Hypercolour: a label of love

For me at least, 2009 was a bit of a strange year in house and techno music. Much of it was frustration at the quality of music that was out there, a saturation of the market in which every budding producer and nascent label was doing its best to imitate and duplicate whatever was deemed successful by that great bastion of creative judges, the Beatport Top 10. It was getting harder and harder to find the worth through this increasing vista of often forgettable music. I am sure much of what was released was with good intentions, and I am positive that those releases that often fell by the wayside were made with genuine enthusiasm and a love for the music. Yet as the year steadily ticked by, it became apparent, to me at least, that many labels still in their embryonic stage were not taking the concept of ‘quality control’ seriously enough. Any release, to them, was better than no release. Even a lot of tracks on supposedly more reputable labels would last two weeks before they were condemned to the now gargantuan digital musical scrapheap.  
It was not all doom and gloom however, and the search for originality and quality did not have to mean a detour to Berlin or Mannheim or even Romania. Certainly the truly unique sound of Levon Vincent or the deep North American musings of Fred P should be held as a highlight of recent times in house music; the raw, infectious groove of Motorcity Drum Ensemble or the beautiful landscapes crafted by Nicolas Jaar will always, for me at least, show that there is much our continental and North American cousins can show us.
 
Yet what about closer to home? When it comes to quality underground house and techno, it was, in fact, labels from these fine shores that actually truly shined. Alex Arnout’s Dogmatik, the awesome Fear of Flying, or Alex Jones and Jamie Russell’s Hypercolour truly flew the flag as purveyors of music that was chosen with care, attention and an unscrupulous demand for originality and quality. For me at least, it was this trio (and a few others) that defied the trend to roll out the flat, expendable bongo house and release tracks that truly stood the test of time.
 
I caught up with Hypercolour’s Jamie Russell, aka Cedric Maison, to pick his brains over how he approached last year. The supposedly ‘difficult’ trading conditions for musicians and labels at the moment seem to have passed Hypercolour by, it seems. “I think it was a good year for us,” says Russell, “we had some great releases out, Kris Wadsworth’s Mainline and Mark Henning’s The Right Time being prime examples. Our sales have gone up year by year so I think we’re on the right track.” The last year has taught Russell and co-owner and producer Alex Jones a valuable lesson. “PR is everything!” Russell states emphatically, “good music can easily go under the radar unless you have a solid PR plan.” The flip side to this approach does not escape him however. “This means shite music with a decent PR machine behind it does OK as well though!” he says.
 
The Hypercolour boss’ enthusiasm is infectious and it is perhaps this attitude which has kept the label at the top of its game. He sees the electronic music world in a healthy state: “The music just seems to be getting better and better as far as I’m concerned,” he says. That old quip that you have got to love the music is reiterated by Russell but his emphasis is that “over and above everything else you need to be excited about the music to have a future in it.” This subtle but distinct difference, a willingness to look at the long term, could perhaps be seen as one of the antidotes to Beatportitis. So, from a business point of view, how does he think Hypercolour have stayed ahead of the game? “Labels are popping up left, right and centre at the moment,” says Russell, “and some labels think you can just set up an account on Beatport and strike it rich. I think you have to be cannier. There is huge sea of mediocrity out there when it comes to standard run of the mill house music, so you have to put together and manufacture a release that stands out amongst the crowd. I like to think we do that.”
 
It seems a sensible conclusion, but is half the point that labels are living and operating in a different, digital age? Are there parameters you need to consider now that perhaps independent labels ten years ago did not? Russell adds: “I can’t really answer that question as I wasn’t running labels ten years ago, from what I know of those times, clearly a lot more vinyl was sold, and there wasn’t as many genres.” It is then, perhaps, the age-old problem of quantity over quality. Where a lot of love was put into a release that was getting a limited distribution on vinyl, the conveyor belt attitude of the digital EP is a trap many younger labels fall into. “I certainly think labels have to be more shrewd and on the ball with other avenues in which you can earn revenue from the music you release, so licensing and the various opportunities there, is one that springs to mind. All this is done in mind with exposing your music to a wider audience,” he adds.
 
This does not mean that Hypercolour’s initial success and the reception of their early releases meant they did not take risks (in reference to Kris Wadsworth’s seminal Mainline, perhaps the most significant track in Hypercolour’s discography so far, Russell notes that “we always take risks, that’s why we release records with 4 min intros!”) but it is that deep seated enthusiasm and self-belief from those running the business, the notion they are in it for long haul, that is something to be admired: “[Hypercolour] started off as an expensive hobby, and has now turned into a fully functioning business. We love what we do, so the risks there are never really something we tend to dwell on,” Russell adds.
 
