RS: Can you name anything about the business that is just apalling to you that you would love to get off your chest?
Ultra: The way artists signed to label deals are nickel-and-dimed to death. Everything comes out of the artist pocket so in the end your being prostituted. The system is designed to keep the artist as an indentured servant. Obviously in order to make an artist happen the label is incurring all the financial risks, but there are ways to spend the money smarter so the bills are not so through-the-roof. The splits also could be light years better. Artist are given such a small percentage of the profits when they do happen that after all the chargebacks do they even have enough to live off of? Meanwhile the record label takes the lion's share. It's disgusting.
RS: You've been on a major label and an independent dance labels, what inspired
you to start your own label - BluFire?
Ultra: Cause I'm freeee to do what I want to do! Just kidding. I wanted to take some chances and really harness my career from all angles. It would be nice to reap ALL of the rewards of my hard work. And believe me, a sister works hard!
RS: What experiences from your previous label do you bring to BluFire?
Ultra: My manager and I have always been at the helm of things when it came to my prior records; the biggest difference now is that I have to be on top of every detail and pay all the bills.
RS: Is there any coincidence that BluFire shares the same color as BlueChip?
Ultra: I named mine first. Actually I have no idea how that came to be..? Mine speaks of depth, intensity and passion. Bluechip is not so esoteric, as in a bluechip stock, I believe.
RS: Do you prefer performing in front of an audience or working in the studio?
Ultra: I'll take the stage anytime over the studio.
RS: What inspired you to cover "Brass in Pocket"?
Ultra: I loved it as a kid and it came to me in brainstorm out of the blue. My instinct said go with it. My manager thought it was an excellent idea. The rest is history.
RS: Is there a video for Brass in Pocket?
Ultra: I'm putting "Brass" out myself on my own label, so unfortunately we don't have the budget for videos (yet).
RS: With club mixes by Junior Vasquez of the new Pretenders song "Time" doing well in the clubs, have you heard of any DJs mixing the songs together?
Ultra: I'm not out enough to catch it. Most of the time if I'm giggin', I'm in and out. But I hope the DJs like the track and it would be dope if they did something like that. I think it's a great confirmation that the "Pretenders" are back in the mix.
RS: Remixers often drop a vocal over the trendy, big room sound of the moment. The remixes of "Brass in Pocket" instead emphasize the soul and sensuality of your voice, did you choose remixers with this in mind?
Ultra: Yes. it's very important to maintain the integrity of the song. It's really important that remixers realize that to give a song and even this genre in general more credibility and longevity they have to give the music substance. So many nameless and faceless records out there continue to be the stumbling block of this genre. Obviously not all tracks are created equal. There are some killer tracks out there that are not vocal records. I'm speaking of artist based material solely.
