Dave Seaman & Steve Parry, Selador Recordings

Selador was started by Dave Seaman and Steve Parry back in 2013 and has been at the forefront of club culture for the last decade, bringing its mantra of quality House and Techno and all shades in-between to clubbers and music fans around the globe. The label’s distinctive rabbit head logo has become a byword for genuine quality and consistency in a saturated marketplace – so it’s only fitting that fate has decreed that the 10th Birthday coincides with the Year of the Rabbit.

Selador will present a selection of exciting releases befitting of this milestone, with an array of artists who’ve appeared on the label over the last decade being invited to collaborate on tracks together – alongside a series of events with the main event at Studio 338 in London. DMC dives in deep for a world exclusive…

Hi Dave and Steve! First of all, congratulations on Selador’s ten year anniversary! How does it feel to have been running the label together for a decade?

Dave: Thank you guys. It’s been a fun ride for the most part. Of course, we’ve had our ups and downs but, on the whole, we both really enjoy the process of hunting down new music, facilitating its release into the world and generally being the conduit for artists to showcase their talent.

Steve: Yeah, we’d have to be mad if we didn’t really enjoy it! Running an independent underground label these days is a lot of work. More so than ever. And the rewards are definitely not of the financial variety! LOL.

Dave: You mean we still can’t afford the Selador yacht yet?!! I’ve been duped😅

How was the tenth anniversary party at Studio 388? We’ve heard that Hernan Cattaneo’s set was amazing!

Steve: It was fantastic. The culmination of a lot of hard work all wrapped up in one wonderful celebration. We have to say a big Thank You to the Warm Up crew who co-promoted the event with us and of course to Hernan and Claire (Just Her) who both played blinding sets and Laurie who brought our visuals to life. It was definitely one for the books.

Dave: Yeah, it was really lovely to see so many friendly faces out celebrating with us until the bitter end. You know things have gone well when you still a full house demanding more at 4am on a Monday morning!!

You’ve released the first two EPs of the Selador Decade series and there are some incredible collabs such as James Harcourt x Heîk ‘Ghost and Jepe x Argia… How did you choose the best pairings and was it difficult?

Dave: They all came together quite naturally actually. Pretty much everyone we asked said yes immediately and the combinations that we suggested all came to fruition. We must be getting the hang of this A&R lark!

Steve: I think if Dave & I are getting excited about the prospect of what two artists from the roster or from the label’s extended family could produce together, then that will be the same for a lot of electronic music fans out there. There’s something special, an extra bit of a buzz, hearing what will come from a collaborative work from two individually talented artists. And I think the results have spoken for themselves.

It seems like the best DJs are lining up to be on the Selador Decade EPs. What can we expect next?

Steve: It has been quite an impressive cast already so far. We’ve had Dave making the first collaboration track with his 3D cohorts Danny Howells and Darren Emerson and the legend that is Robert Owens plus a fantastic track with Hernan Cattaneo and I got to work with one of my favourite producers in the whole World, Renato Cohen. I’m so so happy with how our track, ‘Marmalade Skies’ came out. But yes they’re just the tip of the iceberg…

Dave: Yeah, on top of the ones already mentioned, we’ve also had Quivver & Olivier Giacomotto, Zoo Brazil & Circulation and Anthony Pappa, Jamie Stevens & Alice Rose make some amazing music together and now we’re about to release the third EP in this Decade series with Hannes Bieger x Luke Brancaccio x Gai Barone, Just Her x Smash TV, Rancido x Darksidevinyl and Stelios Vassiloudis x Just Her all contributing. It’s another big EP!

Steve: And we’re not finished yet either! EP 4 is happening with another stellar cast. Watch this space!

 

What would be your top fantasy collaboration to hear, any artist, any genre, of all time?

Dave: Wow! That’s a tough one. Prince & Bowie together in their prime would have been something special, wouldn’t it?!!

