I got an email tonight from Quarterlife Records founder, Alex Pearce, to let me know that he and his partner, DJ Ebar, are throwing the label a launch party on January 29 at New York’s reigning house music mecca, Cielo. I jumped over to their MySpace page located at http://www.myspace.com/quarterlifenyc to listen to the label’s first release–the self titled “Indicant” by Indicant. Funky and raw, it reminds me of DJ Sneak’s early techno inspired releases on Chicago’s Relief Records.
The “Hub Mix” of “Indicant” borrows a tiny bit from speed garage tracks of the late 90’s, while staying true to its electro roots with staccato vocal samples and bright synths interspersed over the tracks breakdowns. If a DJ like Todd Terry was into electro, I could see this fitting into his repertoire. It also lends itself to Sander Kleinberg’s hard edge as well.
Could Alex Pearce and DJ Ebar be the new kids on the gritty house block, creating the funky, dirty, raw electro house beats possibly inspired by Armand Van Helden, DJ Sneak, Daft Punk and their predecessor, the aforementioned Todd Terry? I definitely think they’re onto something. Although somewhat minimal and definitely underground, I’m not going to go as far as saying they are rising stars or anything. But, if these guys develop the label’s sound, they could be on to hitting some major remixes and touring the DJ circuit. I have a feeling David Waxman from Ultra will be giving these guys a call soon.
Ebar’s own MySpace contains his tracks, which are more soulful, proper vocal house. He’s got that King Street sound that remains popular with the Tony Humphries crowd. Interesting that he’s involved on the electro front.
You can find Quarterlife’s downloads at Beatport.com and other fine DJ download outlets. They’re distributed by IODA. I looked for the tracks online tonight, but they aren’t on Beatport just yet. I’m sure you’ll be able to find them on the 29th. I’ll post when the release is available.
Wish these guys good luck. It’s tough to start a digital label today. DJs have many options. It’s the music that will sell itself, which means great A&R is the key. Hopefully these rookies have a long term vision for the label and are actively partnering with producers, distribution and marketing to get the word out. I wish them the best of luck.
Oh, and one more thing–I love the graphics. Pretty cool branding. The white semi-circle around the outside of the “Q” looks a little like the circular display on the Pioneer DJ decks. The “Q” itself actually looks like the knob on a mixer. Innovative use of DJ-oriented imagery. Nice one!
