R&S Records

One of the most important names in the world of techno release another piece of dancefloor history…

 

 

 

‘IOTDXI’ is the newest instalment in the classic R&S compilation series. Previous instalments have been responsible for rounding up the labels roster at the time and presenting their finest tracks to a wider audience, and have gone onto become classics in their own rights. With R&S again re-positioned as one of the most forward thinking and musically diverse electronic labels around, this offering raises the bar in the compilation stakes. They have been waiting for the right moment to re-launch the series and now having built an enviable roster of cutting edge young talent it makes perfect sense to return with IOTDXI, a true showcase of the label’s distinct identity and varying sounds. Dan Foat from R&S talks us through this seminal label…
 

 

Dan, welcome to the DMC World. This seminal label began back in 1984 in Ghent, Belgium by Renaat Vandepapeliere and Sabine Maes under the Milos Music Belgium moniker – when did you two first become aware of the label that has brought us tunes from the likes of Model 500, C.J. Bolland and Aphex Twin? Dan, we hear your brother’s mixtapes came in handy…

“When I was younger I used to frequent the infamous Mighty Force Records in Exeter to buy records and hangout. At the time, roughly 14 years old in 1995, I became fascinated with electronic music. I immersed myself in collecting vinyl, flyers and mix tapes. Mighty Force was a massive influence on me, it was so much more than your average usual record shop, it really felt like the epicentre of a secret culture that I was just discovering. Tom Middleton worked there for a while and the shop stocked all sorts of electronic music and also released Aphex Twin’s debut 12″ Analogue Bubblebath on the Mighty Force Records imprint. I first came across an R&S silver and green 12″ in that shop.”

What artists outside of R&S first got you into the electronic world and what sort of clubs were you going to…?

“Before I was old enough to go out I would avidly listen to hardcore and jungle mix tapes that I bought from Mighty Force, live from raves by DJs such as Grooverider, Hype, Dr S Gachet, Easygroove with MCs Ribbz, Joe Peng etc, much to the bemusement (still) of my friends and parents. I started regularly buying records from Mighty Force and would buy anything that sounded interesting, Jungle, US Garage, Hip Hop, I even bought a couple of Dutch gabba 12″s. I really enjoyed that learning curve as I didn’t know anyone else of my age who was into the music and culture so it felt like my own secret! As soon as I started going out with a fake ID when I was 16 I was suddenly surrounded by house music. The West Country had a really strong free party / festival scene at the time with a number of parties regularly attracting 1000+ crowds over a weekend. I’d heard a lot of stories about the Lazy House system and when I went to my first DiY party I was sold on their party ethic. They were the best of times, it was a revelatory experience being around people from all walks of life, with a real sense of hedonistic freedom, partying in quarries, forests and around reservoirs. I soon began DJing at free parties and was playing a lot of records on labels such as Prescription, early 20:20 Vision stuff, Cajual / Relief, Tribal,  Roule, Kif, Wave, etc. I moved to Bristol in the late nineties and became a long-term resident at Lazy House offshoot clubnight, Fruity Antics and got further into the underground house scene with residencies at the Thekla and Lakota.”
R&S originate from a country associated with well, not very much really. However when Underground Resistance cut their ‘Beligian Resistance’ single and Joey Beltram remarked “The Belgians were the first who could relate to me, Belgium was very, very advanced people began to take notice.” However if it wasn’t due to the fact that kids    were doing bad imitations (not even bootlegging!) of big cuts from foreign shores in their home studios that made Renaat decide to start the label, the world of dance music would have been a very different place. He decided to start his own label to stop all this. How important were this duo, they opened a lot of doors for thousands and thousands of people?
“Renaat was hugely influential in breaking a lot of US producers in Europe, specifically from Detroit, with the likes of Derrick May, Juan Atkins, Carl Craig in his 69 guise, Kevin Saunderson, Kenny Larkin all gaining notoriety on this side of the pond through their R&S releases. This could be seen as one of the main catalysts for dance music’s rapid growth in the early 90’s. Europeans really took to the sounds coming out of Detroit and Chicago and the first wave of US House and Techno producers were a catalyst for the growth of R&S. When you consider how far ahead of the game artists such as Juan Atkins were at the time it’s hard to believe that they couldn’t find an audience for their music in their home country so with that in mind Renaat & Sabine definitely played an important role in the development of electronic music and the surrounding culture.”

