...BeatsGratis...

Net Label Fochttp : CAMOMILLE MUSIC

2006-11-05T19:53:00.000-06:00

Its been too long since I featured any net labels, and with the coming of autumn I went searching for one that would really suit the vibe of the season. I came upon Camomille and downloaded some of the releases and was feeling them from the start. Coming from a more ambient and mood-ish sound, Camomille knows how to keep things chill. Label creator Vincent Fugère took some time to answer a few questions about Camomille and such. Check out the label for yourself, and kick back for a very mellow autumn.

URL: www.camomillemusic.com

Who are you? Vincent Fugère

Age? 24

Where is Camomille based?
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

How many releases have you put out to date?
We’re currently at release #95, and we have 3 ‘ other releases ‘ including 2 very old module music disks by Kaneel and Vizion and a liveset by Makunouchi Bento.

How many artists are on your label?
63 in all !

Is there a Camomille sound?
Well camomille does not have a ‘ niche sound ‘ in my opinion. I try to stay versatile in the styles that I release; I’m much more interested in exploring the characters behind the tracks through their music and experiments. I have released harsh noise, idm, ambient, rock, pop, and exphttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.giferimental stuff, but these days I’m leaning more towards the stuff that I’m currently listening to, the best example would be the Demeter Weeps compilation and the Pocka album.

How did Camomille get started?
It’s been somewhat of a personal and therapeutic start for me. It all started when I was 18 or 19 and was diagnosed with acute anxiety and prescribed anti-depressants. I was on that, ( and I must say, most of you reading this are artists and are prone to depression and the sort, really, don’t come near them ;) ) and feeling number than ever so I asked my doctor for alternatives to chemical treatment and he told me to meditate and drink camomille! The whole idea came when I was drinking camomille and constantly listening to Chimera’s A Long Way From Heaven ; the premise was to offer emotional ambient music to those in need. Of course the formula changed and evolved over the years. And I couldn’t have done that without the great artists and friends that had enough confidence in me and my project to supply amazing music, like blisaed, surasshu, shiftless and xerxes.

How has the experience of running a net label been?
It’s been absolutely great, I’ve realized how great a tool the internet is and made a lot of great, great friends that eventually became personal friends and business relationships. And it helped me discover so much beautiful art and helped me grow as an artist.

Do you know other people who run net labels? Are there any that stand out to you?
I’m good friends with Nik Racine ( kahvi ), Huw Roberts ( Serein ), Xavier Dang ( hellven ) and Erik Skodvin ( miasmah ), and it so happens they are some of my favorite netlabels. I’m really amazed by what Serein and Miasmah have been putting out lately, it has such depth and strength of character. I don’t have much time but try to keep up with Zymogen, Tokyo Dawn ( although seemingly dead right now ), and Robotopera to name a few.

Who does the design for the label? I think the look really suits the music.
I do, under the name of my multimedia company Genshi Media ( shameless publicity : www.genshimedia.com ). When I did this design version, I always kept in mind to keep it simple, somewhat minimal and very calming to the eye. I like it and I don’t think I’ll be changing it soon ( I’m the kind of webdesigner always redesigning hehe )

I get sleepy when I drink Camomille tea. Which of your releases would go perfectly with a cup on a Sunday afternoon?
Shiftless’ Implosion ep ( rel#40 ), especially the track Triumph, is an absolute when it comes to relaxing and dozing off, as I’ve done it often myself. Others are David Kristian’s Live from the rainy season show ( rel#87 ), and our latest compilation, Demeter Weeps ( rel #92 ) are definitely going to accompany perfectly your camomille tea.

I know that the Camomille folks love their ambient music. In your opinion, what are five essential ambient albums?

In the netlabel world :
Migloje – Ayesteeyah ( kahvi )
Chimera – A long way from heaven ( hellven )
VA – Lighted Apartment ( miasmah )
VA – Wein, weib & gesang ( kikapu )
Darkhalo – Heaven’s fury ( self released )

And in the professional labels ( this is really hard but I’ll put the ones that touched me the most ) :
Dead Texan – Dead Texan ( Kranky )
Stars of the lid – The tired sounds of.. ( Kranky )
Eluvium – Talk amongst the trees ( Temporary residence )
Pan American – Quiet City ( Kranky )
Julien Neto – Le fumeur de ciel ( Type Records )

Other than music, what other elements do you feel have an influence on Camomille?
Pretty much all art, mostly literature and graphic art, but it is also influenced by what’s around us, either politically and sociologically, and maybe that’s why these last few months, camomille releases have been nostalgic but somber.

Time for the shout outs to your people…
My people ! The #musou peeps ! Kaneel, Troupe, Planet Boelex, Shiftless, Mike Shusta, Transient, Mv, Blisaed and the rest of Efnet people. Jules, Erik, Huw, Nik. The Apegenine Family, The Ronin Crew ! HOLLAH.

Thanks so much for taking the time to chat. All the best.
Thanks to you ! it’s been fun to indulge in shameless self-promotion. I’d like to remind your readers that camomille is doing a remix compilation for our special 100th birthday and that they can submit tracks to us !
Long life to the Netlabel scene!

Website Focus: ON THE WIRE

2006-09-14T21:08:00.000-05:00

In 2002-2003 I was living in Beijing, studying Chinese and enjoying life in the city. Certainly one of the more interesting aspects of the city was its burgeoning music
scene and nightlife. It was at one such nightlife event that I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Barker (The Wire, On the Wire), who was playing dub records at a local club. It was the same evening that I met Christian Virant from fm3. Steve was immediately friendly and we met again on other occasions. Most memorable was playing music at a local club, along with my friend Doug (Lord Dubious) who was visiting Beijing. It was dead in the heart of the SARS outbreak scare, so there was a strange vibe, but it was a good night nonetheless.

Steve knows his reggae. But he also seems to be up on a lot of other kinds of music, and when you talk to him you can tell he has a love for it. He was kind enough to answer some questions for me. His radio show, On the Wire is now fully online, and contains hours upon hours of high quality music. The dub alone makes the site crucial.

In honor of On the Wire, Lord Dubious and myself recorded a mix that is available at the bottom of Steve’s interview. The mix was done back-to-back style on a Saturday afternoon with the under lying theme of the mix being “dread”. The mix features much bass flavor.

Big up Steve for the interview, the writings and the music.

ON THE WIRE

So Steve, could you tell us a bit about the history around the On the Wire radio show? When did it all get started?

A. On the Wire’s first edition was 16th September 1984, with Adrian Sherwood and Keith LeBlanc as guests in the studio. The show was born out of a previous programme called Spinoff (bad name!) that had run for about four years. Before that I worked as a reviewer – the first album I reviewed was Abyssinians “Forward to Zion” back in about 1978. OTW went out on a Sunday afternoon between 2 and 5, a perfect time for a radio show back then as the airwaves were truly a sonic desert..

Who all is involved in the show?

A. Lots of people. Jim Ingham now takes care of the show in UK whilst I am in China. He engineers, produces and does some presentation and selection. Also Fenny, who has worked with me for about 20 years now, as have Pete ‘Big Man’ Haigh and Andy ‘MadHatter’ Holmes who run a regular Funkology section, the Baked Goods boys from Manchester have been contributing for a couple of years now - they are longtime big friends and have a really neat distribution company out of Manchester and an online shop (www.boomkat.com). There’s also lots of others passed through, but especially great previous engineers Jethro (known to On U fans as ‘Culf) and Mikey Martin (the i-riginal sparksman!)

Is there a theme or philosophy behind the show?

A. The philosophy of the show has tended to mutate over the years but has always been a blend of different, but not competing, aims. Firstly, it was just great to have a radio show and play what you damn well please, also not to bow to any pressure at all – other than to sacrifice the freedom to use bad language without needless and extended contextualization. Also, when we started it was all about access, there was no reggae on radio, no hip hop, no avant garde weird shit, then no house/techno etc etc, no one playing old doo wop, rockabilly, gospel, country blues, especially no one playing all this shit within the confines of one show. Radio was bland, now it’s all corporate ghettoisation into demographically packaged meaninglessness – with the exception of great stations like WMFU in New Jersey. I like to think On the Wire was a kind of miniature freeform radio before WMFU – although without the whacky DJs! So, in the beginning it was all about access; but now anyone can access anything thanks to the web – so the emphasis is back on selection, especially as we only have 2 hours a week now whereas we used to have three hours live chaos.

I imagine there have been some pretty great moments on the show. Who are some of your favorite guests who you have had on?

