CM. What were you doing before?
SL. I was, and still am, doing a full time PR job. The reality is that at the moment I need regular income to finance this project. We hope and believe that at some point in the not too distant future Lo Note will be turning over enough that we can work on it full time and pay ourselves a salary. We are both young and incredibly ambitious. We want Lo Note to be an internationally recognised brand and will do everything we can to make that so. I won't be happy ‘til we have the LNUK Lear Jet on 24/7 standby lol!
AG. I was at university for a bit. I'm now living in London doing... another university course.
CM. So as well as the music side of things, Lo Note is also a clothing brand. Tell us about that? Why did you decide to work on developing both from the outset?
SL. I think one of the reasons we decided to do both was our desire to create a 'brand' as much as just a clothing label or a record label. We both like the same sort of clothes, music and parties and wanted to capture that under the umbrella of a brand. We see Lo Note as a lifestyle thing - If you like our clothes then you will enjoy our music, our events etc.
AG. Yeah, I'm with Charlie - it's a brand thing. We're trying to offer people a proper package here...
CM. The Lo Note ‘sound’ is pretty diverse overall. Although I’d say there’s a house/UK funky undertone in lots of the tracks I’ve heard so far. Is that a conscious decision? How do you go about choosing what music to put out?
SL. We’ve said from the start that the criteria for the label is simply that if we like it enough to commit to pressing it to wax, then we will put it out. We definitely did not start out to create a “house” label or a techno label or whatever, because that limits what you can do and what you can put out. One of the most enjoyable aspects of Lo Note is the freedom to do what we want, when we want and I think that is reflected in the diversity of our forthcoming releases.
I don’t really believe in categorizing music if I can avoid it to be honest and without resorting to cliché, the reason for that is that I don’t find it very helpful. It’s interesting that you feel there is a UK funky undertone because I genuinely don’t see that. It’s a bait term but I would say that “bass music” is the best way to describe the sound because that doesn’t place any restrictions on the music other than it being bass heavy, which is a characterizing element. I think categorizing “the Lo Note sound” more specifically than that is a bit pointless because it can’t really be done!
CM. At Controller we’re fans of house music loaded with bass. Can you give us three tracks you love that fit that criteria?
AG. Haha! I find this kind of question really difficult if I'm honest - talk about putting us on the spot! I always had a soft spot for that Booker T edit of Bizzi's Party - got that driving sub that always goes down well in the dance. I'm going to be true to my roots on the next one - it is 4x4, but undoubtedly own more to speed garage and grime - DJ Narrows - Saved Soul (I can never remember which mix is my favourite...) and finally - a definite speed garage / house classic, for me anyway, Front Line - Countdown. I've never knowingly listened to this and not wanted to go out partying.
CM. What about classic house. Any gems you’d like to share?
SL. I have to hold up my hand and say that I have no real knowledge of classic house music at all! Does Mojo – Lady count? I always rated that tune lol!
My musical route to this point hasn’t really involved much classic house to be honest – I got into dance music through drum and bass. Before I discovered dance music I was a hip hop guy. I bought decks initially just to scratch – I wanted to be a battle DJ and win the UK DMC championship! Then I discovered raving and yeah, the rest, as they say, is history!
I have actually heard a lot more house music in the last few years, mainly by going to parties like Standard Place and I really like a lot of what I hear I just have no idea who it’s by!
CM. What’s on the stereo at Lo note HQ at the moment?
SL. South London Ordnance is making some sick beats at the moment and getting a lot of attention and rightly so – his beats are just ill and he has a unique sound which he can call his own – no mean feat in this age of 808 imitators etc..
Last Japan is making some wicked stuff – his production is tight as fuck and he has got a lot of different styles locked down. We are really excited about his forthcoming release on Lo Note, it’s huge!
The new Artifact release on Deadplate, with a Graphics remix on the flip, is really dope. Deadplate is an up and coming label with some really good releases lined up this year.
Away from straight dance music I listen to quite a lot of hip hop/beats stuff as well and two guys who are making really heavy electronic beats at the moment are Elan and heRobust. Elan has released on Modeselektor’s 50 Weapons label and just makes amazing stuff. heRobust is on a similar tip and has an album coming out soon that I am really looking forward to checking.
AG. We just got some new Visionist beats in you know, and they're absolutely fire. He had a big year last year and we're looking forward to seeing more of him about soon - very creative guy. I’ve been listening to that new Locked Groove stuff on Hotflush a lot actually, as well as the new Tessela and Hackman collabs - those are outrageous, very polished production from the boys.
CM. For an emerging label Lo Note is already affiliated with and repping a decent no. of artists. How did you hook up with these guys? Did you know them before you heard their music or vice-versa?
SL. Marco (Last Japan) actually hit us up because he had seen our tees and wanted to wear them in a music video he was gonna be in. We went to meet him with a bag of tees and just got on straight away. He's a similar age, into the same sort of stuff etc so we just started hanging out, going to nights and stuff. We spoke about the possibility of releasing a tune of his and he was keen, then he sent us Tactics and we were like "we have to release this!"
