Jaxon Lee Swain has been a Portland resident since 2015, but he’s been working with sonaBLAST! Records since 2011, after a stint managing the local music section at beloved and departed Louisville record store Ear-X-Tacy for many years. When the shop closed, he asked if the label needed any help, and he’s been there ever since.
The original sonaBLAST! office was located in the old Boys and Girls Club building on Portland Avenue. Jaxon said they’ve released something like 1,600 songs since 2011. sonaBLAST! released mega-platinum Louisville rap artist Jack Harlow’s first album, as well as projects from acclaimed folk/pop/orchestral cello virtuoso Ben Sollee. According to its website, the label’s “acts have been critically acclaimed in the NY Times, Billboard, Paste and NPR”. The origins of the label go back to 2002, when independent producer and investor Gill Holland needed a more cost-effective way to produce music for a variety of film and video projects, due to the difficulty of obtaining rights and the licensing of existing music.
One such release is Hazard, an intense Appalachian addiction noir drama released earlier this year, which was shot mostly in Harlan County, KY, and featured Sosie Bacon, daughter of Hollywood royalty Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. You can stream it on Amazon Prime or Apple TV, and the soundtrack – which includes nearly all Louisville and Kentucky-related talent – is also available on Spotify.
He gave some insight into the operations of the label:
“All of our artists are on one-off deals,” he said. “It’s not x amount of albums over a longer term, but some do come back to work with us later. Every project is different. Most involve digital files, but some artists want CDs or cassette tapes. Sometimes the artist hands us a product that’s already been recorded, but sometimes we’ll work in the studio. At any given time, we have about 5-10 releases out there.”
“For many artists, we’re working with them on their first project, so it’s an important and exciting time,” he said. “People submit stuff every day, and I’m out at multiple shows per week, so I’m always listening. There’s so much talent in this town, I wish we could do twice as much.”
Jaxon noted a few artists to spotlight, which show the range and diversity of sonaBLAST!.
“There’s a young rapper JAMIEEE, as well as country singer Luke Powers, he’s amazing,” Jaxon said. He also said to keep an eye on folk/country singer/songwriter Cait Justice, and punk/glam rock duo the Daddy Sisters, who began in Bowling Green but moved to Louisville.
Jaxon is also a musician himself. In addition to his own solo band which plays often around town, as well an acoustic duo with his friend Mary Feiock (they recently played at the Farmington historic house), Jaxon played bass for 86-year-old first generation Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson for five years.
And proving that music is a huge guiding force in his life, he also has a leadership role at local non-profit volunteer-run radio station WXOX 97.1 FM. He’s been a DJ since 2012 (back at the old space in NULU) and does a lot of behind the scenes work as talent director. He’s proud to call Portland home.
“I’ve met a lot of cool people in Portland,” he said, noting that he lives on lower Bank Street near the Portal. “I love what Daniel’s doing with the Rosetta Chapel. The Outsider Museum is fantastic, and I love going to The Table for lunch.”
