Simian Mobile Disco have launched a new record label, Delicacies, which will release its first EP at the end of April.
All tracks on the new label will be named after bizarre culinary items from around the globe, such as "Aspic" and "Nerve Salad," both of which will be included on the imprint's first release. Delicacies is also the title of the duo's new club night, which kicked off at the end of February with an event at matter featuring Green Velvet, DJ Pierre, Joker and others, plus a DJ set by SMD themselves. The pair have also secured a quarterly residency at Fixed, a New York party that has featured Simian Mobile Disco numerous times since 2007.
To get the scoop on all of their new projects, we caught up with Jas Shaw via email earlier this month.Tell me a bit about the concept behind the new label.
After finishing the last record we were both still full of ideas for tracks and wanted to spend more time in the studio doing more experimental stuff. Also, we have been DJing a lot and the last record was more of a home listening thing, not really the kind of stuff we play when we DJ. So it's really just an excuse for us to book time off touring to mess around in the studio. The idea of releasing the tracks quickly and with little promo or fuss was just to give us short deadlines to finish things. It's really nice to make a few tunes in the week and then play them out that weekend and then put them out straight away.
How will records on Delicacies differ from other music you’ve released so far?
Delicacies are usually quite disgusting things that are enjoyed by a small group of people. Lots of the music that we listen to fits this description and this label is a forum for us to put out some disgusting music for the few that like that sort of thing.
Will all Delicacies releases be by Simian Mobile Disco or can we expect other artists in the series?
Yeah, if things go well then we might well put some stuff out by other people. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though.
How have the Delicatessen parties been going so far?
Really well, the first one at matter was great. It was amazing to choose all the people involved, kind of like designing your perfect night out. We will definitely be doing some more of those.
How was your first resident night at Fixed?
Fixed was cool, we have been playing for Josh and Dave (who run Fixed) since day one. We used to stay at their flat whenever we went out there. The New York party we just had was definitely a work in progress, lots of the crowd were there for techno but there were also people there expecting us to play lots of our own stuff which we don't really do. Part of having a residency there is to get people into the idea that when we DJ it's not to play lots of SMD stuff—that's more for the live shows. We are playing lots of wonky techno and we have been road testing unfinished Delicacies stuff as well.
What else do you have in the pipeline at the moment?
The final bits of my new synth are arriving soon so we are looking forward to putting it through its paces.
Delicacies will release Aspic / Nerve Salad on April 26th, 2010.