with your community, and in a lot of electronic music, the drums are one of the most important elements of the song." ".
The label prides itself on representing artists without taking away the rights to their music. Although Kick Drum Therapy started out small; With only two SWEEPR singles released so far, "Stay" and "Stop the Culture," which includes a collaboration with Lil' Cross, he has big dreams for the business. He wanted it to be an artistic community, or as he put it, "tribes that can collaborate with other people." His goal was to elevate the city's status as one of the country's music capitals and promote the talented artists he discovered in the Denver underground.
Kick Drum Therapy was already growing rapidly, and Lenhart felt that his ability to plan, design, and execute the vision would be of great use to the label. He has toyed with the idea of renting event space to local industries to serve as a soft launch for Kick Drum Therapy. He envisions Banshee House on Larimer Street and plans to fill the space with DJs and other artists, allowing local club owners and promoters to mix and mingle.
Lenhart wanted to focus his label on underserved communities while empowering other artists to pursue their dream careers. "The cards were stacked against me. I grew up poor and had bad financial and family luck," he said. "I had a lot of opportunities, someone saw something in me... I dropped out of college, but I worked my way up."
I wanted to pass on that gift. finding the top talented dogs in the Denver house and techno scene and giving them a platform and beats. “If you look at the [music] landscape, there aren't a lot of [techno] talent agencies or promotion companies or labels and press in Denver. Lenhart and his friend saw a void in the ministry and set out to fill it."
Within a year, Lenhart hopes Kick Drum Therapy will be able to represent at least two other artists and offer educational services to the public, such as negotiating music contracts. "Sometimes we have to give back in a different way," he said. "I felt like it was a really wonderful thing to go out into the world. To really change the way people think and change the dynamics of the music business."
SWEEPR's debut EP Night Shift will be released on Friday May 12 via Kick Drum Therapy on all major streaming services.
