One big reason to come to Brighton is the music and club world. Many of the people who come to Brighton to go to university end up running club nights, putting on events, opening record shops or starting their own record label. Robert Luis did just that; came down from London to go to uni and started to DJ, run nights and then hooked up with Paul Jonas to start a record label called ‘Tru Thoughts’ back in 1999. Now in 2007, they’ve released around 140 records – including about 50 albums, and started an offshoot hip-hop label called ‘Zebra Traffic’.
Artists who’ve released on the labels include ‘Quantic’, ‘Alice Russell’, ‘Bonobo’, ‘Phi-Life Cypher’, ‘TM Juke’, ‘Nostalgia 77’, ‘The Bamboos’ and ‘The Quantic Soul Orchestra’. The music style of the label is hard to pigeon hole with their catalogue covering soul, funk, jazz, hip hop and breaks, but with artists across the world (including Australia, Colombia, Norway, Sweden, and USA) there are huge variations on the style of each sound and a wide range of influences.
The last three months of 2007 are hugely representative of the diversity on the label. There are singles from ‘Barakas’, who’s most famous under the pseudonym ‘Bonobo’ on the London-based independent record label ‘Ninja Tune’, but also does some cheeky dancefloor tracks for the label, and then there’s ‘Quantic & Nickodemus’ -a track used on the recent ipod advert. There’s a massive drum ‘n’ bass anthem with the Benny Page mix of ‘me&you’s’ track ‘Last Night’ (me&you being label boss Robert Luis joined by TM Juke) and also a new single from ‘Hint’, who came from Ninja Tune to join Tru Thoughts.
There’s also a new release in their limited edition mid-price series of label compilations, called ‘Shapes 07:02’, which is a great way to check out the label’s roster and see who floats your boat. If you go to their web shop www.etchshop.co.uk then you can buy all their music upfront and contribute more directly to the label and artists In order to help them to produce more music in the future! There are also three artist albums coming out over the coming months, and they couldn’t be any more different, we take a quick look at THE QUANTIC SOUL ORCHESTRA – TROPIDELICO, HOT 8 BRASS BAND – ROCK WITH THE HOT 8, and NOSTALGIA 77 OCTET – WEAPONS OF JAZZ DESTRUCTION and have a chat with those Involved.
The biggest selling artist on Tru Thoughts and reflective of the label’s flexibility with their artists to allow them to try out new music and release multiple projects. Will ‘Quantic’ Holland has released four Quantic albums, a Quantic compilation, a collaboration with Russ Porter called ‘The Limp Twins’ (a hidden gem of an album that we recommend!) and last year hooked up with US soul, jazz and funk legend Spanky Wilson (who recorded a classic version of Cream’s ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’ in the 70s) for an album and tour. His Quantic Soul Orchestra project has reached this, its third album, and the sound has developed from the funk styles of album one (including inspired cover versions of 4Hero’s ‘Hold It Down’ and Bonobo’s ‘Terrapin’) to a deeper, more developed sound. We asked Will Holland to tell us about this new album:
XYZ: How would you describe the sound of this album?
Will: Good Funk & Soul Music with a sound branching out into Africa & South America.
Who have you worked with on the album?
Will: Many different players in Brighton (UK), San Juan (Puerto Rico) Panama City (Panama) & Cali (Colombia) Also members of legendary Panama Soul Groups ‘The Soul Fantastics’ & ‘Los Fabulous Festivales’, from Peru and ‘Alfredo Linares’ a legendary piano player who has recorded since the 70s in Peru, Venezuala & Colombia; he’s upheld as a musical hero in Cali where his hit ‘Tijuanaco’ is still playing on the radio. ‘Malcolm Catto’ (UK funk drummer, released records on UK-based record label Mowax) is also on this album and ‘J Live’ from New York.
Why have you chosen this direction with your music?
Will: This has always been my direction, I have not made any drastic changes, I have always continued in the direction that interests me, it is important to try new sounds all the time, The Quantic Soul Orchestra albums have always contained music from all over; ‘Stampede’ had a cover of a Cuban Mambo, ‘Pushin On’ had many Brazilian influences and this album is a natural progression from that.
You currently live in Colombia (the Colombian spelling!) How do find the lifestyle change?
Will: I live in Cali, Colombia. It is the third biggest City in Colombia and depends mostly on the Sugar Cane producing fields surrounding it and the drug dealing & money laundering inside of it! It is a terrific place for inspiration and even better for finding records & musicians. I moved my studio there in February and mixed and recorded most of the LP there. There has not been much lifestyle change, there are obviously key culture differences, but I’m basically doing what I have always done -just in a new country. In fact, it made it all a little easier to do as I can find great premises to house my studio and it’s cheaper to live!
Does it change the way you write music?
Will: Yes, definitely, I am more relaxed and thoughtful with my work in Cali but that might be that I haven’t taken that many DJ gigs of late so I’ve had more time to concentrate on writing and producing music. I’ve also had time to check out a load of interesting local bands, Curralao, Cumbia, Fandango, all these styles are getting me thinking about music!!
Do you miss the UK at all?
Will: I miss Indian food, good tea and strong non-processed cheeses but I do not miss the climate or speed cameras!
Words by Bob Spalding
