Schmorgasbord launches with Appleblim & October

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    Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 12:06
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  • The new Bristol label will focus exclusively on collaboration. We speak with label boss Oli Warwick.
  • Schmorgasbord launches with Appleblim & October image
  • Schmorgasbord Records will put out their debut release next month. It's the latest in a long line of labels to emerge from the Bristol bass music scene, and is dedicated to orchestrating remixes and collaborations between two artists—one from the world of 4/4, the other, broken beat. They will kick off their release schedule in April with NY Fizzzzz / Fountains Of Paradise, a hook-up between Bristol denizens Laurie "Appleblim" Osborne and Julian "October" Smith. We spoke with label head Oli Warwick to find out more about the Schmorgasbord concept.
    What do you feel your label will provide musically that others do not already? While in these times there's a lot of crossing over of styles and genres within electronic music, I haven't seen many examples of two distinctly different artists being hand-picked by the label to fuse their sounds and see what the resulting music is. I'm very conscious of picking artists who, while different in their output, also share some common thread, whether it be melodic content or sound sources or whatever. The whole point is to present releases that would never have come about without the label's mediation between the two artists. So you will be actively seeking out collaborations rather than hoping others will come to you? Yeah, it's more fun for me as a sort of curator of the label to look at particular artists who I personally rate and see where there's some correlation or potential for a good crossover. That said, maybe down the line when the label is more established, some artists may have an idea for a collab that will work on the label—I'd love to see artists approaching me with their own ideas. What sort of criteria does a tune have to fill to make it onto Schmorgasbord? I'm keeping very open minded about where the label will be headed sonically, but the most important thing to me is that the tracks say something new. I certainly don't want the label to disappear in a foggy haze of experimentalism, after all it's a dance music label with 12-inches to be played out in clubs, but the raison d'etre of the whole thing is testing boundaries and trying to push things in different directions. I don't expect any seismic changes in the face of modern music, but hopefully unique tracks that will stand the test of time. What is it about collaboration that interests you? It's funny because before the idea of this label came to mind, I never really thought that much about collaborations in particular, but now the whole idea excites me so much. In a way it's much like mixing two perfectly matched records made up of different elements. When combined the space in between the two standalone tracks becomes a new track in its own right. Likewise two artists sharing their ideas, influences, quirks and qualms create a whole new output that neither would have come up with on their own. What other releases have you got lined up? So far the next release is the only one set in stone, and that features UK bass wizard Spatial and German house/techno freak S-Max each producing a track and then remixing each others. It's a four track 12-inch that covers a hell of a lot of ground, and each track is pure firepower in its own right. I'm immensely chuffed and hugely in love with the first release from Appleblim and October, but I'm almost more excited to see how people react to the sounds on PLATTER 002. The third release is in development at the moment, and all I'll say for now is that it's looking to have a Manchester slant to it.
    Tracklist 01. NY Fizzzzz 02. Fountains Of Paradise Schmorgasbord Records will release Appleblim & October's NY Fizzzzz / Fountains Of Paradise on April 11th, 2011.
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