DS//FP: An Interview with dontstress//flowerpress

Austin based dontstress//flowerpress, or more commonly known as ds//fp, has been a label mainstay in Texas hardcore, deathcore, and metalcore since the start of the 2020s. In a time where these contemporary scenes seem to be entering, or already in, a renaissance and period of exponentially increasing popularity, ds//fp has managed to serve and support an unbelievable amount of its bands and artists, providing professional merchandise and media services through a DIY ethos with unique twists on each original release.

The scope of ds//fp doesn't just lie in the present day, however. The label has been known for its work preserving and reissuing cult classic albums of bygone eras, such as Myspace cybergrind act wecamewithbrokenteeth's discography, and archival interests, frequently taking to online forums to hunt for origin stories and original copies of obscure hardcore and adjacent genre releases from the turn of the millennium. For ds//fp, the past, present, and future of music are inseparable, and what's happening in the now of new and younger scenes is as important as the iconic and revered bands of the past. ds//fp keeps a foot in both worlds, eagerly and optimistically anticipating the future of these ever evolving, yet simultaneously recycling, genres. 

As the communities it serves have grown, so has ds//fp. I was lucky enough to recently catch up with them and talk their origins, the state of Texas, and the importance and joy of staying in tune with modern music and scenes. Please applaud, for the ever busy and inspiring, ds//fp!

ds//fp

What exactly is dontstress//flowerpress aka ds//fp? Do you prefer the long form name or abbreviated? How long have you been active? How did it start?

ds//fp is a physical media and merchandise label based out of Austin, Texas that specializes in embroidery and CDs but has a wide range of services. I am working on building an industrial shop along with a studio where I make almost everything by-hand so it separates ds//fp from most other labels because I can offer design, manufacturing, and worldwide shipping all in one spot. The label conceptualized in October 2018 when I suggested releasing Ballista, Sanity Slip, Virtue, and a Houston band onto a 4-way split together as a way to highlight an artist from each of the major four cities in Texas. As for the label's name, I prefer the shortened ds//fp since it’s easier to remember. My full government name dontstress//flowerpress is often misstylized and doesn't always fit into a single username online, so abbreviating it really helps with consistency.

You seem to work with mostly metalcore, hardcore, and deathcore bands. Can you tell us a little about your introduction into those scenes and genres?

All of this has been possible because of the hardcore community and how it creates so many different scenes. I grew up on the grind and deathcore listening experience, but every time I would go out to shows from the early 2000s to now is because of how widespread the hardcore scenes are. Shows introduced me to physical media at a very young age which led me to find the UK scenes online with some of my earliest influences being Siege of Amida Records (S.O.A.R.) and Yehonala Tapes.

Kind of a cliche, but how would you describe the current state of these scenes? What has changed since your initial envelopment?

One of the craziest things that I believe is very cool is that whatever era of music or scene you remember from back in the day is still happening right now, it's just happening and being made by new kids. I know it seems open-ended but literally every genre, subgenre, and wave of music has new people making it because many of them are facing a lot of the same issues we were 20 years ago and they're either being influenced by it or trying to innovate the culture further. A ton has changed since it’s way easier to find out about all these different scenes; it takes a lot more effort to actually be involved with them now because everything develops much more quickly.

Rakuyo CD Release by ds//fp

Who are your favorite bands in Texas right now? Anybody we should be keeping an eye on?

Brain Injury Unit, Joust, BOSH, CPU Buddha, Ballista, Fear of Loss, Sanity Slip, Virtue, Six Shots in Dallas, Voracious Contempt, Girl of Glass, fromjoy, Houses We Die In, threeway, salvinorin-a, True Grit, Kurama. I feel like I should keep going on. I could list two dozen more new and upcoming bands and it would still be a solid answer. Every part of Texas has multiple booming scenes with crazy things happening every week so it’s not hard to show up to almost any show and be impressed by something you didn’t expect.

How would you describe working and being active in this part of the country? What's it like being based in Austin? I hear kind of polarizing opinions about the city these days, people seem to love it or hate it.

