Ask Demir Candas — founder, co-owner and co-operator of Toast Toast Recordings — how it all began, and he’ll tell you it was a deep-seated desire masquerading as a whim.
“At the beginning of 2021, like many of us, I was buzzing to get out of the house or work on some sort of project,” Candas said via email. “I wanted to do something more ambitious, combining art and music. … Looking around me, I realized I was surrounded by so many musically talented, fun-hanging peers who were all itching a little to get out and do some more music. That was the lightbulb moment for me — I could marry my interest in visual arts/graphic design with getting everyone organized within our music scene.”
That “lightbulb moment” has helped illuminate North Texas artists in the months and years since its inception.
Toast Toast Recordings roared out of the gate with 20 artists releasing material across 20 weeks (called “Capsule 1”) — no small feat in an age of bottomless content. Now in the midst of “Capsule 2,” the label will release its latest music, from Seattle-based artist Westmoreland, on Friday, Aug. 2.
“[Toast Toast Recordings is] really quite a bit different than most entities in the scene,” said Jack Diller, who helps run the label alongside Candas, via email. “A lot of musicians here are friends, but there is still competition, and we don’t really dig that. Toast Toast doesn’t care about money or how big an act is or how popular — we just care about putting out music. Self-releasing is tough because you’re just a drop in the ocean and Toast Toast provides a safe, solid place to release.”
Putting the art ahead of all else is, understandably, quite attractive to the musicians involved. According to Dallas singer-songwriter Tristan Wagoner, who records as TWlovesyou and released his latest singles “Hardest Working Heart” and “Modern Dreamer” through Toast Toast, the label’s passion is palpable.
“The label itself feels unique in the sense that everyone is family and the support for each release is always taken seriously,” Wagoner said via email. “Demir and Jack work hard to create cover artwork, get the music out there and promote it.”
As for what lies ahead for Toast Toast, Candas is looking beyond the capsule cohorts (currently scheduled for weekly release through October) and aiming for something much bigger — apart from the plans coming together for a multi-band, day-long festival gig in the fall, once a venue is secured.
“The remainder of 2024 and 2025 is going to shift focus to physical releases and possibly putting on shows,” Candas said via email. “By this time, we will have about 40 artists under the roster, and even more collaborators in our network, so I’m hoping to produce more posters, CDs, cassettes, and maybe even push to vinyl if we find the right vendor. The world is our oyster.”
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
