Vibes and Pepper start record label

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  • The Parisian agency enters the fray this month with a Terrence Parker and Claude Young reissue.
  • Vibes and Pepper start record label image
  • Parisian agency Vibes and Pepper will launch a new record label later this month. Vibes and Pepper is first and foremost a booking agency, but also hosts a podcast series, radio shows and events around Paris and other cities. Despite its European roots, its roster is made up primarily of house and techno artists from Chicago and Detroit: Tyree Cooper, Norm Talley, Rick Wilhite, Scott Grooves, etc, plus Parisian acts Tomska and Underground Paris, and onetime Breaking Through artist Lady Blacktronika. Much like the agency, the label is heavily influenced by old school American house and techno; its releases will be split between new material and reissues, and will be available exclusively on vinyl. The first release is a re-press of The 4 Play EP by Terrence Parker and Claude Young. Chatting via email this week, we spoke with Bryan Hervieu, AKA Agent-Pepper, about some of this history and the inspiration behind Vibes and Pepper:
    Tell us a bit about Vibes And Pepper Agency. How did it start? As a Parisian agency, how did you end up representing so many artists from Detroit? I've been DJing now for more than 20 years, I've organized parties and owned a record shop in the mid 9O's, so this was a new challenge for me and an opportunity to get back into the music. I started small with only a blog and my contacts, but after a few months I saw that there was a real potential to make this more professional, so I contacted some artists that have been important to me musically and it went from there. Why Detroit? Well in 20 years time I've been through all the different electronic genres—house, garage, techno, etc—but Detroit techno and house from the early '9Os is just the best musical adventure for me. Underground Resistance, Mike Banks, Terrence Parker, Claude Young, D-Ha to name a few that made me love this music even more. What made you chose Terrence Parker & Claude Young's 4 Play EP as the debut release? What meaning does this record have for you? We actually saw a pirated copy of this EP coming out earlier this year, and it gave us the inspiration to reissue it legitimately. I've known Terrence now for several years. He's not only a great DJ and artist, but a wonderful human being. I've always loved his music and I have a lot of respect for him. I can truly say that Vibes and Pepper is what it is today because of him. He has given me a lot support and very helpful advice. The music industry isn't always easy. As for Claude Young, well, he's another living legend from Detroit. What can I say? Claude can produce house, techno or any other style, it always sounds dope. This record is also very special to me, because I still remember the day I bought it from BPM record shop here in Paris. I was always excited going into the shop back then, vinyl was coming out like MP3s do today, but it was all quality music and Detroit at the time was at the top. Everything from house to techno was amazing. Can you give us details on any upcoming releases? That's not an easy one. We can't reveal our secret weapons yet, but what I can tell you is that we have some great stuff lined up! The music orientation will come from different cities: Detroit, Chicago, New York and Paris of course. We'll be releasing new, classic and rare music from the Vibes and Pepper roster, but also from other artists too. Some of the releases will be limited editions, colored vinyl etc... We want each release to be very special.
    Tracklist A1. Untitled A2. Untitled B1. Untitled B2. Untitled Vibes and Pepper will release The 4 Play EP in November 2011.
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