Austin’s scene is amazing actually but from the outside looking in it’s very hard to tell. ATX is in a cycle of losing all of their good DIY venues and promoters due to venture capitalism as a direct result of SXSW, along with the technology and real estate sectors that keep everything expensive and inaccessible. Many touring artists are left stuck with the few major promoters who are too focused on surviving to properly book or promote a decent show, but if you look in the right areas you'll see that hundreds of kids are coming out to shows at breweries, book and video stores, hangers, gas stations... Texas Dungeon Synth booked one of the most memorable shows at a laser tag venue. Keep up with DOOM Records, Bad Kids Presents, Voidfiller Promotions, Vile Construct, Moonbby, Tiny Sounds Collective, Kiss & Tell DIY, Kings Bookings, Howdy Gals, CMTY Productions, and ds//fp. That's 12 different options to look into if you want to have a good show in Austin, they're really doing incredible things here.

What's your favorite release you've done and why?

Often whenever ds//fp books or sponsors a show, I'll work with all the artists to donate printed materials for them, which often results in a sampler CD being made that features one of every song from each artist on the show. These are some of the most fun releases because they're a lot more personalized and end up going directly to the community supporting the show, which kind of makes it like a commemorative item too. This was originally inspired by FYL Booking in Houston who helped me do the first ds//fp one, now we have incredible communities like Home to Heart Records and lifeishard records making celebratory samplers, and I really hope we see more of these around in the future. It's a great way to help pay the touring artists more while creating something special for your local scene.

What is your favorite media format or type of merchandise to produce and why?

If you asked me three years ago, I would have said cassettes, because they're the most customizable form of media, easy to store, cheap to make, and you can do literally anything with them from painting, stamping, printing, lasering- the options are really endless. But now I see the same is true for CDs, and I'm really trying to show people how interesting these discs are and how fun it is to experiment with new ways to present them. Everything from screen printing on CDs to stamping them or changing the jewel color of them- When you buy a release from ds//fp I want it to feel like it came out of a professional factory while being covered with additional embellishments that really shows how DIY actually elevates everything into a better product. I'm a strong believer that it's a label's responsibility to do more than just order pre-assembled media and ship it out because at that point just leave it to the artists. In fact, everybody should place an order with Affordable Sound in Austin for the best quality printed materials.

Screen Printed Girl of Glass CD by ds//fp

Dream collab? Of any time and of any era.

Cult Love Sound Tapes is one of my biggest current influences for how much work they put into documenting and preserving the scene. OWTG here in Texas has been huge for the community here and I would love to put on for them in any way I can. I could think of some past era ones but there are plenty of revival labels who got those covered. I would love a sponsorship from a yerba mate company since ds//fp runs on those.

Future hopes, plans, and growth trajectory for ds//fp?

For the first 5 years of ds//fp, I worked 2-3 full time jobs just to have the means to run the label, but this last year I was able to bring it down to just one full time job. If I came across a small business grant of one hundred thousand dollars I would quit my job and be fully independent. I'm very lucky to be extremely busy, but sometimes I take too long. In 2024 I got to help release over 300 unique merch and media drops, so I've made plans to continue this large output while decreasing the amount of time people have to wait for it.

What have you been listening to lately?

Rakuyo, Malodorous, andwhentheskywasopened, Damage Over Time, Rev3rent, Zelooperz to name a few.

Any closing statements?

A good starting point would be to check out more 'new music threads' on Fridays. The problem sometimes is that many people are scared to sort through music nowadays. People seem to be afraid of things that sound like shit or make them uncomfortable, but once you get over worrying about what other people think about the things that you like, it all gets a lot better actually. In reality, a lot of these new kids making music are miles ahead of the legacy bands everyone can’t stop listening to. More new music comes out each day than is even possible to listen to, so if you’re stuck listening to tunes you grew up on, you’re going to stay behind everyone else.

fallingwithscissors CD Release by ds//fp