The Rawsome Deep label marks its impressive first anniversary with a suitably standout new EP, this time from Greco (NYC) featuring XTN, with Tom Spark on remix duty.
Despite having started during lockdown, in a short space of time this tasteful label has made a huge impact. A sub label of the now more than five year old Rawsome Recordings, Rawsome Deep has secured a series of Top 10 Minimal and Deep Tech hits, three Number 1s, a Beatport livestream in January, and the Number 1 minimal record on all of Beatport. Taste-making artists such as Prunk, Dale Howard, Yaya, Carloh, DJOKO and Archie Hamilton have all served up killer tunes on the label, and in December 2020 it was awarded the coveted Hype Label status on Beatport.
Greco (NYC) – Trippin Ft. XTN is a warm, pulsing house cut that drives forward but has real soul. That comes from the emotive vocals as well as the lush pads which spiral round the groove. Add in crisp perc and you have another masterfully deigned cut. On the remix, Tom Spark (who was one of the label’s earliest discoveries and is now in charge of A&R) strips things back to a more late night and deep version with extra emphasis on the dubby bass and smeared pads.
Defined by high-energy records with feel good basslines, vibey melodics and jackin’ grooves, this is another fine release from Rawsome Deep. You can now listen to the full premiere of the original mix exclusively on When We Dip. Enjoy!
Release Date: March 12th, 2021. Buy Here
Follow: Greco (NYC) // Rawsome Deep
Hey GRECO, What has the last year been like, what have you missed most, what are you most looking forward to when things return?
Hey guys! This past year has been quite turbulent for most of us, but we’re incredibly grateful for all the support from our fans around the world! In a time of much uncertainty, we’ve managed to make it our biggest year yet! Definitely missing the events as the ability to dance together has been deprived of us and we’re gearing up for one of the biggest comebacks of all time! ADE was likely the most missed event of 2020 as this is where we first hosted our Rawsome boat party back in 2016. Certainly looking forward to getting back to the festivals, clubs and events around the world! We miss you all!
The anniversary of your sublabel Rawsome Deep is coming up? How has the last year been for the sub label given the circumstances?
Yes, we are very excited to mark 1 year of Rawsome Deep and couldn’t have imagined it going any better! We came out swinging for the fences and hit #1 on Beatport Releases worldwide on my first EP ‘The Box’ last March. Jizz followed up with ‘Onyx’ which then became the #1 Minimal / Deep Tech record of the year on Beatport. DJOKO & Archie Hamilton then graced the label with ‘Overflow’ which not only hit #1 but was also recognized by Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1. I couldn’t be more happy with the way Rawsome Deep developed over the last year and it feels like we’re just getting warmed up!
What was the idea, the sound, the tune that made you think lets do it?
So the last Rawsome Boat Party during ADE in 2019 was our best event to date, yet I noticed all of our artists had made a notable shift from heavy raw house music to minimal / deep tech. Of course many of us have been into this style since 2011/2012 but it was brought back with such a different energy to it. DJOKO had recently released his record ‘Close Call’ on our main label Rawsome Recordings with remixes from Josh Baker and Ray Mono, gaining massive support from the likes of Sidney Charles, Enzo Siragusa and many other reputable minimal and deep tech artists! In Oct 2019, after such a success in Amsterdam, I knew it was time to open the sub label Rawsome Deep with a heavy focus on these uplifting grooves.
Was it inspired by any other labels old or new, any you look up to even if they have a different sound?
Honestly, none. I always focus on our artists and play off of what I feel coming from them. I think it’s important to have blinders on in this industry sometimes. I like to focus inward and manifest what I feel is proper for the time. If it boiled down to an artist though, it would have to be Janeret. DJOKO and I actually had many conversations about musical styles/trends leading into his 2019 release ‘Close Call’ and distinctly remember speaking about how great this feel-good, deep, groovy & melodic house music was influencing us at the time.
Tell us about the visual identity of the label – how important is that these days?
Since our main label, Rawsome Recordings, was focused on a more heavy/grunge vibe, we wanted Rawsome Deep to be all about CLASS. I think the image of a record label is incredibly important and often overlooked.
What’s it like having had such success, chart highs, support – does that matter?
I’m very quick to remind myself where I started and how far we’ve come as a brand. Yes chart positions are important but what is most important to me is that our fans are enjoying the music we release. The power of music is nothing short of magic and if we are able to influence others in a positive way, that’s all that matters.
Tell us about the a&r process, who and what are you looking to sign?
Rawsome Deep was first set into motion in late 2019, before the pandemic hit. However, I was already in the mindset that I wanted to be releasing “feel-good” music. When the pandemic hit, it only validated this pivot even more. The entire world was stuck at home and we were doing our best to release music that would help keep the spirits high of those around us. This is our purpose. I’m also very grateful to have connected with our current A/R Tom Spark to oversee much of what we have going on at the label!
What have you learnt over five years of tuning the parent label? What do you know now you wish you knew then?
There have been many lessons learned since the start of Rawsome but the most important lesson learned was to not pay attention to what others were doing or what others thought of us. It can be easy to fall into this habit of comparing each other, but once you fully trust the process, everything begins to make sense and flow more naturally.
What are the best and worst bits about running the label?
I only see positives from running Rawsome. Ultimately the best bit is meeting all of these wonderful people that make up this industry.
What are you most proud of so far with it?
I’m most proud to see my friends succeed. Rawsome has been such an incredible platform for artist discovery. Connecting with someone like DJOKO 6 or 7 years ago before all the hype was such an experience. He’s become one of my best friends in this industry and has been one of our biggest advocates and believers of Rawsome since even before we opened! Another great story is discovering Jizz years back from our blog site, Spira Music. We finally paired up for a release last year and he hit #1. These types of outcomes really excite me. Believing and discovering artists before they pop is one of my favorite experiences and will continue to be for all time. Lastly, our collaborative livestream this past January with Beatport was one for the books. I can’t express how proud I am of all the artists involved with our Rawsome Deep livestream.
What have you got coming up?
Since lockdowns are still in place, and my obsession for discovering artists persists, we opened a brand new imprint Rawsome Ltd this past Monday to give even more opportunities to those fresh producers showing promise in the music scene!
What are you doing to mark the anniversary?
In celebration of our 1 Year Anniversary at Rawsome Deep, we put together a very special release from myself titled ‘Trippin’ featuring XTN on vocals and a fantastic remix from our A/R Tom Spark! ‘Trippin’ is now available on Beatport & Spotify!
GRECO(NYC)’s “Trippin” feat. XTN is out now on my Rawsome Deep
Grab it here – https://www.beatport.com/release/trippin-feat-xtn/3299570