So, after a turbulent year, will the good quality and inventive labels always survive? Hypercolour has maintained quality and originality throughout their catalogue, but is this necessarily enough? Russell replies with a now familiar self-belief: “I think quality always shines through. If you are consistent with it I think you get the recognition you deserve, this doesn’t always transpire into sales though!” It seems then, that the looming shadow of falling sales will always be there for any label owner. Has filesharing upset the Hypercolour boys as much as some in their business? “It’s something we experience for sure, not on such a large scale but enough to get your back up,” says Russell. It seems technology is the only tool in addressing digital piracy from a label’s point of view, fighting fire with fire, so to speak. “We are using FATdrop for our promo, and they have this cool anti piracy scanning tool, so we’re doing all we can to combat it,” he notes. I get the feeling from Russell the problem is beyond the duty of small independent labels like Hypercolour, and I have to agree. They can do their best, but is it really their responsibility? It seems like Hypercolour’s attitude of ‘keep calm and carry on’ is a sensible one. “I think it needs to be policed somehow,” Russell argues, “and I think it is an issue for government as ultimately a law would need to be brought into place to be serious about a crackdown on this. There is no voice within what we do to stand up against it. I guess it perhaps doesn’t affect labels of our size as much as the majors or the bigger house labels.” So what does he think of the thieves, those lads that can be on the dance floor worshipping DJs one night and stealing their music the next? Where does he think the mentality for this mass form of theft is rooted? “I guess they all have their reasons,” he replies, “it’s not so bad if you think of some kid in a third world country illegally download your music as he cannot afford to purchase it, but for those that can, it’s a bitter pill to swallow. I guess educating people as to why it’s not right in the first place is a good point to start, followed by some form of policing it. I can’t imagine this would happen anytime soon though.”
 
So, what of the future now things are established in camp Hypercolour? It seems like full steam ahead: “We launch our new label Glass Table over the course of the next few months, and we’re really going to town on production, so picture disc vinyl, collectable artwork, voucher to purchase the digital bonus tracks. So you could say we’re upping our game. And making our product more desirable.” Of course, their eye will always be firmly on the music. Rather than wait for the sacks of demos to come flying through the door (or the inbox), there seems to be a more pro-active hunt for the music on Hypercolour’s part. For Russell at least, it won’t just land on your lap, you have got to go look for it. “Generally we tend to go searching for artists ourselves as opposed to sitting back and waiting to hear what demos come in. We know what we like, and it’s not bad!” he says. Coming full circle, it seems this more pro-active stance is a reaction to the earlier complaint of quantity of quality, as well as a lack of thought on those trying to promote their music. “We get sent quite a bit of stuff  that is a million miles away from what we tend to release,” Russell notes, “so the most annoying thing is someone who sends us stuff that is completely off our radar, [it] shows they obviously don’t listen to music on the label before they send their music over.” This lack of detail is reflected in the music too. “[There is] too much generic bongo-led house music around right now,” Russell complains, “go listen to the top ten in deep and tech house on Beatport, it all sounds the same if you ask me.” For the Hypercolour boys, their new label Glass Table becomes an outlet for them to explore even newer territories. “The most exciting music for me right now is outside of house and techno”, says the Hypercolour boss.

So does the way electronic music tries to pigeonhole itself become self defeating? There was the minimal craze, the deep house movement and now the huge amount of old house records being played. For Russell, at least, it is not about styles or trends: “I think you can spot an artist who is talented a million miles away ... decent artists stand out like a sore thumb. Styles and trends will always be re-created and fall by the way side (until the next revival). I think as a producer you just have to do your thing, whatever that may be,” he says. It is perhaps a reality check for those starting out in the production business, and Russell has one simple message. “Be different, don’t follow the crowd!”
 
With a team heading both labels that he has real faith in (“There are four heads involved in the labels now so we all listen and bounce thoughts off each other, you know you’re onto a winner when four of you are saying ‘yeah that’s wicked!”) it feels impossible to shake the eagerness and enthusiasm from the Hypercolour camp. There must be some fears lurking somewhere, surely? “No fears, no hopes,” Russell replies, “just carrying on putting out music that we love from artists we respect.” It seems there is still a lot to remain positive excited about? “Absolutely,” he repiles, “the music just keeps on getting better and better.  Something’s that are happening in London right now, DJs from Berlin are moving here, Rinse FM DJs are playing Hypercolour records alongside Garage & UK funky tracks, our parties so far this year have been mad busy, we have an arsenal of music that we can’t wait to unleash on the public - it’s the start of a new audio and visual dawn,” he says.
 
A brief trawl through Hypercolour’s back catalogue reflects this originality and passion too. Russell’s comments reflect a positive and remarkably simple manifesto, one built on quality, passion, patience and an emphasis on longevity, a desire to both release quality music and to make the whole thing financially viable. It is a little success story of which we should all take note.