A. This could be a long answer ….. To name but a few: by 1984 I had stopped going out on the road interviewing totally bored by interminable soundchecks, so most guests were in the studio. Perhaps the most recalled On the Wire’s shows were those that we did with Scratch, two three hour live shows, I don’t think anyone else has done that before or since ….? On the first show in December 1984 I had just met Lee and he seemed very old but must not have been fifty then, my mate Roger Eagle had loads of old Perry tunes and he shuffled through them ticking those he remembered with a blue biro!, but amazingly there were great tunes there he had forgotten making! – he’s much younger now! Just when we were thinking he was out of it the show started and he changed, and grew in confidence as we went on. He asked for the microphone during a dub version of Junior Murvin’s ‘Police & Thieves’ and delivered an impromptu rap of such wit and clarity, it amazed us – along the lines of “This is a message from the Earth’s Rightful Ruler ….” (still got that on tape!) The second time he was on the show it was with Sherwood; Adrian spent most of his time distracted watching football on TV. More recently Jah Wobble has been a regular guest, he’s a joy; I feel like handing him the mic and going home to listen, he has so many great stories – it’s a pity most of them are not repeatable on radio. I remember bringing Freddie McGregor on the show, a great gentleman and totally underrated (his recently reissued ‘Bobby Babylon’ cut for Studio One is a stone classic. Also, a few years ago we ran some acoustic studio sessions, in amongst them was one from Kelly Joe Phelps, I think it was after his first album for Rykodisc, a stunning performance. And not forgetting Mark E Smith who has been on the show a few times, its like riding blindfold sometimes!, in fact we had the Fall perform a live (free) concert for us, 2,500 people turned up and there was one policeman….

How long has the show been online?

A. The show is online thanks to two people – Jim Ingham and Alex Fenton (Fenny’s son). They have done all the work for no pay, incredible. We have no budget for a website but we have been running one on goodwill, tin cans and pieces of string for about five or six years now, although I forget, time is blurring everything …….

Do you find being online has changed the show at all?

A. Not consciously in terms of selection, only how it’s accessed. Nowadays we get feedback from all over the globe but even in the 80’s cassette tapes of On the Wire’s dub and reggae shows found their way around the world. There is a sort of ‘amateur hour’ feeling about the whole thing because basically we are all just punters let loose in the studio and it does get a bit shambolic at times, so having a website is an appropriate contradiction for us!

You are living in Beijing now. How do you do the show these days? Is it hard to live there and still do the Wire reviews and the show?

A. Yeah, its tough living in Beijing, eating at all these great restaurants, going for foot massages with your mates, not getting the usual barrage of media detritus that litters most TV and radio these days etc etc. As I say I rely on Jim in the UK and in China I have a good friend, Christiaan Virant of fm3 (ref: Buddha Machine fame) and we record at the BBC Bureau here, also play a few little dub and dubstep (!) gigs now and then. We are looking forward to Kode9 visiting in November - and hopefully Scratch and Sherwood too after they play a Tokyo gig. The Wire reviews can be done from anywhere, people are starting to send me tunes to China!

Can you talk a little about your impressions so far living in China?

A. Having been in Beijing now for 4 years I find I am a stranger in a strange land wherever I go – if that doesn’t sound a little too theatrical – even when I go back to UK now I find it difficult to settle. Of course, most people outside of China have no idea what it’s like a have an ‘imagined China’ in their head. When you are actually here if you are unable to deal with the country’s many contradictions then you get pissed off quite soon. Otherwise it’s a wildly exciting, frustrating, beautiful, polluted place.

How have you enjoyed learning about the Chinese music scene?

A. Not really, it’s part of the frustrations. I love a lot of the minority musics here and a small number of new young musicians – but all this is against the tide. Minorities are seen more of a quaint curiosity by most and the underground music scene is either very small or housed within the same confines of academia. So that means it needs support. If it weren’t for people like Yan Jun in Beijing and Lawrence Li in Shenzhen/Guangzhou supporting and promoting China within a wider global context as well as internally it would be a pretty sad picture. On another level there are lots of new punk and post punk bands and also an apeing of the No Wave scene from NYC in the 80s – so it will be fascinating to check where that curve leads.

It seems like Reggae is pretty popular right now. I hear it out a lot, and the whole Dancehall and Reggaeton thing is more and more on popular radio. What are your thoughts on the state of Reggae nowadays?

A. Fairly depressing, its all done and gone let’s face it. Reggaeton might have a bunch of great jump-up tunes, ass shaking it may be but earth-shaking it ain’t. The dancehall and hiphop connect keeps the DJs in the light, but the real legacies of sonic innovation lay elsewhere these days …

I know you are a Dubstep fan….

A. Not just the music, also the attitude. I like the way the so-called genre can encompass so many individual sub-strains. Also the guys doing this (there are no girls yet) are mostly very young and so all sound sources seem fresh to them and they treat them as such. Every week there’s a critical new tune with whomping sub-bass the only common factor. Burial’s album is definitely the one of the year, it’s like the approach that created the Detroit techno landscapes twenty years ago are reborn afresh inna South London. Only yesterday I was playing great tunes from CDRs from people out of nowhere. If it all ends tomorrow, then will be the legacy of some top hardcore tunes.

I know I am always looking for new Reggae and it is sometime daunting with the amount that is out there. What are five records you think everyone should have, but probably don’t?

A. It’s difficult to answer this one without being a total trainspotter! You have framed the question so that I can only answer by giving you some of some of my favourite 45s that impossible to get other than collectors markets, like:

‘Musical Air Raid’ by I Roy on Chanan Jah
‘African Root’ by Roy Dobson on Black Pearl (version to ‘Our Roots are in Africa’)
‘Inflation Version’ by Drumbago & the Rebel Group on London (version to ‘Inflation’ by Tony Brown)
The Ethiopian Eunuchs – ‘East African Herbs Vendor’ on Thing (version to ‘Weeping’ by Junior Byles)
And an easier one to snag ‘This Land is For Everyone’ by the Abyssinians on Clinch

But I could just as easily say check out the great Rhys Chatham reissues on Table of the Elements or there’s a great Moondog rarities CD out at he moment …

When are you coming on your US dj tour? The people are requesting.

A. Well, I would love to come to play. I have a nice little box of wicked 45s with me here in Beijing. I could plan my own route starting in Seattle and running through Portland and down into San Francisco – see a few mates - then I need help between there and Chicago ….. It’s a nice dream, maybe one day reggae people will unite …!

Thanks so much for taking the time out to answer these questions. Big respect.

A. Mei guanxi!

DREAD
Selectors: Lord Dubious & Municiple
Recorded August 2006

01. Creation Rebel – Threat to Creation – Cherry Red
02. Roots Radics w/ Scientist - Forward this ya Dub - Selena
03. Digital Mystikz – Haunted - DMZ
04. Shackleton - Tin Foil Sky - Skull Disco
05. Testrack – Test Pilot Sequence - (white)
06. Kode 9 - 9 Samurai - Hyperdub
07. Miles Davis – Mr. Freedom x - Columbia
08. Plug - Tuff Rinse- Blue Angel
09. Ghislain Poirier – Embargo Riddim – Chocolate Industries
10. DMT- Future Plans- Stray
11. Milanese – Barry Dub - (white)
12. Bush Chemists - Cymbal Rock - Conscious Sounds
13. King Tubby’s – Whip Them Jah – Blood & Fire
14. Dillinger - Ku Fu Fighting - Virgin
15. Disrupt – Kozure Okami – iD.EOLOGY
16. Dub Ghecko – Asunder - Dubhead
17. Loefah – Root - DMZ
18. Loefah – Ruffage - DMZ
19. Vex’d – Crusher Dub – Planet µ
20. Black City Dread - Dub in the Arena - Tanty
21. Amen Andrews – Amen Andrews (edit) – Rephlex
22. Meat Beat Manifesto - Re-Animator Pt. 4- Wax Trax
23. Dubadelic – High - Wordsound
24. Spectre- Kaos is and Always will Be- Wordsound
25. 8 Bit – Under Me Sensi (forum mix) – (white)
26. Skream- Morning Blues- Tempa
27. Squarepusher – Plastic Flex Out - Warp
28. Ammon Contact - Cruisin_- Eastern Developments
29. Dabrye/Waaheed/Ta Raach – Pressure - Ghostly
30. Anthony Red Rose – Tempo - Firehouse
31. Noah House of Dread – Murderation – On U Sound
32. The Drastics - High Fidelity - Jump Up
33. Poets & the Roots – Command Councel Dub – Front Line
34. Jah Warrior - Dub from the Heart - Jah Warrior
35. Distance – Fallen - Boka

New Tracks: RIVER CANTATA, FOUNDNATION, PRESSURE STRATEGY

2006-08-26T21:13:00.000-05:00

I posted three new tracks up at my Myspace site today. These tracks are in a dub/electro style, which is the sound I am pushing for with the Municiple project at this time. I want to keep it bass music, but with a ear for poly-rythmn and melody.

At the same time I am working on a more jacky dancefloor project called Fluent, which I initally started while living in Beijing in 2002-2003. Hang tight for some of those tracks this fall.

As always, I would love to hear any feedback or comments. Hope you all are doing well.

