Ahead of their launch night, we find out more about Nottingham's newest record label that promises 'electronic music with a deeper edge'...
Whenever a new dance or electronic type venture is announced, there are particular signals that cause fans of the culture to take interest and their beat-battered ears to prick up. For example, words such as ‘vinyl’, ‘intimate’ and ‘stripped back’ immediately paint a picture of a certain breed of electronic event, as do grainy, greyscale images of dark, sweat-ridden basements that look the perfect place to get lost in.
As it happens, after a quick click on the recently launched Watercolour Records Facebook page these boxes are certainly ticked, and such appealing wording and imagery can be found on the description of the new record label-cum-party planning brand. The music policy here, also proudly displayed amongst this ‘about me’, further adds to this image, noting leftfield house, minimal and techno as its sonic signifiers, listed just beneath the basement snap mentioned previously; a place we thought we’d seen before…
“Yes, it’s Red Bar”, laughs the label’s owner Paul Gribby when quizzed about the picture. “There have been a few other promoters using this space lately. Wigflex, for example, and it makes sense really, the place is a bit of a hidden gem.”
Watercolour Records is the brainchild of Paul, who currently goes under the name of Still-Life when spinning or making tunes. At first glance, its name may seem strange for a record label, but when seen together the artistic connection becomes obvious; the label being the ‘medium’ for what the artist can create.
“Music is an artform and I’m as inspired by marks on paper as I am sounds over speakers – all of the artwork is painted by hand too, by my niece, fitting in with the theme.”
With his creative new label, Paul is about to launch a residency at Red bar. Here’s he’ll be showcasing his imprint’s sounds on the last Friday of every month, with plans for pop-up parties too, in the strangest places he can hunt down.
“It took me a while to find the right venue. But this has got a Funktion One Soundsystem, around a 300 person capacity and it’s hidden enough to make sure only people who are truly interested will turn up, no stragglers who aren’t into it – it’s the perfect space for what we’re trying to achieve,”
When preparing to speak to Paul about his new venture, it became clear that this is no ‘stab in the dark’ from a newbie to the game. Watercolour Records comes from an artist who has been making his name or rather, his sounds, heard far and wide for many years now. Paul resides in Nottingham, fondly noting residencies in clubs such as The House and nights spent at ravers’ fallen paradise, Venus, in the past, but pseudonym Still-Life can be heard on labels including Global Underground and Café Del Mar, as well on stage as festivals such as Glastonbury, Zoo Project and Bestival.
“I’ve been doing this for about 20 years. I was aged 16 when this feeling started, and my sister used to give me tapes from London with mixes from DJs like Graeme Park on them. They completely changed my life.
“Eventually, music to me was like a drug that needed feeding…I remember when my bike got nicked I was gutted, but used the insurance money to buy my first pair of decks, so I guess it wasn’t all bad! This was before we had the internet and YouTube tutorial videos like we do now, and there was no one else in my circle doing what I was doing. I taught myself completely [how to DJ] over the years.”
Watercolour Records then has been a long time coming, and is a self-confessed ‘labour of love’ for Paul.
“Musically, it will represent what Still-Life is all about. This is deep electronica, stripped back house and techno, but also more creative sounds. I’m really into producing for television and films too, not just the dance floor. While Watercolour Records is primarily my / Still-Life’s output, it’ll also support a number of different artists that fit into this style, which hopefully the regular nights will also help to realise.”
One of these artists is Dudley Strangeways, of other local label, Leftback, who Paul is particularly pleased with.
“I’m very excited to have him on board and can’t think of a better resident for these showcase nights. Just listen to his promo mix - It’s easy to hear why!”
A mix which, in his own words, can be described simply as “just a bunch of tracks that I’m into at the moment…
“And a few of my own unreleased beats, plus one track from Miffy and Miller (of Ibiza’s ‘Real Gang’ fame) that’s coming out on Leftback this year.”
After chatting with Dudley, we learned that this musical pairing between the two was as organic as the freely drawn imagery seen on Watercolor Records’ posters advertising the night. One of those perfect, happy accidents.
“To be honest we only met recently. I nipped round his for a brew and to take a look at some hardware issues he was having with his studio, although we probably first ‘met’ at a few of the same club nights back in the day.
“It’s always nice to be asked to play somewhere on a regular basis and it is a shame for me that I don’t play as much as I used to in Nottingham, but there are not as many nights playing the music I play so maybe that’s why! I’m looking forward to getting involved and playing some records, definitely.
“Will the music I play differ from what you might have heard from me before? Not some much...sometimes the really deep or minimal tracks don’t work, so it’s always worth having a few more accessible bits to fall back on.
“I’m not talking about the spice girls or anything that crude, just something a little more accessible! I’m actually looking forward to warming up. I’ve got loads of deeper tracks that I don’t get chance to play that much, and now they’ll get to come out of the bag.”
Away from home turf, Dudley also can also be found behind the decks at Chord Records nights, as well as his own label’s knees-ups. Naturally, we asked him about his feelings towards another imprint coming to town.
“I think it’s a good thing. There are too many people in the scene that see other labels and nights as competition, I don’t mean to sound like a hippy but the underground music community is fairly small in comparison to the mainstream so for me brands need to work together not against each other. The more good music the better.”
Still-Life and Dudley can be heard playing at the Watercolour Records Launch party at Red Bar on Friday 23rd February 2018, joined by Rainbows Venue’s resident, Initial (who is soon to release on Watercolour Records). Event tickets and info available online. Listen to Initial’s promo mix here.
If you can’t make the launch party, Water Colour Records will also host a monthly radio show on Frisky Radio.
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