Deepgrooves, a former vinyl pressing plant in the Dutch city of Leeuwarden, has been accused of fraud by previous customers.
When Arthur Lastmann, label boss at Paris’s Into The Deep Records, sent £3,500 to Deepgrooves in January 2024, he believed he was paying for a vinyl order of an upcoming release. Instead, he said he received a defective test pressing before being passed through a series of different contacts via email. Then, on October 25th, came the plant’s bankruptcy announcement, now posted on Deepgrooves’ homepage.
Speaking to Resident Advisor, Lastmann and several other Deepgrooves customers said they’re owed thousands of euros, and that the pressing plant has committed what amounts to fraud. Although the company’s affairs have now been shifted over to a trustee, Wybe Molemma, none of the parties RA spoke with have recouped any financial losses.
“I think Deepgrooves knew back as early as 2023 it was in a dire financial state and still took orders it could never complete,” artist Brian Ring told RA.
Ring, who runs the label Clutching At Straws, said he first made contact with Deepgrooves when he sought an initial quotation for a pressing of his next record. He said Deepgrooves began contacting him “every few weeks” to pay for the quote.
Ring said he finally did so in June 2024 before also experiencing a series of faulty communications and the eventual bankruptcy notice. He now plans to release the EP on vinyl in early 2025 with a different plant, Bordello A Parigi.
Rocco.fx, like Ring, said he made a payment in summer 2024 after receiving an initial quote. He was drawn to Deepgrooves’ environmentally friendly marketing. (The plant’s Instagram bio describes the business as “the greenest vinyl pressing plant on this planet.”) Rocco.fx said he’s currently owed €2,000, and has filed a claim with the bankruptcy curator.
Pedro Croes was wrapping a debut album with his group The Cruz & The Dukes of Harlem when he said he paid Deepgrooves for a pressing in April. Everything seemed to go well at first, but “after a month, I started wondering,” he told RA. He said just two weeks before he learned of the bankruptcy, he received an email saying that his order would be fulfilled soon.
Lastmann, Croes, Rocco.fx and Ring all said they’ve also been informed by Deepgrooves that to receive their outstanding orders, they’d need to pay an additional 50 percent of their original fee. Kylian Van Beem, the guitarist and vocalist of the band Ardor Lane, said he found himself in the same situation after sending a payment in full in May 2024 for 100 CDs, 50 cassettes and 300 vinyl pressings of the band’s debut. All told, Van Beem said he’s presently owed €4,899.90, and doesn’t plan to pursue the vinyl pressing.
“I currently don’t trust Deepgrooves with another cent of my money,” he told RA.
When reached by Resident Advisor, Mollema, the trustee, shared the following: “Products that have already been produced are available and can be delivered. For products that haven’t yet been manufactured, there is potential for these to be fulfilled in the event of a restart. Unfortunately, these are difficult circumstances, and it may not be possible to assist everyone affected.” Mollema didn’t immediately respond to further questions.
Founded in 2017, Deepgrooves operated out of a refurbished former prison in Leeuwarden. The plant has pressed vinyl for the likes of Jayda G, Scan7 and Richie Hawtin.
Although all parties RA spoke with hold out hope of resolving their current disputes, some don’t foresee salvaging a professional relationship with Deepgrooves. Van Beem said he and other victims are still navigating the possibility of legal action in response to the plant’s pre-bankruptcy behaviour.
“Frankly, trust is gone,” Croes shared. “Either give us our money back or deliver the records without asking for more. If [Deepgrooves] had communicated honestly over the past year, I’d be more understanding. But now? I’m in the ‘screw you’ mood.”