Respect.

Municiple Tracks

New DJ Mix: WARP JACK

2006-08-05T17:45:00.000-05:00

This is a new mix I have been putting together for the past few weeks. It features all Warp Records or Arcola releases, as well as the inclusion of D-Funked by Dexter which was not a Warp release, but was featured on the Bleep.com “Bleep Oh Six” free to download compilation, which I thought was fair game considering the focus on free music that this blog is pushing. While one would probably think that a Warp mix is going to be full on IDM and drum and bass, with big players like Aphex Twin, Autechre and Squarepusher featured, this one does not. While those are the songs and artists that eventually moved Warp records forward and created an arguably signature sound, these are the records that were more fringe, and for the dancefloor. These are the tracks that show that Warp knows how to jack. Wearing their acid house heritage proudly on their sleeves, Warp released some of the more crucial acid and techno tracks of the 90’s and continue to kill the dance floor from time to time. A lot of these tracks mean a lot to me personally, a rave long ago kinda thing, you know how it is. I know its unpopular to like Warp now and all that but I have mad respect still and haters can try to jack elsewhere.

I am certainly not really a dj, so I apologize for some moments in the mix. I did this on Traktor and rocked it sort of improve on a Saturday afternoon. The tracks have not been pitched up or down more than a nudge, in order to keep the original vibe of the tracks. I know some people get sensitive about that. The Most of the tracks come from Bleep downloads. I give you Warp Jack and I hope you are enjoying the summer.

WARP JACK MIX
DJ MUNICIPLE
AUGUST 2006 CHICAGO
79:30

TRACK - ARTIST [CAT#]

Come and Join the Future - Tuff Little Unit [WARP2]
Trust City - DSR [WAP19]
Matala - Brothomstates [ARC004]
Babaloo - DSR [WAP19]
Dance Floor Microphysics - Louis Digital [ARC003]
Roll X - V.L.A.D. [WAP130]
Its Your Love - The Other People Place [WARPLP90]
Obsession - Denis Rusnak [ARC002]
Freaky Deaky (more bounce to the ounce mix) - Lex Loofah [WAP41]
Mojo’s Workin - Black Mojo [WAP43]
Electron (blue print mix) - Wild Planet [WAP22]
Give It Up - Chok Rock [WAP188]
Kilohertz - Elecktroids [WAP65]
Rain/Shine - Move D [WAP80]
Thin Crust - Sympletic [WAP79]
Polka Trax 4 - Mike Ink [WAP82]
The City (fourtet mix) - Jamie Lidell [WARPLP143]
Ace Space - Sympletic [WAP79]
Global Warning (underground mix) - K Hand [WAP55]
D-Funked - Dexter [BleepOhSix]
Stop the World - Dub Kult [ARC001]
Oscillator - RAC [WAP52]
Teknotest - Cane [ARC05
Acid 101 - K Hand [WAP55]

Website Focus: WU TANG CORP

2006-07-25T14:36:00.000-05:00

Now, we all know Wu Tang Clan, and there is not much that hasn't been said or that needs to be said about these don's of hip hop. Prolific and massive, Wu Tang just keep it coming in all formats. That is why I just had to include their website, www.wutangcorp.com as a spot to stop by when looking for critical, free beats pon the internet.

In their "Media" section, Wu Tang have uploaded 215 (!!!) mp3's for the takin'. These mp3's cover the spectrum of Wu Tang artists, and hail from albums, remixes, mix tapes and rarities. Seriously, don't sleep.

Blog Focus: schrikdraad®

2006-07-23T18:17:00.000-05:00

schrikdraad®
http://schrikdraad.blogspot.com/

This blog came to my attention after my boy Dubious from the SuperStatus Crew shot me the link. From that point on it was all about me checking in every day, cus rudeboys over at schrikdraad® have mad records to share. I'm telling you, they are the hot hot as well. None of these every day kinda things, so don't front.

After visiting the site for a few months, I thought I would give him a shout and ask if he wanted to do the beatsgratis question session. He agreed, and the response is below. Big respect to schrikdraad® crew, and to reggae heads each and every! Bo!

Your Name: head honcho

Age: 22 years old.

Relation to website: Owner/founder/creator.

Where are you located?

Nijmegen, Holland, although I temporarily live somewhere else because of my new job.

What is the main concept behind Schrikdraad?

There’s not really a main concept. I just post music that I like. Mostly reggae and dub music from the 70s and early 80s (the golden era of reggae) . In the beginning I posted links to al kinds of music, but after a while I started concentrating on reggae and reggae related music. Usually (if I can find any info) I also try to tell something about the artist, or the music. I also try to focus on out of print albums.

You can argue with me about it, but in my opinion today’s Jamaican music has nothing to do with reggae any more. Listen for example to Ninjaman or Vibez Cartel, it all sounds so cheap if you compare them with the well known albums from the 70s. So you won’t see any modern Jamaican music on my blog.

How long have you been doing this blog? Since +- November 2004.

Tell us about how you came to be interested in Reggae music.

I always had an interest in reggae music. It started when I was about twelve years old, and heard a Bob Marley (there where some greatest hits on it like, ‘No Woman no Cry, ‘Buffalo Soldier’, etc) , tape . Since then I loved it. Unfortunatly there wasn’t any internet, and all you could buy here where the same awful albums from UB40 & inner circle. So it really started when I hooked on to the internet.

Is there a Reggae scene where you are living?

I really don’t know, Probably there is. But at the moment I’m too busy with al kinds of things ( my new job for example ), so I don’t have any time to get involved.

Where do you buy most of your Reggae records?

On the internet, because most of what I like isn’t available in common stores around here.

How do you upload the music to mp3? Is there a specific program you are using?

I use any program that is useful, and I have contacts with people who rip music from cd and or LP. Basically I’ll try to get my hands on as much music as I can get.

Have you ever visited Jamaica?

No, because I’m don’t have the money , and I don’t think it’s a great country to visit, a lot of poverty, you know. I would rather visit the Bahamas or the Cayman Islands.

Do you follow contemporary Reggae and Dancehall? No?

Do you also DJ or are you strictly a collector?

Personally I don’t do any DJ stuff. I would love to do it, but like I said before I don’t have the money to buy a good turntable.

Name 5 Reggae records that everyone should have, but probably don’t have:

1) Lee Perry – blackboard jungle dub ( re-release on Auralux, 2004 )

2) Horace Andy – skylarking ( Studio One 1970 )

3) Augustus Pablo & Hugh Mundell – Africa must be free by 1983

4) Prince Douglas – dub roots

5) Bullwackies All Stars – free for all dub ( Aires, 1975 )

What have you been listening to lately?

When I’m at home there’s always reggae music in the cd player. I listen to +- 10 albums a day. And besides that, I’m a big fan of Augustus Pablo. I think I have most of his albums.

Are there other blogs or sights like yours that you can point people to?

Hearwax.blogspot.com
jamminjasounds.blogspot.com

I am a frequent visitor to your blog, so thanks so much for the music. Big respect to you.

You’re welcome, if you have any suggestions, tips or whatever, than feel free to contact me.

Is there anyone you want to give a shouts out to?

Krieger, for sharing a one of a kind and unique Lee ‘scratch’ Perry tape.

(Ed.note: Man, hook us up wit the one of a kind Scratch tape!)

New DJ Mix: AFTER HOURS

2006-07-16T12:46:00.000-05:00

Been a pretty busy summer so far, so I should apologize for not updating the site in a while. I promise to be more on top of it as the weather gets cooler and the days get shorter, but until then... it is summer, so gotta enjoy that.

I have just finished a new mix called AFTER HOURS. This one is a sort of 3am dancefloor beatdown, inspired by many a late night in random lofts and warehouses and driving through the great city of Chicago in the wee hours of the morning. It is done up on Traktor, sort of free form stylee. Turn it up loud and shake it out a bit. So, here's some late night/early morning jack for ya'all.

Set List:

AFTER HOURS
DJ Municiple
7.2006

Rubber – Audion [Spectral]
Welcome to the New Age Disco – Stasis [Peacefrog]
7am – Unique 3 [Ten]
Osram 509 – Sun Electric [R&S]
On the Floor – Baby Ford [Klang Electronik]
Journey Home – Drexcyia [Warp]
Yesco – Kerrier District [Rephlex]
d12 – Auntie Acid [white]
Lock It – Takeshi Onda (Atom Heart)[Logistics]
Chiba – The Black Dog [Warp]
Follow You – DJ Hell [Motor]
21 Brothers – Brothers in Arms (Atom Heart)[Logistics]
Je Suis Musique – Hieroglyphic Being [Spectral]
Town Hall Take 2 – Mossa [Epsilonlab]
Piano – Joe Lewis [Target]
Zillker Park – False [Plus8]
Beau Mot Plage (Freeform Remix) – Isolee [Classic]

Get the mixxx here: AFTER HOURS

For more mixes by DJ Municiple, aka Junior D stop by the website of the mighty DUB SOUNDSYSTEM and get your fill.

