Sykophunk Productions

Biography
Sykophunk Productions is an indie label founded in 2008 by Joseph VanBuren. Other than being a record label, it also serves as the publishing company for all of VanBuren's projects, as well as running the rEvolution Radio online station and the blog site DIO (Do It Ourselves). According to the official website, the goals of Sykophunk Productions are to "make music that is interesting and has some substance to it, to get the music out to people looking for something new, and to help other artists and labels in similar positions." The company has created partnerships with other indie labels, including Khaos Records out of Miami, and Dark Offerings Entertainment out of North Carolina. Recently, the label also began offering instrumental music for licensing.

Collaboration and Affiliations
The main purpose of creating Sykophunk Productions was to give VanBuren an avenue to release his own material. At the same time, his sense of collaboration and networking shows in the actions of the company and in the music it promotes. Sykophunk artist joe DOE featured numerous other indie artists on his last album, Democalypse, including frequent collaborators Christel South and GrimWitch. For his next release, Mostly Recycled, DOE is teaming up with underground hip hop producers for mutual cross-promotion.

For the release of D-O-E's album 3 Dimensions of Truth, Sykophunk Productions joined forces with another indie label, Khaos Records. Both companies worked together to produce the album as well as market and promote it. This was the beginning of a cooperative relationship that still exists between the two labels, and a prime example of how Sykophunk Productions claims to view other indie labels and artists as potential partners rather than competition.

Sykophunk Weekly
On February 6, 2009, Sykophunk Productions began hosting Sykophunk Weekly on sykophunk.com, a tradition that still continues today. The page is updated every Friday with progress reports on all of the label's current projects. Randomly, and sometimes for months at a time, Sykophunk Weekly will also have free MP3 downloads available. This is usually used to lead up to an official release. For example, free downloads are currently being posted until the release of Mostly Recycled, which is slated for March 29. Many of the songs only posted for one week become available at a later time. The 21-track joe DOE mixtape, Phuk Your Idea of a Mixtape, is still available for free download. Most of the songs on it were originally posted on Sykophunk Weekly.

Current Projects and Releases
In January 2010, Sykophunk Productions announced a number of projects to be released in the near future.


 * joe DOE: Mostly Recycled. Scheduled for a March 29, 2011 release, this album is slated to be available in multiple formats, including digital download, retail album, album + bonus tracks, and a 2-disc set.


 * Joseph VanBuren - the founder of Sykophunk Productions is finally releasing music under his real name through two projects. Where Angels and Eagles Soar: a collection of mellow instrumentals (limited release date March 8) and "The Asylum Project": a dark and twisted video series with soundtrack (release date TBA).


 * New Triple Vision tracks have been surfacing on Sykophunk Weekly. A video was made for the song "For the rEvolution" and posted on Youtube, containing footage from the recent Egypt protests. The TV tracks being released now were actually recorded last year; it is unknown if the group will be working on more new material.


 * There has been speculation that Dostah Shilailee may release an album this summer, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

Roster of Artists

 * joe DOE formerly known as D-O-E
 * Triple Vision
 * Dostah Shilailee
 * Domino Effect
 * Mother Prick of Misery

Key Releases

 * joe DOE: Seximer (EP, 2010)
 * joe DOE: Phuk Your Idea of a Mixtape (mixtape, 2010)
 * joe DOE: Democalypse (LP, 2010)
 * D-O-E: Be Middle Class or Die Trying (LP, 2009)
 * Dostah Shilailee: A Collage of Clairaudience (digital LP, 2009)
 * D-O-E: Grimey Poetry (LP mixtape, 2008)