Old Apparatus strike a Sullen Tone

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  • The London collective have started their own imprint, with the first release out in July.
  • Old Apparatus strike a Sullen Tone image
  • Old Apparatus have started the Sullen Tone label, which will drop the Derren EP on July 16th. The London collective first emerged as an anonymous outfit in 2011 on Mala's Deep Medi imprint with two lengthy untitled tracks that hinted at industrial and post-rock, and later with another single that treaded poppier waters complete with vocals. Since then, releases have been spare, with a few scattered odds and ends and a tape on the Tapeworm label, along with a remix on Honest Jon's Shangaan Shake compilation and an appearance on Rob Booth's upcoming Electronic Explorations collection in July. Derren contains four tracks made collaboratively by the group, and it precedes three forthcoming solo EPs by each member of the collective before the end of the year. Each label missive will see release on both vinyl and digital formats. We spoke to a member of Old Apparatus via e-mail to discuss the label.
    Why move away from Deep Medi, and what made you want to take on the responsibility to start your own imprint? We're proud of our releases on Deep Medi and having the opportunity to work with Mala and Kris (the label manager) was a fantastic experience. We felt that in order to completely realise the vision we have for the sound and visuals, it would be necessary to fully submerge ourselves in the process of not only making the music but walking it through the physical production and realisation process that every record takes before it is delivered to the outside world. From conception to release. That's really where Sullen Tone was born from. Do you worry that it's hard to market yourself/label when you aren't making 'dance music' per se? The music is always at the forefront of what we do so aligning ourselves with certain scenes or genres isn't something that factors into the collective mindset. You can only ever hope that what you're doing will find its own path to the people that are open to hearing it. The first single is a group effort; how would you describe the music on your first EP, and what's going to follow, and what will those sound like? It's difficult to write about your own music but I would say it shares the common thread that seems to manifest itself through all of releases which is the creation of a space within which the listener can be transported to an alternate reality, unbound by the everyday constraints experienced in this one.
    Tracklist 01. Zimmer 02. Derren 03. Dealow 04. Bodah Sullen Tone will release the Derren EP on July 16th, 2012.
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