Net Label Update: BEDROOM RESEARCH

2006-05-30T19:51:00.000-05:00

The first netlabel to be featured on BeatsGratis, Bedroom Research, is back with a new mega-comp titled "Vol.3". With 24 trax from BR regs Deework, Tep, 64 Chaos et all as well as biggies like Dino Felipe, this one is bound to be a classic. And, if that is not enough, there are three covers to choose from. Bedroom Research takes their stuff seriously, and here is a big fucking shout out to them for doing so. Get get it at www.bedroomresearch.com if you know what is good for you.

Website Focus: BAREFILES

2006-04-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

Over the past maybe 18 months I have been feeling a deep rumble in the music world, one which satisfies my bass addiction and brings together my love of both electronic music and dub. Dubstep. Born in
the UK and quickly gathering a steady international crew, the music is seeing a growth which is fueled by the availablity of a steady flow of dj mixes available for download on the internet. I for one am very thankful for this, because I can hear new tracks and sets as soon as they happen and stay abreast of the development of the sound from around the world.

Barefiles is one such site, and the leader in the game, in my opinion. I am often shocked at how fast our guy Deapoh gets these mixes up... a rudeboy on the situation. I met Deapoh on the Dubstep Forum, and he was kind enough to agree to answer some questions about the site. Big, big up Deapoh and all dubstep crew! Forward ->>>

Name of your site: Bare Files

URL: www.barefiles.com

Your name: Deapoh

Relation to site: Made it / Run it!

Where are you?
Live in the dutty south of London, UK!

When did the site get started?
I originally had deaper.com but that had to be closed due to problems with the web host and their terms and conditions. I was looking for a good web host for ages and then Choppy (from Rinse FM forums) contacted me and gave me a link. So I figured out a name with Choppy and Alkaholik (Also Rinse FM forums) and signed up straight away. Barefiles opened officially 11-Mar-2006.

What inspired you to get the site started?
Darkside really, I wanted access to the audio room and he said I had to share audio… so I setup the site and shared!

How many mixes do you have up currently? Right now? 517

Do you think that most of the djs on the site know that you are posting the mixes? Yeah I text most of them when they’re on radio, or send PMs and try to tell them.

Do you ever hear from them?
Yeah quite a few get in contact asking if I can record or host their shows.

When and how did you first start getting into Dubstep?
Used to go to Big Apple Records years ago, started buying grime there and Hatcha got me into Dubstep.

Do people ever think your site is a porn site (bare, and all)? Hmm no!

I know that I know you from the Dubstep Forum… are you into any other music scenes?
I like Grime but then again Dubstep and Grime are very close. Also listen to Hip Hop and DnB but not as much as the other two.

Where do most of your mixes come from?
Do you record them, or do people send them to you? The main man Boomnoise, he has recorded and sent loads to me. Also Hova records many grime sets. The rest are usually from people who record a couple times and I found the links or if I record them myself.

About how many downloads do you get a day, would you say?
The stats worry me. I fear looking at them at the end of everyday. The average amount of files transferer per day is 32gb and my monthly limit is 1.2 TB. I’m worried that soon I’ll have to take down the site for a few days to stop traffic. People like Burial (850+ downloads) and Skreams shows (1800+ downloads all together) really use up the bandwidth!

Any super crucial mixes that people should go directly to?
Yeah definitely the sets Darkside, Raw Ones, Wiley & Tinchy, and Skream b2b Mala b2b Chef. Very big shows.

Which producers/tracks are you really feeling these days?
Kode 9 - 9 Samurai. Very big tune. Feeling Quest, Skream, and without question Digital Mystikz. Also watch out for Zomby, up and coming with some big big beats.

Where do you see Dubstep going in the 06?
I see the scene getting much bigger and the sounds expanding and getting a bit more complex but still in a simple way if that makes sense!

What do you have planned for the future on barefiles.com?
I’m thinking of setting up another server to help with bandwidth and the amount of files. Making the mixes available on CD where the customer only pays for the CD and postage. That way I don’t think I would be breaking any laws or have to pay tax! Definitely will ask for donations but they won’t be required.

In addition to running tings are barefiles, what else you have going on?
I pretty much sit around playing games, chatting to people, listening to music and DJ. I go to college once a week studying music production etc but thats a minor.

Anything you would like to add?
Catch me every monday 6-8pm GMT on www.subfm.com.Think we covered everything, my fingers hurt!

Big up to… Alkaholik, Atari-420, Baraka, Bok Bok, Boomnoise, Cfour, Chef, Choppy, Darkside, Doomstep, Luke Envoy, Mersh, Messer, N-Type, Rokotiili, Tom, Tronman and Zomby. They’re the main people, the rest that are on my MSN, big up!

Net Label Focus: KYOTO

2006-04-09T17:17:00.000-05:00

The world of minimal electronic dub is a deep and mysterious place. What started as an obscure, Jamaican-based musical genre has made a heavy heavy impact on generations of artists from across the globe. Dubs rumble can be felt in the world of netlabels as well, and Copenhagen based KYOTO brings it. Label owner Xoki, who in my opinion delivers the heaviest selections on the label with tracks such as "Illuminated" and “Angular Dub”. There are many quality dubs on the sight, with an ear for spaciousness and true dub experimentation. Here’s to more netlabels pushing the dub sound. With so much quality dub and dubstep music coming out these days, lets hope we can count on some net-based bass power as well. A look at KYOTO…

Your Name: Xoki

Age: 28

Location: Copenhagen Denmark

Name of net-label: Kyoto

Relation to net-label: Owner and contributing artist

Where are most the artists on the label from?
So far people who are involved are from Denmark, Germany, Poland and Russia

What is the unifying element in the music on Kyoto?
Deep hypnotic vibes, through dub and techno.

What are some of the major influences on the aesthetic of the label?
Well basically the traditional dub reggae of artists like King Tubby and Scientist as well as minimal dubby electronics – the fusion of Jamaican dub and techno from people like Maurizio, Rhythm & Sound and Deep Chord.

But apart from music one important thing is the environment we live in. This is I think the biggest inspiration to me. You know like when you walk down a rain soaked street at night and suddenly you here a bottle or something fall down and make this echoed sound bouncing off the walls of buildings. Or when you stand at a heavily trafficated street and just listen to the chaotic noise, and then at one point you notice there is a kind of vibrating rhythm to all the noise, way beneath the recognizable sounds of cars and people. Cities have probably been the biggest influence on the sound I want to push on the label.

How often do you release new music?
There is no schedule, I release when I feel I have some relevant material. And this can be any where from once a month to every third month or so. I tend to think that Kyoto is evolving as slow as the beat of our musicJ

How did the net-label get started?
It started as a platform for my own and my good friend Hieronymus’ deep and dubby sounds. And it grew a bit from there on. Actually I’m really surprised at seeing it get the recognition it has got so far. I always kept from hyping it and promoting it too much. Believing that if the music is good enough and relevant to other people then us, people will eventually notice it. And this is basically what happened.

What have you been listening to you lately?
Demo material, some very good stuff and some not so interesting stuff. And a new draft of Hieronymus’ upcoming album which has been in the making for something like two years now.

Are you into roots reggae and classic dub?
Of course! I grew up listening to reggae, my father was a big fan of the music. Especially Hieronymus who has been a major driving force for Kyoto, is a huge dub and reggae enthusiast.

Are there live events associated with the label? No

Much respect, thanks. Who would you like to give shouts out to?
All contributing artists and listeners thanks for your interest and support.

Net Label Focus: REDOSE

2006-03-27T14:37:00.000-06:00

With so many net labels out there, it is really hard to pick and choose to who to feature here on beatsgratis. Honestly, I usually just consult my list and send out emails to labels that catch my eye or ear. Thus was the case with my approach to Redose, a branch of the Rednetic label. This is a great example of a for profit label branching off into the net label world to showcase other music than that which they are putting out. I hope to see more labels go in this direction, offering greater exposure to the amazing amount of talent that is out there.

Mark Streatfield from Redose was nice enough to take some time from his many projects to answer some questions. Big up Redose and all London net label crew, keep it coming. (note: for an interesting feature on Mark, take a look this.)

Name of Netlabel: redose

URL: www.redose.com

Your Name: Mark Streatfield

Relation to Netlabel: Owner

Where is your label based out of? London

How many releases do you have so far? 6

Where are your artists from?
London and Japan so far but could be from anywhere

Tell us about the evolution of REDOSE.
Redose was created as an outlet for music by artists from the rednetic label. It hasn’t evolved too much yet as I have spent much of my time with rednetic recordings. I would like it to evolve a lot further and am looking for more artists and am in the process of redesigning it.

Does REDOSE have a specific sound/style/look?
The initial design was to keep it small and simple, why use a whole page when it is not needed. The dead bug just looked good.

