Rotterdam based Mindtrick Records launch their new imprint this April, in the year celebrating their tenth anniversary. Pushing forward thinking, cinematic music for over half a decade, label boss and revered producer Atiq present sub-label Mind Dubs; centered around the influences of Dub and Jungle and their ever evolving sound. The label goes live at the end of April with its first release courtesy of head honcho Atiq, enlisting the vocal acrobatics of long standing and well respected MC Daddy Freddy, and remix from Dutch counterpart TMSV.
‘From Dusk Til Dawn’ encapsulates everything the new imprint hopes to showcase; old school influences fused with innovative sound design. The listener is drawn in to a swirling abyss of atmospheric FX, pads and echoing percussion. Daddy Freddy’s energetic vocals seep into the fold, slowly building with the progression of the track. His unreserved delivery ties the track together seamlessly, weaving between the crisp, choppy drums and rave-esque pads, injecting an additional texture to this already hard hitting, skillfully produced release.
TMSV puts a more sinister flex on the track with his weighty remix, presenting a darker, grimier side to Jungle. With the additional hard-hitting breaks and half time feel, the track has a greater sense of urgency, commanding your attention as you move through the rise and fall of the resonant pads and FX. Complimented once again by the intricate vocals of Daddy Freddy, it’s a steppy ‘hands up, eyes down’ feel, driven by the repetitive synth melody fitting with the overall vibe of the EP.
In an ever-saturated industry, pioneering a new imprint is a high risk, high reward venture even if you have over half a decade of musical knowledge under your belt. We sat down and had a chat with Atiq about the motivation behind launching his new sub-label, his highlights over the last ten years and the importance of sound design in Electronic music.
2017 marks the ten-year anniversary of your established label Mindtrick Records. A label intent on pushing forward thinking, cinematic electronic music to the forefront while retaining it’s underground sound. Over the last ten years, what’s the biggest progression you’ve seen within the industry?
Technically the music is sounding a lot better now than ten years ago. Producers have access now to high quality audio gear and you can hear this back in the music. The business side of the industry is something I`m not so happy about. Especially selling more “experimental” music on vinyl has become something for true audiophile sound nerds and unfortunately there are not that much left as when we started. But we are still here after 10 years and we are still releasing the music that we love and think is “progressive”.
More and more producers are looking into alternative forms of income, to subsidise the usual set payment of ‘beers and plus ones’, expanding their skill set into sound design and music for media etc. Why do you think it’s important to experiment with and push the boundaries of sound design within electronic music?
Experimenting with sounds is a key element of the creative process when making music. Especially the kind of music that I`m into which is sometimes only an experiment, which resembles music somewhere on the outer edges. A lot of these ideas and experiments end up in the music eventually and these parts of the music could make the music much more interesting.
Record labels are appearing more and more frequently in an ever saturated, albeit thriving industry. What was your motivation for wanting to launch another imprint?
I`ve always been into Dub and jungle music long before I started Mindtrick Records in the beginning we’ve released jungle music but the label went in a totally different direction as time progressed. So in the end I wanted to have a separate label because now I couldn’t do a jungle record on Mindtrick Records anymore it would have felt “out of place”. With the Minddubs imprint you have a clean slate and can define the rules of the label from the start.
You’re starting the series with a stellar debut offering, including the vocal skills of Daddy Freddy and revered producer TMSV on the remix. What sound are you aiming for Mind Dubs to be centred around?
The sound of the label will be defined by new influences on genres we already are acquainted with like Jungle,Dub,Reggae,Halftime drum and bass. We also tend to release records centered around different MC`s for each release.The main influence will always be dubwise and reggae but releases will vary from dubstep till drum and bass and from breaks to footwork
Running a forward thinking imprint commands time, passion and continually keeping up to date on the most recent innovative and creative music. Any producers we should be keeping an eye on?
Yes, Semiomime aka DJ Hidden will release his album later this year on Mindtrick Records the same goes for the 2nd album from Russia`s Delete and we will also release an album by Huron from Berlin which also will be pretty interesting. These releases will all be out before September when we will celebrate our 50th release on Mindtrick Records which will also be a special one.
Finally, what are your plans for the label long term?
With Minddubs we want to release a record every few months and exclusively on vinyl. We have lined up 3 records for now but we are also looking for other producers to work with in the future and maybe collabs with. We really like music from DJ Madd , Moresounds and Egoless to start with. We are also thinking of expanding with party`s but for now we just want to focus on the releases.
Thanks for taking the time! MDUBS001 ‘From Dusk Til Dawn’ is available on Vinyl & Digital at the end of April.
