Circus Company: Label of the Week

Circus Company: Label of the Week

27 August, 2007 | 3.00PM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Music News: antislash, circus company, dave aju, jazz

With its enthusiastic funky minimal beats and sexy percussive rhythms one would have expected Circus Company to hail from South America. But the record label is actually based in France, a country more famous for its disco house and electro than techno. The label’s new release ‘The Island of Lost Children Vol. 1’ quite frankly kicks ass, so Circus Company is Beatportal’s Label of the Week. 

Terry Church took caught up with ringmaster Mathias Duchemin to find out more his Circus Company.

Why did you start Circus Company?

“At the beginning the idea was just to be able to release music produced by a crew of friends.

“We wanted to make something different.

“I don’t know if i could say this today but I think we have developed a unique approach to house and techno music that is strongly influenced buy jazz and funk.

“I think that there’s also an evident taste for the use of acoustic instrument samples by many of our artists.”

You’ve certainly managed to carve out a niche for quirky techno.

“I think we just wanted to try to stay away from a particular format.

“Isn’t it more exciting for the audience to hear some projects that offer totally different records?

“Nothing’s more boring that getting only one precise kind of style on every release of a label.

“When you listen to Antislash, Ark or Dave Aju it all sounds different but everything is linked.”

What’s the techno and minimal scenes like in France?

“Well, in the beginning there were three labels preaching minimal house in the desert.

“That was back in 2000 with Karat and Telegraph records.

“Today things have developed a lot regarding that music.

“The minimal thing is now part of the French electronic music environment.

“If you look at the line-ups of clubs here, the new artists of the French scene like Antislash or Seuil are there so it’s obvious that’s something is going on here. The scene is alive.”

The music by Dave Aju is pretty exciting. Can you reveal more about him?

“We’ve got a the third release from the San Francisco-base artist Dave Aju coming up.

“That guy is killer.

“He’s got a unique personality in his music and is strongly influence by the Sun Ra Free Jazz era and Herbert.

“He isn’t famous yet but he’s got a strong respect from most tenors of our scene.

“Check out ‘Be Like The Sun’ - so many people freaked out on it when The Wignomy Brothers played it at the Mutek closing party.”

So what plans do you have for Circus Company in the future?

“Following what we’ve started in the past so we’ll be discovering new talents and pushing them as much as I can.

“Artists like Dop from Paris or Oleg Poliakov from Minsk in Siberia.

“They will both release on Circus Company in the next few months and they’ve got wonderful releases that will be heard alot on dancefloors next winter.

“The Montreal-based Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts and Stephan Beaupr頷ill will both release before the end of 2007.

“They’ve all got some house music with a big H to make you dance with a smile on your face. That’s what we’re here for, right?”

• (1) Comments
• (1586) Views
• Check out Circus Company on Beatport