Are you in touch with other netlabels? Is there a scene?
I am in touch with a few other netlabels especially boltfish.co.uk who started out the same time and are good friends of mine. I have appeared on there as zainetica numerous times. Also Kahvi.org who are a benchmark for other netlabels and home to some of my favourite artists. LacedMilk over in Florida home to many great artists as well. Also IVDT run by Headphone Science who has released tracks n5md and enpeg. Enpeg the netlabel wing of n5md. A top IDM label. Also filament So I think there is a scene but a very loose and amorphous one, I don’t feel a part of any scene. It’s just good to have other people around going through the same stuff and liking and disliking some of the same things.

Does REDOSE know how to bring the party?
We have cake??? . . . .I guess that’s a no then, unless you like cake, maybe Dundee cake. (ed note: I have no idea what Dundee cake is… must be a British thing)

What have you been listening to lately?
Burning Spear – Marcus Garvey
Marvin Gaye – What’s Going on
Future Beat Alliance – Disconnected
Dimension 5 - Alien Artform
Mint – Out of Context
General tunes from:
Remote, LFO, Utility Player, Joseph Auer

What’s going on in London these days?
Quite a lot as usual, there’s quite a few small gigs happening that I have gone to as well as playing at a couple at the Social and Ginglik. I have got bored of following what’s happening in the clubbing world, but in small bars and clubs things are bubbling under with connections to a few netlabels.
We have just organized a “Boltfish & Rednetic present Glitchnight London” at the Pool Bar on Wednesday 12th April

Shouts out to…
Paul, Praveen, Wil, Murray, Simon, Mark, Dave, Joe, Esa, Rudy, Mike@smallfish, Seiji, Arfan, Pietro and Francesca, Dustin, Mike@enpeg, Matt, Bruno, Chris, Lawrence, Inigo, Miles, Nik, Robin, Liz,

Thanks again, much respect.

New Labels Added

2006-03-05T07:54:00.000-06:00

Took this lazy afternoon and updated the netlabel list. 30 plus new labels up there, so check em out. If you find a release that is particularly crucial, let me know. With so many netlabels out there, it is hard to find all the gems.

Net Label Focus: ZYMOGEN

2006-03-02T20:35:00.000-06:00

Once again I find myself amazed at the quality of music which is available via netlabels right now. Zymogen is one such label that I have been feeling lately, so I contacted Filippo Aldovini and he agreed to do a BeatsGratis chit chat.

Both hard and beautiful and with an ear for experimentation, Zymogen's releases cover a range of electronic sounds. Zymogen is also a very nice looking site, which is always a bonus. Checkemout.

Name of Netlabel: Zymogen

URL: http://www.zymogen.net

Your Name: Filippo Aldovini

Relation to Netlabel:

Coordinator, founder and fan.

Where are you?

Modena, a city in the north of Italy.

Are most of the artists on your label from there?

Not at all. Zymogen artists are all from foreign countries (Colombia, Japan, Switzerland…etc), but that’s not because I don’t want to produce music from Italy, just because till now I didn’t get in touch with valid musicians interested in the net-audio scene. Unfortunately here in Italy the concepts of netlabel and creative commons are still young, but projects like Ogredung and Laverna have done (…and are doing) a great job to introduce these ideas.
I’m working with the Creative Commons lead here in Italy to organize a workshop about netlabel to let people know better what are the possibilities of these new forms of music distribution…definitely exciting.

How many releases so far?

6 releases so far…and I keep listening to all of them :)

Does Zymogen have a concept/style?

Yes, zymogen follows some aesthetic directions.
We’re trying to keep those directions for the design of our artworks and website generally based on filtered photos of natural subjetcs, very simple though.
About the music we don’t pubblish a single genre, but, as you can see, we love to space through many different sonorities, nevertheless keeping an attitude and a definite method of promotion and support, trying not to fill our catalogue with too many releases but giving every single release visibility using channels like podcasts on itunes and all the portals about netaudio.

How do you usually meet the artists who you release?

It depends, usually I contact personally the artist to propose a collaboration, but I also receive proposals of collaboration via web or mail and I always love to listen new material.
Thanks to zymogen I had the possibility to know really nice persons that believed in this project since it started in my mind a long time ago, like David Velez (Lezrod) who nowadays is part of the zymogen “decision staff” and above all is a true friend.

Does Zymogen like to party?

Of course it does! I’m working on a showcase audio/visual dj-set based on zymogen music and in the future I’d like to organize some live events of our artists, but for now it’s only a project.

What does 2006 look like?

Looks really great! some important steps are planned for next months.
The two forthcoming releases will be really at high level: on april an lp of collaborations between Lezrod and other producers such as Darren McClure and for may another stunning ep from our japanese glitch-master Takeshi Nakamura, furthermore, for the end of april, is scheduled a radioshow hosted by dj Mogwai (http://www.mogwai.de/), the coordinator of kreislauf e-zine (http://kreislauf.blogspot.com/), dedicated to zymogen music and our artists, with an interview with me, previews from the next releases and other interesting news to know better what we’re doing (more details soon on our website).
Nevertheless the most important development of zymogen will be definitely the release of a physical cd in coproduction with Test Tube entirely produced by Lezrod and scheduled for september. That’s will be definitely a great challenge for us and an interesting experiment to test a different approach to music business, but fortunately I’m in good company working with Pedro Leitao of Test Tube/ Monocromatica label wich furthermore stands among my all time favorite netlabels.

What have you been listening to lately?

Recently I’m listening to Aoki Takamasa, Richard Devine, Murcof, Alva Noto, Traject, Shadow Huntaz, an italian ambient-rock band called Port-Royal, a little bit of grime, post-rock acts like Pelican, Isis, Jesu and obviously I’m following the releases of high-quality netlabel such as Test Tube, Serein, One, Earstroke, Yuki Yaki and many others…heterogeneous listening.

Big ups to…

My mate Tomaso Neri who’s working with me step by step from day one of this crazy adventure keeping up the entire website and working with me on graphic and design. David Velez, Takeshi Nakamura, Ilya and Paul Bocharov, Manuel, Luis Solìs and Laurent for producing such great music and Pedro Leitao for giving zymogen constnat inspiration with his great Test Tube netlabel.

Thanks for taking the time to chat. Respect.

Thank you too for give zymogen this space

Website Focus: THE ROOTS MUSIC LISTENING ROOM

2006-02-25T14:45:00.000-06:00

To date I have looked a netlabels which release various forms of electronic music. However, I love so many types of music and am always excited to come across a site which offers a large selection of music which I have never heard. THE ROOTS MUSIC LISTENING ROOM is just such a site, and I highly recommend checking it out if you have diverse tastes and are into hearing some musical heritage. THE ROOTS MUSIC LISTENING ROOM features all public domain recordings of folk, jazz and traditional music recorded between 1920 and 1970. Examples include Gospel Music of the 1920's, Folk Music of Mexico and 1940's Blues Music on Small Independent Labels.

The site also takes requests, and will search to try to accomodate people's requests, as long as the release is public domain. They ask that users keep downloads to 15-20 songs a day, so don't go bananas, yo. The downloads are crazy fast, though.

Go get your banjo on at THE ROOTS MUSIC LISTENING ROOM.

Net Label Update: AUDIO AUBERGINE

2006-02-20T14:47:00.000-06:00

Our people over at AUDIO AUBERGINE have come correct with three new releases that are arguably the strongest on this label to date. Ranging from pretty electro to gritty hip hop, these eps from Paul Blackford, Dan Lofi and MC Skwee G with Chas Mollet (not Mollat!) on the remix are each very solid. Big standouts for me are "when worlds mix dub" by Dan Lofi and "latitude" by Paul Blackford. The production on the MC Skwee G outshines the actual mc'ing, in my opinion, and I would love to see dubs of both of these tracks on the label soon. The bass drops in "freestyle radar" rumble.

Big up Audio Aubergine crew.

Net Label Focus: HAUSHALTSWARE

2006-02-18T08:46:00.000-06:00

One of the things that I am finding more and more interesting about net labels is that they really seem to be a forum for people to release not only a huge variety of types of music, but also music that often would find a difficult time ending up on a commercial label. This is not because the music is not of quality, but rather it just may not fit nicely into any one market, etc.

I was pleasently suprised when I came upon Haushaltsware upon the intertron. I sometimes get nervous when I begin to think that a label or artist's concept maybe more interesting that the actual music, so when I saw that Haushaltsware releases music that is all made from found objects and household appliances, I was skeptical. However, when I started to download and listen to these trax I was well into them. Very much in the spirit of EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN, MATTHEW HERBERT and MATMOS, these tracks combine conceptual experimental methods and sources with raw dancefloor thump and shake. No chin stroking here, the label puts the house back in housewares.

