Jimbo James
The You Are We imprint returns this April with Alexis Raphael’s ‘That Edgy Melody” EP, backed with remixes from Theo Kottis and Lo.pass.
For the last 8 years, You Are We have hosted some of the best parties in London including warehouse events, a series of takeover nights in room 3 at super club fabric and a selection of parties at Glastonbury, Space (Ibiza) and Burning Man to name a few. Now a burgeoning record label, You Are We look set to have a busy 2018 with top releases scheduled throughout the year, the first of which comes courtesy of Alexis Raphael, one of contemporary house’s leading figures with releases on Hot Creations, AVOTRE, Snatch! and Material.
Leading on the package is the orginal mix of title-track ‘That Edgy Melody’, seeing Raphael offer up a mind- bending arpeggio lead alongside, shuffled organic percussion, hooky vocal murmurs and snaking bass drones before the second original ‘Proper Chorge.’ tips the focus over to a stripped-back rhythm, airy pad swells and hypnotic voices tucked in to depths of the record.
Theo Kottis steps up to rework ‘Proper Chorge.’ next, delivering an acid charge Electro tinged interpretation fuelled by squelching 303 lines and bright chords and 909 drums. Lo.pass offer up their take on ‘That Edgy Melody’ next, offering their refined and reduced style via minimalistic drums, and intricately processed snippets of the original to create something smooth and ethereal. Lastly Kieran Apter’s take on ‘That Edgy Melody’, to be offered up as a free download, tips the focus over to chugging arps, dubby chords and menacing low end drones.
Alexis Raphael’s ‘That Edgy Melody” EP is out on You Are We 2nd April 2018.
Artist: Alexis Raphael, Lo.pass, Theo Kottis
Title: That Edgy Melody EP
Label: You Are We
Release Date: 2018-04-02
Tracklisting:
That Edgy Melody
Proper Chorge.
Proper Chorge. (Theo Kottis Remix)
That Edgy Melody (Lo.pass Remix)
That Edgy Melody (Kieran Apter Remix)
Interview with Lo.pass
Where are you guys from?
We are both from Edinburgh, Scotland.
What’s the scene like in Edinburgh?
The scene in Edinburgh is small yet underrated a lot of the time. There’s lots of promoters making forward thinking bookings and putting on exciting parties. At times there can been 2/3 big name artists playing in the city on the same night. We are residents at our respective nights in Edinburgh – Jonny at Tweak_ which has brought the likes of Raresh, Martin Buttrich, Cezar and Enzo Siragusa to Edinburgh. Sean being a resident for the harder Techno oriented night Pulse, who have have brought Marcel Dettmann, Ben Klock and Blawan amongst others to Edinburgh as well as the likes of Mr. G.
What are your backgrounds?
J – We both have slightly different backgrounds. Growing up I was always into a lot of different things but the core, as i got older, revolved around listening to disco, funk, and soul. I’ve always been a house DJ but as I’ve matured, settled more into the more stripped, minimalistic side of the spectrum. I feel in the studio, and although we are into the same things, have our own styles that we bring to the table that work really well together.
S – I’ve been a massive hip hop head growing up which originally got me into DJing, but a lover of many types of music. Although we come from slightly different backgrounds, the ethos in the music we play and look out for remains the same and translates over many different styles, regardless of it being techno, house or whatever – for me, it’s the subtle and rhythmic elements that play the key part of any track made for the dance floor.
How did you get involved with You Are We?
Scott who runs the label with Ash is a good friend of ours. After hearing some of our productions, he presented us with the opertunity to remix Alexis Raphael.
What do you have planned for 2018?
This year we have our own Ep coming out as the next You Are We release which is exciting as this will be our first full release together. We are also in the process of writing another remix for JohnnyJohnny Records which is due out around the same time. We’ll be looking to get some more of our music out this year as we’ve been fairly busy in the studio and will continue to be over the course of the year.
– jams
Jimbo James
Editor-in-Chief
jams@musicis4lovers.com