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Four Syracuse University students have turned the confines of a Watson Hall dorm room into a studio and record label headquarters.

Jackson Velli and Ray Leavenworth Bakali, two sophomores in the Bandier Program, founded the label, Twenty-08 Records, a year ago. Twenty-08 produces multi-genre music ranging from punk rock to hip-hop. The students plan to release more long-form projects this semester as a part of the“phase two” of the label’s creation, Velli said.

“We call it a label, but I wouldn’t necessarily give it a boundary,” Velli said. “It is more of an opportunity to make music.”

Velli created Twenty-08 in his freshman dorm room at Lawrinson Hall. At first, Twenty-08 was just a way for Velli to create with other Syracuse musical talents, but he knew it could be something more.

Velli already knew Leavenworth Bakali before college through a mutual friend, but the two grew closer over their shared love for music and crafted tunes in “the studio” — Velli’s dorm room — with musical production equipment.

(From right) Ben Dietz and Ray Leavenworth Bakali first met each other last year through the Bandier program. Young-Bin Lee | Contributing Photographer

Soon after, they decided to create a record label named after Velli’s dorm room number, 2008, and altered it to “Twenty-08, ” Leavenworth Bakali said.

Along the way, they added producers and Bandier students Zack Dacierno and Ben Dietz to help create more music. Velli, Dietz and Dacierno produced music, while Leavenworth Bakali fine-tuned different beats and ideas while covering the business side of promotion along with artists and repertoire.

“Once we found out that all of us made music, we got into the studio and started working together,” Velli said. “That was all it took.”

Dacierno also brought his multi-genre group Roma, which he described as being similar to the alternative hip-hop group BROCKHAMPTON, to the label. He added Velli to Roma to help produce and create music.

Utilizing their own talents, the then-freshmen made singles with multiple artists in Velli’s dorm room. They also attended local music venues, such as The Deli and The Ark, which piqued their interest in eventually having a house in Syracuse where they could hold live shows, Dacierno said.

That dream was put on pause when the pandemic separated them in March, leaving them unable to create music together as they could before.

(From left) Jackson Velli and Ray Leavenworth Bakali are the founders of the multi-genre record label Twenty-08 Records. They first recorded music together in Velli’s freshman dorm room.Young-Bin Lee | Contributing Photographer

“There’s nothing like creating music in the same room together, Velli said.

But Velli took advantage of quarantine and returned to his love of punk rock, creating the album “Picture Us Tiny.” While creating the album at a local studio near his home in Washington, D.C., Velli said he still sent out demos and ideas to get the thoughts of his friends from Syracuse.

Now, the four friends are back in Syracuse making music just like before, this time headquartered in Watson Hall. They plan on creating more long-form projects this year, such as “Picture Us Tiny,” which Velli plans to release in the next few months.

They are also trying to get in contact with professional labels and connect with more people in the Bandier Program, Dacierno said.

In the future, the sophomores hope to continue the label and see where it goes, Velli said. But, when the coronavirus pandemic is over, they plan on hosting shows that feature local artists and themselves, an idea they talked about all of last year.

“We just want to get as much music out there as possible,” Leavenworth Bakali said. “We really do believe in what we’re making.”

Published on September 6, 2020 at 10:26 pm

Contact Christopher: cscargla@syr.edu | @chrisscargs