Imprints brings you regular profiles of the most exciting record labels the world over, with input from movers and shakers who contribute to their local electronic communities.Name: Lobster Theremin
Vibe: Traditional and hearty, like a Thanksgiving meal, but with an understated flare—so it's more like a Thanksgiving meal with a crispy, honey-glazed turducken instead of a plain old turkey. And then dessert is one of those weird, surprising dishes you've never seen, like vanilla ice cream with salt and bacon bits or something.
Founded: 2013
Location: London
Claim to fame: The label started with a bang when they released Palms Trax's Equation EP last fall. The title track has racked up 37,000 plays on Hurfy D's Youtube channel.
Upcoming releases: Last week, the label announced LT004, a four-track EP courtesy of Budapest-based producer Route 8. According to the label founder, Jimmy Asquith, there are over 20 future releases scheduled, including contributions from sonofdistantearth and Rawaat. Asquith will also kick off a white label series with another Palms Trax offering, plus a black label series with a few tunes from Manse.
By the numbers: So far, Lobster Theremin has released three EPs: one from Palms Trax, one from Snow Bone, and one from Steve Murphy.
Artists to watch: If you want to be ahead of the game, check out Rawaat. Truly sick, tip.
Jimmy Asquith: There's so much talent, and it can get a bit overbearing in a sense, because more than ever there are so many people who have the ability and resources to make music. Obviously, the whole vinyl sector has exploded, and for better or worse that's pulled a lot of labels with it. I'm trying to do something that's essential, but slightly different in its aesthetic and its goals, instead of being another label that's just there and exists. In the 18 months or two years between when I decided to release Jay's record and when it came out, a lot of new labels appeared. What felt good was that the way I felt about starting a label hadn't changed in those 18 months; the sound and medium wouldn't be a fad, and there was still a gap for what we were going to embark on aesthetically. It wasn't me going, "How much more popular is vinyl going to be in x number of years?" Although, I suppose what has happened is, as it's become more popular, it's become less of a risk to press slightly higher quantities of vinyl. It's a healthier scene now, and we can grow the label faster than we could have before.
Too many really strong underground labels don't promote themselves enough, or they try to purposefully keep themselves more underground and limited for a heads-y crowd. At the same time, you see a lot of people complaining that the music they like isn't embraced more, and that music that sounds much more commercialized is embraced by a larger audience. It's partly because those people are doing heavy press and helping to get their labels into the spotlight so that more people can engage with them. If you press 300 vinyl, sell it through your distributor, and don't do anything online, you might sell out of it and have some fans based on that, but it's much more difficult for that music to be picked up by a wider audience; You're contributing to a scene of people who are most likely already into that music. What you're not doing is exposing more people to that kind of music who may not have heard it before, and you're not contributing to more people getting into the stuff you're doing from another scene or direction.Some of these portals are pushing many different styles of music, so you might get some indie kid who's getting into more electronic-based indie, and they hear something you release and start to explore that kind of music. Those things are important too, because it's a form of education and helps people develop their taste. I suppose a lot of people are worried about getting too much attention and being associated with a crowd that they feel isn't credible, but for me, I don't think the music that we release is anywhere near pop-y enough to be perceived as an underground-commercial sound, which you have at the minute. There are a lot of people doing very vocal, big room house music, and other people had a rant and called it "deep house." It's not; it's commercial house, and it's just been done by perceived "underground" artists. That's a separate discussion, but you've got to be honest about the music your label is putting out. I think our music is honest enough in an underground sense, so I'm not bothered by that. I want people to hear and interact with this music.Connect with Lobster Theremin on Soundcloud
Connect with Lobster Theremin on Facebook
Connect with Palms Trax on Soundcloud
Connect with Snow Bone on Soundcloud
Connect with Steve Murphy on Soundcloud
Connect with Route 8 on Soundcloud
Vibe: Traditional and hearty, like a Thanksgiving meal, but with an understated flare—so it's more like a Thanksgiving meal with a crispy, honey-glazed turducken instead of a plain old turkey. And then dessert is one of those weird, surprising dishes you've never seen, like vanilla ice cream with salt and bacon bits or something.
