Official TJHS Logo for Rewind Records. Graphic by Aaron Aimero
Thomas Jefferson’s capstone class debuts a new label in the new year.
Thomas Jefferson High School is home to many student-led programs. TJ not only hosts a plethora of student-led organizations, but also classes that are operated by students and guided by the expertise of teachers. In recent years, an audio capstone class has been introduced to the Careers and Communication Technology (CCT) program, offering an open-ended curriculum that allows students to express themselves in an artistic way while also simulating the environment of the music industry. This capstone class, led by teacher and executive producer Mark Mallaney, is the final step of the Audio Production pathway in the CCT program.Every year, the audio capstone class comes together and creates a new record label through student collaboration. Last year, the first generation of capstone students created Part One Records, the first installation of TJ’s record labels.
Since last year, many improvements have been made to the capstone program. TJHS Records now has its very own website that is a home to all the music released under the labels, including an archive of all past projects. The website also includes a brief description of every member of the label, giving people insight into who they are. On top of the website, collaboration between the photography students and the audio students has grown greatly within the program. Students taking the Photography 2 class work together with the audio capstone students to create artist profile pictures to be displayed on the TJ website. They also help create the cover artwork for songs, albums, EPs, or anything else the capstone team produces.
This year, TJ capstone is debuting their new record label, titled Rewind Records, and the students are very passionate about the future of this project. The label stands for three things: self expression, authenticity, and musical diversity. This music label is all about the individuality of the students that are operating it. While many record labels revolve around one genre or sound, Rewind Records is all-embracing. It’s loyal to ideals and values rather than to a genre. The title, “Rewind Records” carries a double meaning. This label was partly named because the intention behind the music is that listeners constantly want to hear it again, hence the use of “rewind.” But if you look past the surface, there’s more to the name than one may think. Mallaney remarked “We as artists are standing on the shoulders of the giants that came before us.” All the music produced by the label this year takes influence from masterpieces of the past. Many of the students creating music through this label are inspired by the greats of the 90’s and the early 2000’s. “We’re using influences from the past to create music that we ourselves enjoy now,” senior producer and recording artist Kai Rodgers commented.
Great things are to be expected from this label. The first single from the label is titled, “Tunnel Vision,” a refreshing rap track from Donovan Hogg, known in the music industry as D.I.C.E. In the song, he raps over an exciting beat, giving the label a strong introduction. Other projects to be expected from the label over the course of the year including a band feature in the spring for the local Denver band, The Backalley, fronted by TJ junior Josh White.
Rewind Records has many exciting projects in the early stages of production. While they are just getting started out, they have a big year planned for the music scene at TJHS.
