In today's crowded musical landscape, where fledgling producers launch fresh record labels nearly every week, there are few artists we'd trust more with the task than Dense & Pika. The UK duo first appeared on its own eponymous white label imprint in 2011, and since then they've rolled out a series of fire 12"s on Hotflush. Add the fact that one-half of the pair, Alex Jones, runs the prolific house outpost Hypercolour, and you've got the perfect recipe for a killer record label.They've decided to call that label Kneaded Pains, and its first release comes from another UK beatmaker, James Welsh. Hopefully, this doesn't spell the end of the duo's relationship with Scuba's Hotflush label—as it stands now, "it really depends if Scuba is nice enough" to welcome them back into the fold, Jones joked.According to Dense & Pika, starting a label was the next "logical progression" for their careers, because over the years fellow DJs have sent them loads of sick tunes that beg for a release. "It's going to be a very relaxed operation," Jones explained via email. "We are not open to demos, as we are just releasing from a small group of core artists that we know and work with regularly." That core contingent includes artists like trippy house auteur A Sagittariun, mysterious producers with names like Grain and Moss, and, of course, Welsh, whose inaugural Gentinetta EP drops May 5. Although the official release of this crunchy, brooding techno record is a week away, you can stream the whole thing right here on THUMP.Connect with Dense & Pika on SoundCloudConnect with James Welsh on SoundCloud
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