The other cool thing about this label is that they provide sample packs for all of the releases so other people can take the source material and make their own tracks. As a purveyor of samples, this makes me happy.

Haushaltsware label head Psycoded/Mary Huna took the time to get into some detail about the label via email, so here it is:

Name of Netlabel:
haushaltsware

URL:
www.haushaltsware.org

Your Name:
psycoded / mary huna

Relation to Label:
founder, admin, musician

Where is your label based from?
I live in cologne. Most of the artists are from germany

What is the concept behind the label?
Idea from this Netlabel is to offer Music
which is made only out of recorded Sounds from
the Instrument that is named in the Tracktitle.
Other Samples and FX are not allowed.
Electronic Music out of Dishes, Radiators
and Knifes. All Household Articles
can be used. Haushaltsware is dedicated
to those who like to make experiments.

Where did this concept come from?
It was a quite spontan and unplanned thing. I got a wire tracer and just wanted to record some sounds… after a short time the first track was ready, and after the really great feedback I decided to open a label with that stuff.

You guys must really be into the household appliance section at the mall.
Sure. Always watching whats going on. There are good sounds nearly everywhere.

In your experience, which appliance offers the largest range of sounds?
I don`t know. The kitchen is very complex… but you can find good sounds everywhere. That’s also one of our points: just open your eyes and ears.. the rest will come to you

How many submissions do you usually get per month?
At the beginning there were a lot, but now 1 per month I guess.. so more tracks are welcome

I bet you get some pretty strange things.
Yeah, we do. But we are strange.. so it fits

What do you have planned for 2006?
For 2006 I planned to start my design-study, and help haushaltsware to world domination. There are also music-videos planned to show the world how nice a coffeemaschine can look and sound.

Ok, this is where you give your shouts out to all your people and appliances….
Ok. First thanks to all the artists that make haushaltsware to the unique thing it is. Thanks to all the remixers, soundcatchers and inspirators… without you HHW would not grow so fast… thanks a lot. Than I want to thank archive.org for hosting that stuff, my parents for feeding me and all the fans of that label that really made this thing worthy. Oke. That’s it. Lets rock it!!!

New Labels Added

2006-02-12T09:05:00.000-06:00

Just added 20 new labels to the net label list, some gems there. Am working on some new label features, so keep checkin in, good stuff coming....

Net Label Focus: QUIET LOUNGE

2006-01-28T22:34:00.000-06:00

Let it be known that I a bit of a China freak. My job deals with China, and I lived there for 3 years, travelled all over Asia and have been back many times over the last ten years. My other nerdy passion is electronic music, so I have been fascinated to watch the development of the electronic music scene in Asia since I first went there in 1997. With the internet allowing millions of people to access all of the music that the world has to offer, as well as software to make music, everything changed, especially in China. Its on, and one would be wise to keep their eyes and ears on East Asia for new sounds.

Quiet Lounge caught my eye with it's Asian theme and multiple Maoist album covers and icons on their site. The music on the label embraces not only technology and electronic music, but also traditional influences and sound sources. Tracks range from light and trancey to electroid glitch tracks. There are even tracks with Cultural Revolution bits in there, which I am a sucker for.

J.J.e from Quiet Lounge was nice enough to answer the BeatsGratis questionaire, and in such a nice and polite manner. Big up Quiet Lounge and the Asian electronix massive!

Name of Net Label: Quiet Lounge

URL:http://www.quietlounge.com/

Your Name: J.J.e

Relation to Label: label co-founder

Age: 37

Do you have a day job? Yes. I am a university lecturer.

Where is your label run from? Tokyo, Japan

Are most of your artists from there? No. They are from Japan, China and Italy.

How many artists are currently on the label? 6 artists

What was your inspiration to start the label?

Before we launched our QUIETLOUNGE, I had put my music, which fuses
electronic sounds with Buddhist chants, on the Vitaminic site. Some
artists who are interested in my music contacted me. Among them,
there were Asian artists who creates new electronic music by using
traditional Asian music like me. At that time, there’s quite
few netlabels that is based in Asia, and their quality was not good.
Then, we launched our QUIETLOUNGE for disseminating Asian electronic
music.

How many releases do you have so far?
1LP and 9EP

What is the concept of your label?
QUIETLOUNGE focuses on Asian artists who are creating new music by
fusing electronic sounds with traditional Asian music.

What do you think of the “electronic music scene” in
Asia now?

Electronic music has a long history in Japan since the time of Y.M.O.
Nowadays, all genres of electronic music exist in Japan, and the
electronic music scene seems to have already grown mature. Now, I am
interested in music scene in China.
It has zing! I look forward to the continuing growth of electronic
music scene in China.

Which artists in Asia do you find most exciting right now?

Movement of Chinese electronic music scene. Especially indies scene.

I notice a lot of Maoist elements in the artwork and track titles of
your releases. Could you talk a little bit about that?

In Shanghai, a symbol of economic growth, skyscrapers tower over the
city and imports flood the market. It seems to be without particular
distinction from a sight of a city in a capitalist country. However,
the tenet of communism hides in the sight. Our music does not be a
expression of contemporary communism, but be a expression of shadows
of communism that lurks in contemporary society. The impression and
the interpretation of our music are left to the person who hears it.
We only express it. （Red Unit）

Any exciting things coming up for Quiet Lounge in 2006?

A new Ep from a new artist will soon be arriving.

Anything else?

QUIETLOUNGE produces artists that use not only Chinese elements in
their music, but also Japanese and Indian elements. Techno groups that uses Asian music and sounds are now wanted. I would like to disseminate
Asian electronic music to the world.

Note: top photo from www.shanghaistreets.net - a great site!

Chicago: HOUSE NATION

2006-01-27T16:39:00.000-06:00

I just saw this on the internet, and have to say that I am proud to be a Chicagoan. Having grown up on the southside, with WBMX and WGCI mixes on the radio, Medusa's, Gramaphone, Derrick/Mark/Miles/Heather/Diz/Spencer... what can I say? Baptisim by bass and booty shake. Big up Chicago. Here's looking forward to the forthcoming Chicago House Music Festival (still unnamed as far as I know) which apparently is being put on by the City of Chicago in the vein of DEMF. Jacktastic!

For anyone who is interested in learning to jack, feel free to stop by Dubsoundsystem and grab the 312 Acid mix I have up there. All oldschool Chicago acid and jack trax.

Net Label Focus: OBLAST

2006-01-25T14:54:00.000-06:00

I am going to be honest with you and tell you that electro acoustic/experimental music is sometimes a bit over my head. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I read the Wire (lol) and can hang with some strange sonic stuff, but often times I find that the music comes off better on paper than it does in my ears. Maybe this is a problem of my own unrefined pallet, but it is the case nonetheless.

That having been said, I find that when this music does connect for me, it is intensity all the way. Usually this happens to me when the music is overwhelmingly beautiful and/or hypnotic, and I catch myself two steps away. This is the case with many of the pieces which have been released by Oblast, a net/CDR label run by Vadim Sprikut, straight outta my home town, Chicago. Vadim has always appeared to me to be someone who is serious and committed to his interests in a way where he not only appreciates but is also consistently contributing.

Below is a short interview with Vadim where he breaks it down for us.

1. So, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for Beatsgratis. Nuff respect.

Word. Thanks for the opportunity.

2. So, who are you and what is your relationship to the label?

I'm pretty much Oblast.

3. Where is your label based out of?

Chicago, IL

4. Are most of your artists based out of there as well?

Geography has little to do with the label itself other than I happen to live in Chicago. Granted I've become more involved with this music because of some of people I've met here. But if I like the music, it matters little if they're from Seattle or Germany or Japan, etc.

5. How would you describe the music that is coming out on your label?

Abstract electroacoustics, which I know is rather vague and general. I'm especially interested in work that addressed the synthesis of improvisation, composition and perhaps some element of field recording. Typically the works lack obvious referents, such as harmony and melody, rather using indeterminate sound sources with more of an emphasis on texture and timbre.

Granted, it's more challenging in that the listener has to be more active in the listening process since there is often a lack of the familiar (e.g., the melody and harmony) but I hope that the effort ultimately pays off.

While I do have some specific aesthetic directions for Oblast, it largely comes down to whether I personally enjoy the work or not. I've received demos of fine stuff, but something I felt that Oblast would not be the best outlet for.

6. Do artists who record on Oblast also release commercially available music?

Marc Behrens (responsible for the first Oblast cdr), if anyone. He has a release on Raster-Noton, which has a fair amount of exposure and distribution, if that's what you mean by 'commercial'.

7. Is it all about music at Oblast, or are there other projects?

I've planned a standalone visual component, sort of a permanent on-line installation. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to pursue it yet so it's on the backburner for now.

8. What was the impetus that got Oblast started?

A sudden epiphany that the world needed just one more tiny cd-r/mp3 label. That and I realized that I could literally do everything myself out of my house for reasonable money. I had a few aesthetic interests that I wanted to pursue in terms of design, as well as music I wanted to make available, so Oblast was born.

