Label Profile: D’Julz’ Bass Culture

Label Profile: D’Julz’ Bass Culture

7 October, 2010 | 5.10AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: bass culture, d'julz, d'julz, d'julz, d'julz, d'julz, d'julz, d'julz

Launched just a year ago, Paris’ Bass Culture Records rapidly established itself as a reliable purveyor of deep, versatile house music of a classic stripe. Chunky beats, 909s, moody chords—the elements may be familiar, but the music is anything but generic.

Label head D’Julz clearly has an ear for A&R, and as a result, Bass Culture emphasizes its catalog over its roster—it’s a collection of great tunes, not a social registry of any given scene.  The list of artists ranges widely, from old-school names like Mr. G and Chez Damier to current French house hotshot Oleg Poliakov and Dutch Jill-of-all-trades Zoe Xenia, and everyone is bringing their A-game.

We reached out to D’Julz to talk about the culture of Bass Culture; read on for the full interview and to check his selection of 10 essential Bass Culture tracks.

Let’s start with the name: Bass Culture is also the name of your residency at Rex Club in Paris; what’s the relation between the label and the party?

Bass Culture is the longest running party at the Rex Club. I started it in ‘97 and I still love doing it today. It hasn’t changed so much along the years, it kept its simple formula: I’m spinning and I have only one guest, carefully chosen. He can be a newcomer or a big name; it doesn’t matter as long it is a very good DJ and someone with a strong musical identity. The label shares the same philosophy regarding the eclecticism of genres or the choice of artists, whether new or established. So it made sense to give it the same name.

How would you describe the label’s sound and aesthetic?

The label is a direct extention of my DJing. I sign music I want to play in my sets, preferably more than once—simple as that. My style is mostly house but I always like to play as many different genres as possible. So the label will reflect that as well. I lack a bit of perspective to say exactly what sets Bass Culture apart from other labels, but I hope being in this business for almost 20 years gives me enough personality and vision to sign music that will stand out and, more importantly, that will last.

What made you decide to start a label? Conventional wisdom might say that you’d have to be crazy to do that these days.

I was asked to do a label already eight years ago, but I had just started to feel comfortable as a producer and I wanted to stay focused on that.  The market is of course very different now, and it’s unfortunate but I wasn’t ready before, so no regrets. It all came together last year when I found the right team to help me without having to take too much time away from the studio. Also, I started to receive very good unsigned music.

So far, the roster has been a real rotating door, with very few repeat appearances. How do tracks find their way to your label? And do you foresee building up a roster, or will it continue to be a pretty variable lineup?

There’s been only 10 releases so far and I don’t want to have more than one record a year from the same artist. There are already followups planed for next season from Lemos, Alex Picone, Zoe Xenia, and Anonym. So the roster is shaping up, but I also want to leave some room for new appearances which will be the case with forthcoming EP or remixes by Mr. G, Joel Alter, Frank Roger, Skudge, Daniel Stefanik. The idea is too find the right balance between five or six rotating artists and also for new appearances.

Interestingly, you’ve stayed very low key on the label, with just one edit of your own appearing so far. Will you be releasing more of your own material, or are you prefering to keep it a sort of curatorial exercise, selecting other people’s music?

The priority of this label is to release other artists’ music. That’s what made me start a label. Now, of course, I will release my own music as well. I’m currently working on my first EP, scheduled for the beginning of 2011.

Which labels have influenced you most, in terms of their sound, overall aesthetic, business practices, or anything else?

I had to chance to work with a lot amazing labels in the past such as Ovum, Circus Company, 2020Vision, or Pokerflat. They are all great examples of labels with a strong identity but who also managed to stay eclectic and open-minded, which I think is the key to last through the years—as they all have proven and which I hope I will also manage to do.

So far, the Bass Culture releases have been (to my ears, anyway), very classic in their sound. Can you ever foresee a day in which you’ll say, “Enough of the classic house music!” and look for a new sound? Or do you think that there’s always room to keep pushing the old sounds forward? (By the way, I don’t mean that as a criticism! I’m just curious how you feel about house music’s need to evolve, versus its faithfulness to its roots.)

Classic? I take it as a compliment, especially for a one-year old label! More seriously, at the end of the day, it always comes back to “house” and “techno.” We have seen a lot of trends in the last ten years (electroclash, minimal, etc.) but they only last a couple of years and then house and techno come back. It seems we’ll all need to regenerate ourselves from them at some point.

Again, my style as a DJ/producer has always been strongly rooted in those genres, so it make sense that my label reflects that. However, it is not nostalgia and I’m not stuck in the past; I’m very open towards new sounds, young producers, or new interpretations of those genres.
If something revolutionary arrives and excites me, I won’t stop myself from releasing it on the label, believe me. I live with my time but without forgetting where I come from, that’s all.

Who handles your graphic design? I like the way you use the bold color schemes—it’s a design that works well both for vinyl shoppers and also online (where cover images are reduced to the size of a postage stamp).

That is nice to hear. The graphic of the label was design by a Parisian artist called Leila Eisenman. She was already working with a lot of clubs in Paris so she had the knowledge of this scene and music. She totally understood the kind of simplicity and playful spirit I wanted for the label.

D’Julz’ jewels: 10 Bass Culture essentials

Lemos, “Kalooo”

The first release and the first hit on the label. When I heard it I knew it was the right moment to start the label.

Alex Picone, “Mon Amour”

A great party track that’s been brilliantly remixed by Chris Carrier.

Kasper, “Piano Pressure (Mr. G Remix)”

Classic piano-house track remixed by one of my all-time favorite producers.

Zoe Xenia, “Let the Music Play”

BC goes deeper with the first proper song on the label, produced by the coolest Dutch girl I know.

Arnaud Le Texier, “The Saturday Kick Project”

My old French friend and Safari electronic label boss shows he can also do darker techno, and so does BC.

Anonym, “Love Is Easy”

I’m so proud to have this guy on the roster. He is one of the most exciting new producers around, and I’m looking forward to releasing more of his music.

Oleg Poliakov, “Caravan”

Dancefloor lethal weapon made with class by the Parisian maestro.

Oleg Poliakov, “Besides”

Perfect summer end of night track.

John Dimas, “Slit”

The second super-talented Greek producer of the roster. Comes with a classic Chez Damier remix.

Rio Padice, “Deepstation”

Timeless piece of deep house by the young Italian prodigy.

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