Berlin-based imprint Dirt Crew Recordings has been influencing the record boxes and the listening habits of DJs and music lovers alike since its inception in 2004. The last decade has seen the label emerge as a stalwart for the underground movement, amassing a plentiful following with it’s unique approach to the modern music conundrum and its forward-thinking, forever-fresh output.
Ahead of the release of Deep Love 15, a brand new compilation showcasing tracks from Brame & Hamo, Laurence Guy & Harry Wolfman, Soul Of Hex, Loz Goddard, Kito Jempere, Nachtbraker and many more, we sat down with label chief Peter Gyselaers to delve into the ethos behind the outfit, the lessons learned and the motivations for a new era. What’s more Belfast duo Schmutz have stepped up, providing an exclusive mix to our readers as the ideal accompaniment. Enjoy!
WWD: Thanks for joining us Peter! For those not quite familiar, can you give us an insight into your role at Dirt Crew?
Hey Guys, thanks a lot for featuring the Label! I am running Dirt Crew for more than 10 years now since 2004, first few years with James Flavour with whom I also DJ and Produced under the name “Dirt Crew” up till 3-4 years ago when we split. Now i am only concentrating on the label and pushing a lot of young talent. Recently we had some very nice new additions with the likes of Detroit Swindle, we released their first Ep’s and Debut Album, Brame & Hamo, Nachtbraker, Kito Jempere just to name a few.
WWD: Deep Love 15 was released this week. Can you describe the compilation to us in five words?
Underground, House, Techno, Newcomers, Quality.
WWD: Brame & Hamo, two of our own, feature on the release. What was it that made the music from the guys standout for you in the beginning?
I discovered them by a demo they sent me about 2 years ago now, their first ever collab, Brame had been doing some things solo as did Hamo.. their first EP “Street Urchin” that came out Last year had a real classic feeling to it, slightly different form the stuff they are doing nowadays, much more traditional “Deep House” really.. nowadays they evolved their sound to something very special.. like Detroit Swindle you recognise a Brame & Hamo track straight away .. nothing sounds familiar.. i guess it’s that signature pumping beat and loud Hi Hat they use.. also their music is full of Hip Hop references and samples which i really like.
WWD: Can you take us behind the selection process for the compilation?
It kind of started last year just after i released the “Deep Love 10” .. i got a lot of good demos but my release schedule was so packed that it was impossible to release all these things as full ep’s so from there a lot of tracks were taken, they were just too good to not release. I do this compilation only once a year, and i always want to make it a very special thing for the fans.. selecting only new and exclusive tracks from fairly new and upcoming artists. Thats very exciting but also quite tough sometimes.. i still have to say no to a lot of good music because i just can’t release it all.. i do a release every month and also on vinyl so it needs a lot of preparation.. But back to the selection, apart from the new faces i also asked some label regulars to contribute a new track, like Nachtbraker, Downtown Party Network and Brame & Hamo.
WWD: What are the three most important things you learn as a label head over the last ten years?
– Be very careful about what you sign, luckily i mostly did a good job and discovered a lot of great talent in a very early stage.
– Make sure you don’t spend all the money on expensive 180Gr. vinyl and full Cover Artwork ..haha.. be careful, that shit costs..
– Work together with people that are Pro! like my vinyl distributor wordandsound with whom i work with since 2004. I only hear nightmare stories from other labels about record pressing times etc. That never happened to me, thank god! also my Digital Distribution is done by EPM Music .. since almost 10 years now as well. Never any problems there.
WWD: How has the Dirt Crew ethos developed since the labels inception?
At first, these were very different times, we did some first releases by ourselves as “Dirt Crew”, “Break 3000” or “James Flavour”. Mainly because we wanted to keep it in our own hands, also this was pre-digital era, when you would sell 5-6K vinyls easily.. crazy if you think about that nowadays when one must be happy if he sells 300 pieces.. So after a few first releases we did some ep’s with befriended artists who’s music we really liked and who were also in that “Electro-House” scene.. Than the big downtime happened here in Germany namely, “Minimal”, That was avery tough time for good “Deep House” by that time we were releasing very eclectic stuff, even a lot of Disco on our sub label “Players Paradise” .. in the end it was very wise to not follow that horrible trend and stick to what we really liked. Else we would have never released “Mano Le Tough” or “Tensnake” at very early stage.. now these artists are huge. I kind of like to keep the same philosophy nowadays, doing rather “Complicated” musical choices than committing to the current “Deep House” trend. With artists like “Ponty Mython” or “Kito Jempere” i take some risks, their music is great and i love it.. but i am also aware it is not the mainstream and may be a bit too musical for a lot of people out there..
WWD: How important is Berlin as a base to you guys as a label?
This is a tough one.. for the first let’s say 8-9 years of the label Berlin was very important because the whole club scene is so good over here and i met most of the artists i signed back than in Berlin Clubs. But recently in the last 3-4 years the label became much more international and i tend to sign people from all over the planet, some i never met in person.. Also Berlin is by far not as exciting as it was in the early 2000’s, it all became a bit mediocre and pretty boring, at least for me.. but i still enjoy living in this City.. but music wise nowadays other citys are also very exciting, like Tokyo, Amsterdam, New York.. i get much more inspiration out of travelling there than i do in Berlin.
WWD: What do you hope defines the next decade of Dirt Crew Recordings?
I am really trying to go even broader in music styles, even doing proper Techno, like the “Schmutz” release i did this year. Also doing some more Albums with some of my artists.
WWD: What can we expect from the label for the rest of 2015?
After the “Deep Love 15” we will release a new EP by “Tigerskin” and followed by a new “Nachtbraker” … for 2016 we have lots of exciting news planned but i can’t say too much about that yet 😉
Oh and check out our new Web Store, you can buy all Releases direct from us and you’ll get the download free on top 😉 -> www.dirtcrew.net
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