News of any music coming out of Mark Barrott HQ is something that'll always excite us here at THUMP. Last year's Sketches from an Island album was the soundtrack to every sad BBQ we threw together with a box of meat from Iceland and a few warm cans of Export, and it was great. If you've been sleeping on him, Barrott is a producer and label owner tucked away in the gorgeous hills of Ibiza, tirelessly weaving the intangible elements together to form what we call 'balearic'.
Even before you've peeled today's clammy ham sandwiches out of their clingfilm, Barrott's rescued the working week, returning with a new EP on International Feel, the label he runs. The EP, as with so much of Barrott's work, pulls off that amazing trick of pulling in influences from the entire planet, from African percussion to trickles of South American folk, which are then united to form a picturesque and cohesive whole.
You can hear the lead track "Bush Society" on the EP when it is released on the 27th, but if you can't wait that long we're fortunate to have an exclusive premiere of the second cut "Saviours or Savages". Not only that but Mark Barrott even took some time out to chat to us about everything from living on the right side of the White Isle to the rise of a balearic revolution.
THUMP: Hi Mark, how is life in Ibiza?
Mark Barrott: Very enjoyable thanks. It's definitely the best place I've ever lived in terms of quality of daily life. We live in the North of the Island in the campo (countryside), so it's very tranquil and peaceful but still only 30 mins from the airport.
"Bush Society" has seen you releasing under your own name - is this going to stick for a while or are you waiting for your next pseudonym?
Well International Feel was originally set up as a vehicle for my 'pseudonyms', but after the success of Sketches from an Island last summer (the first under my own name), I pretty much made up my mind to put more or less everything out under my own name. I'm also part of the Talamanca system project with Gerd Janson and Phillip Lauer (Tuff City Kids), so that's most of my musical bases covered between those projects.
The new EP is spreading your international influences far further - how have you collected so many different international feels?
As I mentioned above, I've lived in a lot of places since leaving the UK in 2000 and also had a period as a music consultant where I had a 40,000 strong iTunes library including everything from Polynesian music to Armenian folk, so I guess that a little bit of everything has rubbed off over the years and when I sit down to make music it all comes out. I just really enjoy making music without any boundaries or 'genre rules', I guess thats the benefit of having your own record label!
Are you encouraged by the renewed interest in balearic that the album and tracks like this seem to be inspiring?
It's weird, when I made the first Sketches EP I only pressed 500 vinyls cos I thought 'oh it's weird, quirky slow music' that not many people will be interested in and then it sold out on the same day and I just kept going with the 2nd EP and then the album. Now, I see it being referenced in a lot of articles as the start of a return to that sound and I've had a few emails from well known artists telling me that they are now going to make a New Age album! I just want to make interesting, melodic, timeless music and sometimes that will be 'in fashion' as it seems to be again now.
International Feel is going from strength to strength - have you got a long term plan for the label over the next few years or is it release by release at the moment?
Somewhere in-between. For example we had a really strong year in 2012 and then I went on semi hiatus for 18 months, so the past year has been all about picking up the pace again, adapting to the new world we find ourselves in and striving to keep the quality super high.
Have the number of demos you receive rocketed with the booming popularity of your work?
Hey International Feel, I'm a fucking great Nu-Disco producer from Moscow...check out my fucking amazing demo...etc...etc...etc.
You've just released a José Padilla record, is there a sense that International Feel is becoming the home of balearic?
Well....José's album (produced by me, Tornado Wallace, Telephones and Jan Schulte) is very Balearic and I do live on Ibiza
You are also putting out younger artists, like Private Agenda - how far are you trying to foster a future for the genre as well?
It's all about balance (and primarily the music) - it's nice to release stuff from more established artists, but also that sense of discovery when you find something great from someone new is nearly as good as releasing your own music.
Do you still find yourself having to try and define the nearly undefinable balearic to people?
By definition, Balearic is undefinable...it's an Oxymoron!
International Feel IFEEL041 Mark Barrott - Bush Society is out on the 27th of April.
Mark Barrott: Very enjoyable thanks. It's definitely the best place I've ever lived in terms of quality of daily life. We live in the North of the Island in the campo (countryside), so it's very tranquil and peaceful but still only 30 mins from the airport."Bush Society" has seen you releasing under your own name - is this going to stick for a while or are you waiting for your next pseudonym?
Well International Feel was originally set up as a vehicle for my 'pseudonyms', but after the success of Sketches from an Island last summer (the first under my own name), I pretty much made up my mind to put more or less everything out under my own name. I'm also part of the Talamanca system project with Gerd Janson and Phillip Lauer (Tuff City Kids), so that's most of my musical bases covered between those projects.
As I mentioned above, I've lived in a lot of places since leaving the UK in 2000 and also had a period as a music consultant where I had a 40,000 strong iTunes library including everything from Polynesian music to Armenian folk, so I guess that a little bit of everything has rubbed off over the years and when I sit down to make music it all comes out. I just really enjoy making music without any boundaries or 'genre rules', I guess thats the benefit of having your own record label!
It's weird, when I made the first Sketches EP I only pressed 500 vinyls cos I thought 'oh it's weird, quirky slow music' that not many people will be interested in and then it sold out on the same day and I just kept going with the 2nd EP and then the album. Now, I see it being referenced in a lot of articles as the start of a return to that sound and I've had a few emails from well known artists telling me that they are now going to make a New Age album! I just want to make interesting, melodic, timeless music and sometimes that will be 'in fashion' as it seems to be again now.International Feel is going from strength to strength - have you got a long term plan for the label over the next few years or is it release by release at the moment?
Somewhere in-between. For example we had a really strong year in 2012 and then I went on semi hiatus for 18 months, so the past year has been all about picking up the pace again, adapting to the new world we find ourselves in and striving to keep the quality super high.
Hey International Feel, I'm a fucking great Nu-Disco producer from Moscow…check out my fucking amazing demo…etc…etc…etc.You've just released a José Padilla record, is there a sense that International Feel is becoming the home of balearic?
Well….José's album (produced by me, Tornado Wallace, Telephones and Jan Schulte) is very Balearic and I do live on IbizaYou are also putting out younger artists, like Private Agenda - how far are you trying to foster a future for the genre as well?
It's all about balance (and primarily the music) - it's nice to release stuff from more established artists, but also that sense of discovery when you find something great from someone new is nearly as good as releasing your own music.Do you still find yourself having to try and define the nearly undefinable balearic to people?
By definition, Balearic is undefinable…it's an Oxymoron!International Feel IFEEL041 Mark Barrott - Bush Society is out on the 27th of April.You can follow Mark Barrott on his website and on Facebook.Follow Angus on Twitter.