We are big advocates of meeting people face to face where possible, whether it's producers, distributors, mastering people etc. It can't always be done with people living in all parts of the country and the world, but we try to if we can. You can learn a lot about people by meeting them in person that you wouldn't if you were just sat behind a keyboard and the same goes for them and us!
AG. In terms of hooking up with people like Alix Perez and Mosca etc., it was very much a case of just reaching out to other creatives and seeing if they wanted to get involved. Those guys especially were really forthcoming, and it was great to be able to work with some people whose music I've personally been a massive fan of from day one and who essentially represent what lies at the crux of LNUK - new sound and creativity, not to mention an eye for a good tee!
CM. Lo note has a strong visual aesthetic. Who’s responsible for that? Do you see it as a direct representation of the music or more of an enhancement?
SL. I think we are both into a similar style of quite minimal, clean aesthetics which is reflected in the clothes and the record artwork. There isn't a direct correlation between the sound and the aesthetic, I think the design takes its lead more directly from what we are trying to push with the brand as a whole, which is a clean, crisp and well executed product be it a record, a tee or an event flyer.
AG. I handle all the design work at LNUK - and yeah like Charlie says, the general vibe is one of crispness and attention to detail. You could probably draw parallels between the design work and the music - and the two do bounce of each other to a certain extent, but it's more really about the brand as a whole.
CM. Which other labels to do respect both visually and sonically?
SL. In terms of record labels, I think that Swamp81 and Night Slugs are sick. Everything about both labels is just so on point. It’s like when you hear a Swamp tune, or a Night Slugs tune, you know that it is a Swamp tune or a Night Slugs tune. And yet they both release such a diverse range of sounds, tempos etc.
The artwork for both labels is ill too. Swamp has quite a gritty vibe that incorporates graphic design and the artwork of Ashes57, and is a vibe that is very clean and well executed. Bok Bok’s graphic design for Night Slugs is just sick. It’s a very different tip, more of a futuristic vibe with sharp edges, colours and patterns and I really dig it.
In terms of clothing brands, Norse Projects has been a big influence on what we do. Their execution is so crisp – from the clothes, to the website to their look books. Everything they do is sick. Norse manages to be both smart and casual, incorporating elements from menswear, streetwear and outwear to produce really excellent clothes and an aesthetic that I really like.
In terms of UK brands a recent addition to the landscape, and one which we at Lo Note have a lot of respect for, is Enclave apparel. They released their first drop towards the end of last year and just came with the realness from the word go! Their execution is very slick and professional, with a minimalist aesthetic which incorporates some graphic design, but essentially its simple, smart clothes for the street.
CM. Tell us a little bit about the mix?
SL. I hadn't thought about this but the mix is actually completely made up of tracks produced in full or in part by people from the UK, which I think highlights the strength of the UK dance music scene at the moment if that wasn't already quite obvious! It's quite an upfront mix with some big tracks that have been setting the clubs off in recent months included, balanced with some unreleased stuff by exciting producers coming through like Graphics, South London Ordnance, Ziro and of course Pusherman.
I DJ using Serato and 1210s, as well as the odd bit of vinyl. The mix is recorded live in one take (so excuse the odd crackle lol!) As someone who is a DJ who doesn't produce I think it is important for me to try and showcase my skills as a DJ when I can and I put a lot of thought and effort into making sure that the transitions sound good and the mix flows nicely. Overall I am very happy with it - I think it gives a good idea of the type of stuff I like to play as well as showing my skills as a DJ.
CM. What have you got coming up this year?
SL. This year is gonna be a big year for us hopefully. We just want to keep growing the brand. We have some great releases lined up, we have a new range of clothing that is being prepared as we speak and we have some wicked events lined up. Watch this this space
Tracklist:
- Unknown artist - Black Ice - Unreleased
- South London Ordnance - Crow’s Nest - Forthcoming Audio Culture
- Bodikka - Up and Dance - Unreleased
- Ziro - Oni - Unreleased
- Pusherman - Shake It Off - LNUK Records
- Untold - U-29 - R&S
- New York Transit Authority - Off The Traxx - Lobster Boy
- Bok Bok & Tom Trago - Vector - Sound Pellegrino
- Vince Watson - Sequential (Paul Woolford Remix) - Bio
- Untold - Little Things Like That - Clone Basement Series
- Zed Bias - Stubborn Phase - Swamp81
- South London Ordnance - National Express - Unreleased
- Bok Bok & Tom Trago - Lil Ma Bonus Beat - Sound Pellegrino
- Sigha - Let Me In - K7 Records
- Graphics - Crubside - Unreleased
- Zed Bias - Music Deep Inside - Swamp81
Stream via Mixcloud | Stream or Download via official fm | Direct Download
Links
Lo Note UK Facebook
Lo Note UK Blog
Pusherman - Shake It Off EP (b/w Wachs Lyrical Remix) is out now on 12" and Digital. Listen here