9. Who designs your site?

I do. It's on it's second Flash incarnation and I've started on the next version that will incorporate css and xhtml for that all important cross-browser compatibility.

10. Why do you give music away for free?

I think many of the people working with this sort of music (abstract electroacoustic) are interested in reaching whatever small audience there may be out there for it. Not to say that they wouldn't want to be compensated for their work, but I think the goal is often to see their artistic ideas through and have it reach some sort of audience. It can be rather difficult to find an outlet for the more challenging music out there short of releasing work on your own.

It's also an alternative to the glut of pay for download music out there right now, much of which is poor to say the least. I would hope that if a prospective listener actually downloads some of the Oblast releases, they would be more inclined to support the artist through purchase of other items they may have in their catalog, or going to see/hear them perform.

Right now, there is still a market for selling cd's, especially if they are limited edition releases with a strong visual/tactile element to the packaging that doesn't scream 'Generic Wal-Mart alt-rock in standard plastic jewel case.' I don't think many mp3 labels like myself would expect to survive if we expected to generate anything significant from mp3 sales. So like I mentioned it is mostly to release interesting, thoughtful music by circumventing traditional channels of distribution, marketing and design. If that means I have to make free releases, so be it.

11. Is there any music out there which has been particularly inspiring to you lately?

So much to mention! Here are some recent favorites: Birgit Ulher and Gino Robair “Sputter”, Greg Davis and Sebastian Roux “Paquet Surprise”, Jason Kahn and Tetuzi Akiyama “Till We Meet Again”, AMM “Fine”, Sanhedolin “Manjoicchi Wa Muko”, the 5cd Filament box set on FMN Sound Factory. Anything by Boris. And a lot of dub such as Dennis Bovell, Sugar Minott, Big Youth, King Tubby, Prince Jammy, etc.

12. What about other net labels? Are there any that you recommend?

Stasisfield and Con-V are particularly inspiring. Erstwhile, while not an mp3 label, has released a lot of music the past few years that I have really enjoyed.

13. What does 2006 have planned for Oblast?

The next several cdr's are in the works. Another mp3 release is due in a few weeks with another handful that will see release later this year. I'm also about to curate a side Oblast project specifically for field recordings that will be published on 3” CDR in small-runs (50 copies or so).

14. I know that you are an old school drum and bass head. Are you still feeling drum and bass at all? Any chance of a drum and bass release on Oblast?

Very doubtful. I've stepped away from the “scene” in Chicago, so I'm not at all connected these days. I still have all my old jungle records, so I can scratch that itch if I need be. Otherwise, I haven't kept up with it at all. As much as I like IDM, beat-oriented electronic stuff, I didn't envision Oblast as an outlet for it. I think there are a lot of folks who have that territory well covered right now!

15. Any shouts you need to give? Share the love.

My frequent sparring partner and collaborator Brian Labycz, the TV Pow boys (especially Mike Hartman), Rob Ray for the server space, Reuben for all the technical help, and all of the lovely musicians, curators and concert goers that I have met the past few years as I've become more involved in the electronic/improvising community in Chicago and abroad. And of course Squeeze, for many reasons.

Net Label Focus: AUDIO AUBERGINE

2006-01-22T19:20:00.000-06:00

Relative newcomers Audio Aubergine have started 2006 with a bang. 5 new releases of IDM/electroid goodness that ranges from "lets get the get dancefloor booties a sweatin" to "only my software understands me" have established these eggplant obsessed cats as a label to watch. Come for the beats, stay for the recipes.

Personal favorites so far are "Erotos"by Chas Mollet, "Big Face Funny Language" by Greg Scrase and "Fantadirty" by Ether. Let the purple party begin!

Name of net label: Audio Aubergine

URL: www.audioaubergine.com

Your Name: Chas

Age: 24

Relation to Label: Founder

I know that you just started the label up recently, right?
Friday 20/01/2006 about 23:30.

Congrats on getting it started, how has the experience been so far?
Fun, thanks.

Where is the label based out of?
A tiny 1 bedroom flat in Londons east end.

How many artists are currently in the label? 5

Have any of the artists on the label released music commercially?
Yes, 3 have. Check the site for details.

How many releases have you put out to date? 5

Is there a style of music that you feel best sums of the Aubergine sound?

If its been made with machines and has soul then its definitely electronic eggplant style.

What’s the deal with the Aubergine theme? You seem very down with eggplants. They can be a bit bitter…

Make sure you slice up the delicious fruit before cooking and arrange evenly on a plate, sprinkle a healthy amount of salt gently over the pieces and leave to rest for about half an hour. The salt will slowly draw out the water which gives the eggplant a bitter taste.
My two favourite things in this world are electronic music and aubergines. Maybe I need to get out and about more and try some different food stuffs.

Do you have any contact with people who are running other net labels? Do you feel like you are part of a community?

Well its early days, looking at this site i've only just realized how many exist. I agree with Subjex, quality will prevail and hopefully the good netlabels will become renowned and support each other. Electrotoxic, Bedroom Research and Micromusic all get the aubergine thumbs up.

In your opinion, what is the most exciting thing happening in music right now?

Free quality Netlabels of course!

What’s on the horizon for Aubergine?

We've got a video section, remix section and other goodies all in production. We're also really excited about our next five releases, there's a couple of people involved some of you might have heard of before. Hold tight!

Ok, time to give shouts out to your people.

Biggups All Aubergine Crew!
Special thanks to my lady, Bene, for designing and creating the beautiful graphics for the site.

Word, much respect.

Municiple's Favorite Aubergine Recipe:

Chinese Recipe : Fish Flavored Eggplant
(recipe from www.chinesefood-recipes.com)

Famous Szechuan dish, it's hot and spicy. Although it is called "fish flavored", it actually doesn't contain any fish or fish flavorings. It is named so because it is said that its combination and the technique of cooking can make it has the flavor of fish. Interesting isn't?
Ingredients:
. 16 oz eggplant
. 1 tbsp chopped garlic
. 1 tbsp chopped spring onion
. 1 tbsp chopped ginger
. 1 tbsp hot bean paste sauce
Seasonings:
. 1 tbsp soy sauce
. 1 tsp sugar
. 1/2 tsp salt
. 2 tbsp water
. 1/2 tbsp vinegar (Chinese dark vinegar)
. 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
Directions:
. Cut eggplant into 2" long and then into 4 strips. Soak in water for a while. Drain and leave aside.
. Deep-fry eggplant strips until soft. Drain.
. Add hot bean paste sauce, chopped garlic, ginger, spring onion and seasonings into wok. Stir well, dish up and serve

Net Label Focus: BEDROOM RESEARCH

2006-01-19T18:38:00.002-06:00

Listening to all of the releases available on BR made me acutely aware of a few things. First, it is clear that these cats love their bass, and that is something that I can definitely hang with. Second, they know how to use their software like a bunch of electro jedis. Respect. Lastly, they like their music to sound clean and rough. With and overridingly electro style which dabbles in found sound, drum and bass, acid, 8 bit and techno, BR have an arsenal of quality releases available.

Not to be unmentioned, BR has developed a distinct visual presence, with label artist Deework on creative control. Covering album art, webdesign, clothes and sticker art, the BR visual identiy is well represented.

I was lucky enough to meet Matt Subjex, Bedroom Research cofounder and Planet µ recording artist, who agreed to answer some questions and share some info about the label. Much respect to the whole Bedroom Research crew... here's to lots more BR releases in 2006!!!

Name of Label: bedroom research

Label URL: www.bedroomresearch.com

Name of Person Responding: matthieu (subjex)

Age: 29

Relation to label: co-founder

1. What is the name of your net label and where did it come from?

Its name is bedroomresearch, I had the idea of this name simply looking of how me and my friends trend to spent our time: making experiments and twisted music all the time, trapped in a small room with a computer and a bed as main decoration! ;)

2. I know that you are in France, right? Are most of the artists on the label French?

Yeah, from Lille actually, a medium size town from the really north of France, very closed to Belgium. Most of the core crew of bedroom is living at less than 500meters from my flat: Tep, orange zebre, genjini, nikibi, deework etc...
But as we are very nice people :p we manage to make ourselves some friends coming from the rest of the world: Tomoroh Hidari (Vienna), megablocks (Miami), onethema (London), captrain marmelade (Los Angeles), Thiasch (south of France) etc etc..Some of the peeps I’m talking about will appear on some future B.R. releases.
We keep in touch thx to this fabulous thing called internet.

3. If the label is based in France, why did you choose to do most of the content in English?

Simply because this is about promoting and giving spotlights to people who r making great stuff, France is just to small regarding our will of world domination! We tried a few pages in "esperanto" with no big success ;) actually I’m starting lessons on some alien languages.

