Cultivated Electronics is a label that seems to be putting out Electro that's right up my alley. None of that 'electro house' stuff that should be ashamed of itself for the way it's redefined the word Electro. Just good, solid, beats and bleeps. Sync 24 seems to be one of the residents at large for the label and I'm glad for it. Him and Matt Whitehead were only found by me/fitm because of their contribution to the label and it's been appreciated so far.
This is something I already do to a certain degree on a local message board. We all post up what our record orders are or were for the other local guys and gals to sort through and maybe find something they themselves enjoy. I'm going to try and start putting my own list up on Fun in the Murky for now on as well. I'm surprised I've not done it sooner to tell the truth.
Feel free to add your own recent purchases in the comment section.
When we post these lists on the local board we just stick to the basics, but for the FitM posts I'll flesh it out a bit more and tell you where I got the records and give you a discogs link as well. Enjoy!
British DJ/producer Jerome Hill runs Don't Recordings and frequently pops up on Fun in the Murky - not only because his label "has been fighting against the blandness and sheep mentality that pollutes the techno scene", but because it (and Hill) also happen to produce and play mighty fine tunes.
I read on Discogs that you first got your turntables "in 1990 after being inspired by the pirate radio sounds of London." How accurate is this, and could you add a wee bit more info into the mix?
"Sure, that was the year when I discovered 'electronic' music. Before that, thanks to my dad, I was a late '50s/early '60s rock and roll enthusiast (and still am)... but in 1990 me and my friends started listening to the London pirates, in particular Fantasy FM and in particular DJ Hype, who at the time was spinning everything from acid house and hip hop to Brooklyn breaks and Belgian techno; it was a really inspiring time and looking back you can hear the music gradually morphing into what people now generically call 'old skool'. Without a doubt my favourite years for electronic music are still 1990 and 1991."
Where exactly were you born, and what's it famous for?
"Exactly? pretty much on the corner of Shepherd's Bush and Hammersmith in West London, famous for... erm... difficult question, I suppose the BBC. Also the junkyard in Steptoe and Son was situated in Shepherd's Bush, and the Only Fools and Horses theme tune sings about buying dodgy tat [small, cheap, and usually tasteless items] 'from a mush in Shepherd's Bush'. The very embodiment of glamour!"
You worked with Rob Stow as Groove Asylum; is that project finished now?
"It's not 'finished', but it has been dormant for the last eight years or so - mainly due to both of us being busy with work and not living near each other anymore."
How do you draw the line between DJing and production, and which avenue gives you the most satisfaction?
"For me, DJing is playing records. Production is knocking around ideas on equipment and computers - a clear line and I'll always be a DJ first 'cos there's so much well made and inspiring music that's already been made that people don't get to hear enough of. For me it isn't just about mixing and scratching records, it's about searching for, obsessing about and digging around for different styles and weird little cuts or snippets. That little two-minute gem on an otherwise rubbish album that no one else is gonna own; that freaky rockabilly cover version with a massive drum break all the way through and bass so big that even the techno heads are gonna go for it..."
What keeps you most motivated?
"Discovering new and old music, and discovering artists who are making it well. I'm a terrible vinyl junkie and I'm also addicted to following evolutions and trails from many types of non-electronic music. Also of course the amount of noncommittal, wishy-washy tripe that gets passed off as music and forced down the throats of the spoon-fed majority... That's a big motivation 'cos the more of that that gets shat out into existence, the more it needs balancing out."
What do you foresee happening with the music we care about in 2010?
"The pessimist in me foresees less and less being released and even more genre nitpicking. It's like the ocean froze over and now the ice has cracked and all the bits are floating away from each other in different directions, so it's time to throw each other a line and start pulling it all together again - strength in numbers... or something like that! I'm not saying join the ice back together, but maybe realise that all the bits can co-exist next to each other and it's still 'ice' and you don't have to call one bit 'north-west ice', because it's happened to have floated two degrees north-west ...or something like that!!"
What gear/software are you making most use of?
"At the moment I'm using a Nord 2, Waldorf Pulse and a smug, temperamental and overpriced Macbook Pro!!"
Which part of your studio is the most vital?
"I do have an old horn style gramophone of which I'm very fond and my monitors give me lots of pleasure - but the decks and mixer get the most use."
Which artists and labels are grabbing your attention right now?
"It goes without saying that everyone whose music I release on the label always grabs my attention. Aside from that it's always hard to answer fairly whilst on the spot, as inevitably you forget loads of people, but I'll try... Here're a few off the top of my head: Subhead (still), Ghislain Poirier, North of Ping Pong, Grimjaw, The Bug, Ben Pest, Norman (Snork/HörspielMusik), Gruff Records, Edan, Imperial Leisure, Fedka the Irritant, Finders Keepers label, Mantrap Records out of Dublin, Quick and Smart continues to blow me away even after his sad passing... DJ-wise, it's eclectic locals like Onken, Lusinda, Controlled Weirdness, Warlock, NoyeahNo, Kriminal Mixes, Dexorcist and anyone who mixes it up!"
You've released stuff yourself through Hydraulix, Yolk, Über and Stay Up Forever Collective Vaults. What's your relationship been like with these labels?
"They're an excellent bunch who love doing what they do and have been there pushing their thing since the day dot. Throughout the mid/late '90s and '00s we always played on the same soundsystems, squat parties and clubs and were privileged to witness the crazy good old days of squat parties... even though we play and release different stuff from each other there's still lots of common ground and we go back a long way."
You've run your own sensational label Don't since 2000, through which you've released some of the best current electronica by Paul Birken, TSR, Jason Leach, Luke's Anger, Grimjaw, and your own fine self. Why did you originally start the label?