What advice did he give you when you first joined the label heading up the A&R?

“He hasn’t given me any, he just lets me get on with it. I think it’s important to be given free-reign on the A&R / creative side of the label.”

What new technology are you excited about at the moment?

“In terms of DJing, I think technology has been a hinderance really. I’m more excited by the next generation of DJs such as Blawan, SDC, Pariah, Ben UFO and James Blake playing vinyl. The dexterity involved in playing records,and to a certain degree CDs, is real and the imperfections only add to the humanistic feel. I appreciate what certain people like Henrik Schwarz can do playing from a laptop, but nothing beats two turntables and a mixer. Elsewhere technology doesn’t excite me as much as great new records do. It’s about what you do with what you have and as the Detroit producers proved, you don’t need that much to make amazing, innovative music.”

Since the label re-location to London, is it fair to say that you have gone down the UK route release wise, why is that?
“It’s fair to say that, yes. I had worked in record shops in Soho for 5 years so I’ve been immersed in music that’s around me. I always felt R&S could be successful again if the vision was based around the next generation of forward thinking producers who were in close contact. We’re a close knit group and it works for that reason.”

Model 500 has released every single album through the R&S channel, Juan must hold the label very close to his heart…

“It was an honour to have Juan back releasing on R&S last year. The new Model 500 line up also includes Mike Banks so you’ve got two of the most influential people in electronic music on the label. It’s mad. The latest track they sent me is the best thing i’ve heard from detroit in years and is going to be a huge release in 2012. Personally it’s a huge privilege to work with these guys, they were there from the start and with Juan you are looking at the godfather of Techno. Without him things would be different nowadays.”

How has one of the early R&S philosophies to ‘make records for women – if the women dance so will the men’ stood the test of time?!!

“Ha, that definitely sounds like one of Renaats philosophies. I can’t say I adhere to it but Space Dimension Controller will.”

Today, the star is undoubtedly the DJ. This was something that dismayed R&S creator Vandepapeliere who once said “when the DJ became the star, to me that’s when things went all wrong. When they were earning thousands of pounds, playing just the music that the public wanted in short sets—I thought it was better when they made records which came from the heart.” – thoughts on that?

“I agree to a degree but someone, somewhere will be playing an amazing set in a great room on a decent sound-system, you’ve just got to know your shit and find those parties. When I was a teenager I knew that going to see Blocko and Peasy wouldn’t be the one, as much as any clued up kid now would swerve a Scrillex gig. Seeing youtube clips of wallys like the Swedish House Mafia standing on a huge stage with their arms in the air playing a sexy house version of Kings Of Leon is evidence of everything that’s wrong with the modern DJ – but for every over-paid chubby prima-donna DJ playing a pre-mixed set off his iphone there’s the real DJs, playing great music and pushing their respective scene forwards.”

He also introduced the world to The Aphex Twin, the only guy I know in the world of dance music who had a huge hit with a digeridoo, and once claimed “no one ever came close to Richard, no one. Many tried, no one came close.” Do you agree with those sentiments?

“Yes.”


What is the best techno club you have ever been to and why
“For me personally it would have to be Berghain / Panorama Bar as I’ve been numerous times over the years and the venue always evokes the same feelings of unhinged hedonism and freedom that fuelled the free parties when I was young.”

And what do you think has been the most important club in techno club history?

“I never went to the original Tresor club, but from 1991 onwards it was undoubtedly the home of techno, in the same way that the Paradise Garage was the club for Disco.”

2012 looks a very exciting year for R&S, what new artists and tunes are coming our way?

“2012 is going to be very busy. After a couple of years introducing new artists and sounds to the label we are looking a releasing a number of LPs (Lone, SDC, Pariah) and in Vondelpark, launching the first band in recent R&S history. There’s also more music in the pipeline from Blawan, Model 500, Bullion, Klaus, The Chain and Airhead and hopefully a new signing from the States. We will also be expanding on our live events around Europe with a new residency at the Social Club in Paris and a European tour to promote the IOTD compilation alongside a showcase at SXSW in Austin Texas and a consequent US tour.”

R&S Records presents ‘IOTDX1 is out on October 31st.