4. How many artists are on your label?

Many, and the list is growing :) I told u bout the "core crew" which are people who will probably release the most. But for some months people from everywhere are sending demos/links to their work.
That’s really great cuz we started as a collective more than a label, it has naturally grown to a label, and now people start to now it and send us stuff! What make us really happy

5. How many releases does your label currently have?

We released bedroom num 15 and 16 at the end of 2005, and we r working on the next ones

6. How would you describe the style of the music that your label puts out?

Hahaha, the tricky 1billion dollar question! Mmmm ... I’ll try a clever answer for once: as we consider it as freestyle electronics I think it could be good to describe this music as u could describe freedom: by negative forms: this is not techno, nor funk, nor electro, nor folk, nor salsa, nor waltz nor dance etc..
Life is full of different moods and we try to reflect that, from processed folk to breakcore we like many things.
This is about technology, freedom, fun and style

7. How were you inspired to start the label?

Have almost answered before, the collective has grown as a result of the efforts we put in it. At one point we felt like we could "open" the collective and become a label. We do want to act as a true label: good artwork and fussy selection of the tunes released. The thing is we have no money so we made a web label. But that's also something we do answering to some of our commitments: free quality stuff for all, aiming at triggering curiosity of the audience and why not making a few people discovering the twisted side of electronica.
The benefit for the artist will not be money but all the effort we try to put in promotion and exposition. We modestly want bedroom to have a true "sense" for the audience, I mean a "label" in the genuine meaning: a stamp! We’d like to have the artists booked and become known by being on bedroom as they could benefit from being on any good "physical" label... that's our ambition, we ‘re not there yet, but we r working on it!

8. Do the artists on your label also release music commercially?

Yep! Deework, alfredtoc, tep and some others will release on Invitro (lille based label), we have also people participating to our compilations like: electric kettle (peaceoff), Ommm (adaadat),hansel (dtrash), krumble (peaceoff-invitro), captain marmelade (somia) to name a few... wait for the next compilation!! ;)

9. Do you know other people work with net labels? Do you have a posse?

Not really, we know there are some great web labels and some crap. But I have to admit that's almost 1year since I haven't update my web links database! But now we have your blog so it will be easier for me now! hehehe
cuz I think that's sometime the problem for web labels: exposition, promotion is tricky and we r sometimes lost in the quantity.
That's why it is very cool to have someone who decided to sort this out and post the good ones online.

10. Does your label have a political agenda? Don’t you feel that giving music away for free is a bit, well, socialist?

Tricky... socialism has no monopole for freedom/democracy. but i guess we feel more socialists than neoliberal or conservative, obviously. Sometimes it could make u think of anarchy, dunno.
I do have commitments in politics and i think it naturally influences our decisions and orientations, but that's not what we r "selling". My own ideas about democracy are not really reflected totally in any of known political groups.
btw,dealing with music, i'm pro filesharing, pro "private copy", against DRM, have some troubles with how copyright works and the general laws dealing with artistic/cultural rights.....etc
I hope someone will find a true way of breaking how it works today : perverted radios, club taking no risk,some distributors not paying labels, etc...

But i try not to fall in any kind of idealism, we have to serve some very pragmatic interests for the artists we work with : they have to find dates to have money, they have to be shown to the world if they are good etc... so we r not taking our decision to reflect any political commitment, but more to spread and develop our label. We want artists simply to have an interest in participating to bedroom research.

I mean it's a very tricky transition period right now, all the music industry is messed with this transition to non-material/digital economy...
My wish is that "consumers" act with responsibility : freely download all they want to discover stuff, but buy when they can afford, donate to artists, go to gigs etc..
sometimes i hate people begging for free stuff, cheap gigs and all, while in fact they have enough buying power to support the "scene", and prefer put all their money into weed,clothes and crap ;) (But i also hate to be a fucking moralist hehehe). Of course,though, after a few vynil, a movie, a restaurant and a concert you often have no money left, and still the will of packing your brain with juicy stuff.
I'd like also record companies to trust consumers and stop being paranoid with file sharing. There is so many justification for downloading (bad distribution, curiosity, limited buying power etc..). Trying to completely destroy "black market" could become anti-democratic sometimes.

I think business has to adapt itself to how culture is growing, not inverse. i simply hate when "we" regulate freedom/culture regarding to some obscure economical laws. This just show the inability of business to evolve with creativity and pertinence to real world. Moreover history has shown that every single innovation brought economy to higher levels of rentability. this is my 2cents thought of the moment.

i'm sorry this is a bit hard for me to develop in english on all this topic.

11. What do you think distinguishes your label from others?

Our choices (I hope), choice is the root of both style and freedom. I’m sure that's quite the same if u ask to any artist what distinguishes his sound

12. What do you have planned for the label?

The next compilation!! It will be a truly kick ass one! We have some crazy tunes and some great featuring.... we planned to release that at the end of december2005 but we r super late! Anyway, we prefer to take the time of making everything good, it wont be too long.
It will be around 20 tracks, many different styles as always.

13. Any words of advice for people who are thinking of starting up a net label?

Wow! Mmm I don't think I could really advice anyone on how to make anything.... make choice this is it, try to avoid releasing systematically any tune that could be given for free (this is hard, particularly when it's a track of a friend), release the good ones only... it's better than any forum spamming in terms of communication. If u have quality the label may grow by itself.

14. What have you been listening to lately? Drop the knowledge.

I listen to a bunch of different stuff, depending of the mood of the day. I love all the aspect of funk from 70 to 2099. In electronic music it could be: atomheart, the ripoff artist, leafcutterjohn, µ Ziq, AFX, tipper, cristian vogel, beige, a few dubstep, otto von schirac, herbert....

The list could be one kilometer long! There is so much great music.
Sometimes I listen to stuff that impress me technically in order to train and improve my sound, but I always come back to artists who have a great style which for me beat any production skills, if one have both then I’ll surely become a big fan.

15. What Bedroom Research track should everyone have right this minute?

I love TEP and Thiaszch 's sounds, but my fav's are probably on the next compilation. Tep's track for this comp is awesome, we have this guy "giant dervish underwear" who gave a great Otto'ish tune... hard to tell once again
C'mon that’s for free! Figure out what u like by yourself !! ;) Hehehe get them all, like pokemons

16. Shouts?

A big kiss to all the artists that are not shy of giving us their good tunes, a big kiss to all the crew who is working on bedroom's development
A big kiss to people listening and promoting us
A big f_ck to sacem, majors and all those political fools from France and elsewhere, a special booooh to our sinister minister Sarkozy who is working with some other bastards on defacing some of the good aspects of our country.
Kiss to my girl and my cat

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. Much respect.

Munciple Recommends on Bedroom Research:

I listend to all of these releases, and they all are solid. The ones that got me most excited are as follows:

Deework "Lobotom" especially the track "Roto"
Genjini "Ep n 1": check out "Take on Te", and 8-bit remake of "Take on Me" by A Ha
Moxx "Lowending" check out "aattaacckk" with its bass bombs and kung fu samples. proper!
Tep (seems to be untitled), “yahbstrd” is the jam, watch your bassbins and “megadub” inna clown dub stylee, watch your back dreadlock, Tep can bring the dub with the heavy manners, though

Go get them all (fast downloads!) at www.bedroomresearch.com

Thanks

2006-01-10T22:59:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who has let me know about various net-labels. I have tried to include them all here. I also added a bunch of commercial labels which I enjoy and find particularly interesting. Special thanks to all the µ board massive for so many suggestions of great net labels and such where I have come up on so much music over the past year. Respect.

What is BeatsGratis?

2006-01-08T14:00:00.000-06:00

BeatGratis aims to be an informative source on all things free and electronic music based on the internet. I will take a look at individual labels, artists and djs and open everything up to discussion. Above all I want to connect people to music and celebrate the development of the international net-label movement.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with net labels, Wikipedia has this to say:

Netlabel:

A netlabel, also called online label, web label or MP3 label, distributes its music in digital audio formats (mainly MP3 or Ogg) online. Netlabels often work like traditional record labels to produce and promote music projects (such as albums or compilations). Most employ guerrilla marketing to promote their work. Few netlabels earn money for participants.
The primary difference between netlabels and record labels is that netlabels emphasize free downloads, as opposed to physical publishing (CD, vinyl or DVD). Often, the music is released under licenses that encourage sharing, such as the Creative Commons Licenses. Artists typically retain the copyright.

While I commend net labels for their commitment to make music available to people at no cost, I do understand that there are costs involved in keeping them running, etc. I encourage any of you who find that you particularly love a net label to make a donation to them which you can afford. Keep the net label movement forward.

Please feel free to contact me with other labels you know of and enjoy. I have provided a list of links to net labels that I know of, but I know there are tons more. I will keep the list updated and will focus on individual labels from time to time.

Enjoy, stop by, share the info.

Best, Bob Municiple

All photos copyright R. Davis 2005