"For the usual reason: A surplus of material and nowhere to release it. Rob had wound down his Gravitation label in '99 and we had this track in our Groove Asylum live set that was always a popular one - loads of chopped up Dancemania-style beats and I'd scratch in an old UK hip hop accapella (MC Duke's Riffin) over the top on 45 and it just always went down really well so we recorded it in Rob's studio and that became the first release on Don't. It goes for silly money on Discogs now and I'm always kicking myself that i didn't hold some copies back. Then it became just a question of inviting my favourite characters to record tracks for the label plus a bit of sniffing around for fresh material from fresh artists. A particular highlight for me was re-releasing and remixing one of my favourite all-time techno tracks 'Sit on the Bass' from Autonation, a track I've been playing in my sets for the last 20 years... scary!"
How do you feel about the course of Don't ten years later? Did you achieve what you set out to do with the imprint, and what direction would you like to take from here?
"Definitely achieved what I set out to, which was to release only really good music IMO by only really nice people, and for it to have its own identity which I believe it does, and be able to exist on vinyl without releasing lowest-common-denominator music or bowing to current trends."
What's next through Don't?
"Next up is the new Luke's Anger EP ['Zapp the P'Ram'] which is out about now through Veto distribution - big shouts to Harvey, Neil and Rich. I'm really happy with this EP, and you can check it out at swervingthecommunity.com
In the '90s, when you broke through, for me the real movers and shakers of innovative electronica were all British: Cristian Vogel, Si Begg, Dave Tarrida, Subhead, Jamie Liddell, Tube Jerk and Tobias Schmidt. Were you into any of these guys' work at the time?
"Yep. All of them. Begg, Subhead and Lidell used to make my jaw drop with every release while Vogel, Schmidt and Tarrida had particular tracks that would completely blow me away! Tube Jerk/Tim Wright has such a distinct style which I love although I only found him after he released on Sativae in 2000."
What do you think of the "newer" guys shaking things up these days like Luke's Anger, Ben Pest, Paul Birken (not really new at all!) and Donk Boys?
"Well, Paul is a hero of mine from his mid '90s releases and is bestowed with one of the best attitudes in the game. If only everyone in techno had his passion, humour, talent and way with words. Luke always impresses me which is why I'm so happy to host him again on the label! Ben is a good mate and also insanely talented and passionate about his music, the only reason i didn't get anything yet for Don't is that my better half snapped it all up for her label Victim... heh-heh. The Donk boys are great too... love that updated dbx/bleep'n'skip style.
What new Jerome Hill releases can we look out for?
"Well, there's my remix on Don't 017 and there's a new one on a new label that's just come out under a different name... there'll also be an EP a little later in the year on Don't as well as bits and bobs here and there - is that specific enough?" [laughs]
A fair amount of people in electronic/dance music circles are cutting back on vinyl these days because they say it just doesn't make back the money invested. Is vinyl dead - or just becoming more of a select option?
"It's been diagnosed with a serious illness but not going down without a fight!"
Lastly - how do you like your mushrooms cooked?
"I don't care as long as they're chunky quarters and not floppy slithers."
Michael Forshaw "Time To Get 24th Century On Your Ass" Chan'n'Mikes 04R
A1 - Harder And Faster
A2 - Basscrash
B1 - Dance Motherfucker
B2 - Makin More Noise
[ Discogs ]
Over at Addictech there is a new digital release that I recommend checking out. It's by the now relatively quiet Wee Djs and is more than an hour of previously unreleased music. I started off listening to individual tracks thinking to myself I'll grab this one and then this other one, but before I knew it I was signed up to buy the lot. It's a whole CD of Electro for half of what a record cost over here. Win-win.
Everyone likes free. I do, but when it's a free EP of downloadable tracks I always get a little cranky. That's only because I have no way of playing them. Someday I'll join the ranks of the unclean and get some sort of new fangled gadget to play media other than vinyl. It'll be the EPs like this one that force me to catch up with the rest of you. "Gone Phishing" gives me a big ol' dbx-esque chubby. Nice one Luke!
I don't normally post too much Si Begg, but this one I enjoyed a bit of. The Original mix and the Shades of Rhythm remix will most likely get some air time from me. I had high hopes for the Unique 3 remix, but I feel it came off sounding too modern housey.
The 3rd Slidebar just so happens to be remixes of a track knocked together by Andrez Bergen (Aka Funk Gadget). His original and the Birken mix are the ones I'm grooving to, I'm sure the other ones - while not my cup of tea -- are going to be equally appreciated by people with tastes other than what I have.
Various Artists "Blah Blah Remixes EP" Slidebar 03 A1 - Si Begg RMX A2 - Patrick Pulsinger RMX B1 - Dave Tarrida RMX B2 - Paul Birken RMX B3 - Original Mix
[ Discogs ]
DON'T RECORDINGS come correct with a brand new surprise release from none other than Luke's Anger..
Luke made his world debut in 2005 on DON'T 007 - THE RUMPUS ROOM VOL.1 (repressed and available again) with the now classic 'DIRTY ON THE FLOOR' and since then has been making quite a name for himself launching his own imprint BONUS ROUND and guesting on a plethora of different labels including kid606's Tigerbass not to mention 2006's 'FISTFUL OF DONKEYS EP' on DON'T.. more...
Luke's Anger "Zapp The P'ram EP" Don't 17 A1 - Bruce Wobellaar A2 - This One Right Here B2 - Bruce Wobellaar (Jerome Hill Mix) B2 - Bebop Drop
[ Discogs ]