Steve: Oh lordy, where do I start? Erm.. let’s go with Larry Levan and Laurent Garnier. They both know how to create a vibe, a groove and bring the emotion. Yes, that will do nicely. Geek-tastic.

 

What do you do to relax? That is if you find time within your busy schedules DJing, producing and running the label.

Dave: I watch a fair bit of football, although as my team is on the verge of relegation from the Premier League, I think we should gloss over that one. I also try to keep up with the best new films and watch the better small screen series that come thick and fast these days. And I love a good audio book too. There are just not enough hours in the day to keep on top of everything.

Steve: Watching music documentaries, I absolutely love them, especially Beatles related. I must have seen 30+ of them and I’m hungry for more. I love cooking actually – it helps me decompress, and while I do so, I listen to anything except current club music. It could be Balearic and chill out, or underground disco and DJ Harvey to Simon Mayo Greatest Hits Radio and some good old pop music. Actually – I’ve even delved into Eurovision lots lately – it’s so bad its great!

Dave: You’e just returned from Ibiza where you played a poolside set at Pike’s and the sunset at Cafe Mambo. How did it go? Do you enjoy playing in this more chilled setting?

Dave: I loved it. Pikes and Mambos feel like home to me in Ibiza as I’ve frequented both so many, many times over the last 25+ years. It’s always great to see everybody, catch up and share a load of my favourite non-club music that I rarely get chance to play. As everybody knows, there’s something very special about sunsets in Ibiza. So yes, I had a ball.

Steve: You’ve played some fantastic venues around the world. What has been your highlight?

I’ve been very lucky to have played some outstanding clubs and festivals such as Watergate, Space Ibiza, Glastonbury, Creamfields, Cream and Circus in Liverpool and many gems in Mexico, Austalia, New Zealand, Moscow and more  – but my fave clubs are tiny small, often grubby venues, often off the beaten track, where its dark and sweaty and the people are there purely for the music. The Lemon Lounge in Liverpool for example. I played there weekly for 5 years, every Friday for my ‘Alderaan’ nights. It legally held 90 people – but we sometimes had a LOT more than that in there haha (I was playing alongside Howells, Pappa, Burridge, Infusion, James Holden, Quivver, Cass etc and many more), People dancing on the window ledges, and getting lost in the vibe. Good times.

After your anniversary celebrations, what can we expect coming up in the second half of the year?

Dave: Next for us is another Selador 10th birthday party in Berlin at Ritter Butzke. It’s on Wednesday 17th as it’s a public holiday in Germany on the Thursday and Steve & I will be joined by Bebetta, Just Her and Smash TV for another night of night of anniversary frivolities.

Steve: Yeah, very much looking forward to this one. It’s been a while since we last DJed in Berlin. We did a few parties at Watergate pre-Covid and have always loved the city so it will be fun to get back there.

Dave: Then, just after that, we’ve also got a Seladoria party in Denver at the beginning of June with myself, Steve & Quivver. June 10th at Reelworks with the Whirling Dervish guys. I was just watching the footage from when Sasha, John Digweed and Patrice Baumel played there recently and it looks like an amazing venue. So yes, another date we’re particulary looking forward to.

It has been an amazing decade for Selador, consistently releasing excellent tracks. What are your hopes and plans for Selador over the next decade?

Dave: I think mainly to just carry on on the trajectory we’ve building to be honest. Especially recently, we seem to hit another level. I think the Covid years allowed us a bit of time to take stock and lay down some plans for where we were heading next and that all seems to manifesting itself now.

Steve: Lots more amazing new music of course and doing a lot more Selador gigs will definitely be a priority. As the saying goes, let’s get this show on the road!

*****

Selador Decade EP3 is out now. Buy / Stream at https://fanlink.to/SeladorDecadeEP3 

The Selador 10th birthday party in Berlin at Ritter Butzke on Wednesday 17th May will see Dave Seaman & Steve Parry joined by Bebetta, Just Her and Smash TV. Buy tickets at https://club.ritterbutzke.com/tc-events/10th-birthday-selador-ab-22-uhr/