Founded: 2013
Location: London
Claim to fame: The label started with a bang when they released Palms Trax's Equation EP last fall. The title track has racked up 37,000 plays on Hurfy D's Youtube channel.
Upcoming releases: Last week, the label announced LT004, a four-track EP courtesy of Budapest-based producer Route 8. According to the label founder, Jimmy Asquith, there are over 20 future releases scheduled, including contributions from sonofdistantearth and Rawaat. Asquith will also kick off a white label series with another Palms Trax offering, plus a black label series with a few tunes from Manse.
By the numbers: So far, Lobster Theremin has released three EPs: one from Palms Trax, one from Snow Bone, and one from Steve Murphy.
Artists to watch: If you want to be ahead of the game, check out Rawaat. Truly sick, tip.
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THUMP: Why were you waiting for the right moment to launch a label? It seems like you were very mindful of external conditions, like the popularity of vinyl.
Jimmy Asquith: There's so much talent, and it can get a bit overbearing in a sense, because more than ever there are so many people who have the ability and resources to make music. Obviously, the whole vinyl sector has exploded, and for better or worse that's pulled a lot of labels with it. I'm trying to do something that's essential, but slightly different in its aesthetic and its goals, instead of being another label that's just there and exists. In the 18 months or two years between when I decided to release Jay's record and when it came out, a lot of new labels appeared. What felt good was that the way I felt about starting a label hadn't changed in those 18 months; the sound and medium wouldn't be a fad, and there was still a gap for what we were going to embark on aesthetically. It wasn't me going, "How much more popular is vinyl going to be in x number of years?" Although, I suppose what has happened is, as it's become more popular, it's become less of a risk to press slightly higher quantities of vinyl. It's a healthier scene now, and we can grow the label faster than we could have before.
Smaller labels that value the digger's mentality and active consumption are also often averse to press, but you seem keen to promote your label. Can you explain your attitude toward press?
Too many really strong underground labels don't promote themselves enough, or they try to purposefully keep themselves more underground and limited for a heads-y crowd. At the same time, you see a lot of people complaining that the music they like isn't embraced more, and that music that sounds much more commercialized is embraced by a larger audience. It's partly because those people are doing heavy press and helping to get their labels into the spotlight so that more people can engage with them. If you press 300 vinyl, sell it through your distributor, and don't do anything online, you might sell out of it and have some fans based on that, but it's much more difficult for that music to be picked up by a wider audience; You're contributing to a scene of people who are most likely already into that music. What you're not doing is exposing more people to that kind of music who may not have heard it before, and you're not contributing to more people getting into the stuff you're doing from another scene or direction.Some of these portals are pushing many different styles of music, so you might get some indie kid who's getting into more electronic-based indie, and they hear something you release and start to explore that kind of music. Those things are important too, because it's a form of education and helps people develop their taste. I suppose a lot of people are worried about getting too much attention and being associated with a crowd that they feel isn't credible, but for me, I don't think the music that we release is anywhere near pop-y enough to be perceived as an underground-commercial sound, which you have at the minute. There are a lot of people doing very vocal, big room house music, and other people had a rant and called it "deep house." It's not; it's commercial house, and it's just been done by perceived "underground" artists. That's a separate discussion, but you've got to be honest about the music your label is putting out. I think our music is honest enough in an underground sense, so I'm not bothered by that. I want people to hear and interact with this music.Connect with Lobster Theremin on Soundcloud
Connect with Lobster Theremin on Facebook
Connect with Palms Trax on Soundcloud
Connect with Snow Bone on Soundcloud
Connect with Steve Murphy on Soundcloud
Connect with Route 8 on Soundcloud