[Bruno Ybarra] We have licensed some of our tunes out for commercial use (some with our approval and some without!). It's great when you can land a nice synch license for television or film - but that's a very competitive market nowadays. It's a great vehicle if you can land it!

- So many of your releases combine electronic and natural acoustics and instrumentation. Do you have much to do with the production work involved in these releases?

[Bruno Ybarra] It really depends on the project ... for the compilations I have much more input from the ground up. For artist albums, it really depends on the project. Producers like Jay Denes pretty much do things independently ... other projects, like a vocalist album, require more input from an A&R perspective.

However, I try to always make suggestions with regard to instrumentation, changes, performances, lyrical content/arrangement, etc. where needed. Of course, the main job in doing A&R is to get people to perform at their highest level ... which is a really tough balancing act to keep the feedback objective and inspirational and not spiralling into derogatory commentary - very delicate stuff! Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't ... at the end of the day, music is such a subjective thing - and people all see things differently. My favorite quote along these lines is "there's an ass for every chair" ... Jay Denes told me that once and it pretty much sums it up, eh?

- Indeed! :) How well is Naked Music being received in the States as opposed to the rest of the world?

[Bruno Ybarra] Judging from our sales, it seems to be about equal response both here and abroad ... I think there are definitely territories that are more receptive to dance/underground music as a whole - and the U.S. has always been quite slow to react to changes in the music world ... whereas may European territories have embraced it from the start. Things seem to be improving, though, on both sides of the Atlantic.

- Who are your stable artists on the site?

[Bruno Ybarra] Our artist lineup to date consists of Lisa Shaw, Miguel Migs, Blue Six (Jay Denes), Gaelle-Speakeasy, Central Living (Dave Warrin), Aquanote (Gabe Rene), Lisa Treniere ('Aya') ... we also work with several other producers and artists on a contract basis quite regularly.

- What's your connection to Hed Kandi Recordings?

[Bruno Ybarra] None whatsoever - although Mark Doyle is a really great guy and has been a fantastic supporter for the label from day one. We licensed several tunes for Hed Kandi comps prior to our recent Astralwerks/Virgin deal. He also happens to know some of the best curry joints in London!

- How do maintain the quality control over all releases and products from your company?