Label Profile: Exone

Label Profile: Exone

23 November, 2011 | 3.42AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: exercise one, exone, label profile

We’ve been keeping a close eye on Berlin’s Exone label for a while now. The duo Exercise One launched it in 2008 as an outlet for their edits and collaborations, but last year, after closing their label Lan Muzic, they redoubled their energies on Exone.

The roster is decidedly a family affair, bringing together Lan Muzic long-timers (Peter Van Hoesen, Phantasmeano aka Jacopo Carreras) with friends like Dave Vega, Marc Houle, Deadbeat and Seth Troxler; there’s no set musical policy, with releases ranging from PvH’s ominous techno to Phantasmeano’s unconventional funk.

PETER VAN HOESEN – IRRATIONAL X (SLOWMIX)

But the forthcoming Exercise One single, “You Ought to Know,” really caught our ear. Worlds away from their spine-tingling techno and high-energy live sets, the slinky, sultry song pays overt homage to their heroes Joy Division/New Order; vocals from Zach van Hoozer of the Zulu Pearls push it closer to pop than anything they’ve done before. A remix from Peter van Hoesen, meanwhile, finds the Belgian producer testing his own limits, forsaking techno rhythms in favor of a sound closer to the EBM and goth he grew up with.

We caught up with Exercise One’s Marco Freivogel to ask about the shift in direction and to find out more about their vision for the label. Read on for the interview, and stay tuned for the release of “You Ought to Know” on December 12. For now, check out the whole Exone catalog here.

DAVE VEGA – MISSING POSTCARD FROM VENICE

Can you tell us a little about the genesis of the label? It began as a sort of edits label back when Lan Muzic was still going, with “Oi Oi London This Is Kreuzberg,” a response to David E. Sugar’s “Oi Oi New York This Is London.” But in 2010, you started up Exone full steam.

That’s right. We started Exone in 2007 for edits or remixes we did which we liked and we wanted to have on vinyl. The first one was the “Oi Oi,” after we got the remix files for David Sugar’s track. Somehow the remix we did was not his cup of tea, but we felt in our live shows that this one had a big potential. And there we go… this is how Exone started. the name of the label was given by Neuton, our distributor at that time.

What is your vision for the label, and how do you make your A&R decisions?

There is not a mega masterplan with Exone. but if we talk about a vision, it is that the music has to be different, it has to touch us in a certain way, and the idea or the genesis of the track should be something unique. We are in a position where we have lots of talented people around us who make great music. We have a well-equipped studio and bring some of the artists there with their ideas to work on or finish the tracks there with me and Jacopo Carreras—you can say that our studio is the heart of the label.

A bit like Lan Muzic, Exone has a wider stylistic range than a lot of labels. It encompasses Peter Van Hoesen’s powerful techno, Phantasmeano’s tripped-out funk, Dave Vega’s deep tech house, and more. Is it important to you to keep the roster diverse? And how much of that might have to do with the fact that you guys haven’t come up as DJs, and therefore might feel more free to experiment?

Maybe that plays into it. But I was never a big fan of the idea that a label has to have just one sound. I do not like the idea that the label stands on top and then tells the artists what to do. I find it much more interesting that every single artist has his personality and space to develop. Then there is us: we love music, and the range of our influences is big, and so it happens that we like variety—we like to mix things up.

MATILDA – PROTEA

What can you tell us about Matilda’s bewitching “Protea”? Tunes like that really don’t come around very often. And yet this Matilda person seems to have hidden her identity. Will she (he?) be releasing more?

It was perhaps four years ago that I heard the first version of “Protea,” and I was touched deeply by it. The harp melody comes so gently and embraces the track; the whole thing simply takes you on a very nice trip. Then it needed some time to be developed. And the person behind Matilda was not sure for a while about it, as they work only with a little drum machine and an old sampler. So we offered to make the production in our studio, and the result was just beautiful. Now they start on the next release. I’m very pleased to have Matilda on the Exone ship!

Exercise One feat. Zach Van Hoozer - You ought to know - official Video from outofme - acapulco on Vimeo.

Let’s talk about the forthcoming Exercise One EP, “You Ought to Know.” You guys are named for a Joy Division song, and this record really emphasizes your love for New Order. It’s definitely a stylistic shift for the duo; do you foresee doing more stuff in this pop direction?

We were working on lots of music in the last two years, including collaborations with other artists from other “music scenes.” When we met Zach Van Hoozer (Zulu Pearls), it was clear that we should work on some music together. We had a very good working flow together and really enjoyed it, but I’m not sure when we’ll do it again as he is so busy with his band at the moment. There are more tracks in this direction in the vault. Some of them are just growing after some time, and if we are happy with the result, we’ll go ahead and release them.

The next collaboration we have done is again very different. It includes vocals from Hugh Betcha and there’s is a track we did together with Mathew Jonson. This will be released in spring 2012.

I really want to keep things open for Exercise One—as open as you can be in this scene.

Peter van Hoesen’s mix for the new EP is a real treat as well—once again, something we’re not expecting from him. How did you decide upon him to remix it?

Peter is a friend of ours since years—you can say we grew up together and we have a lot of musical exchange. We always show each other our latest tracks, have some beers and make a nice listening session.
And when Peter listened to “You Ought to Know,” he loved it right away, and I asked him for a remix. We knew that this was a new challenge for him, working with a full song rather than a straight techno track. He’s used every part of the original track and made a much more classical remix, yet it’s also typically Peter, if you know him and his work. I think it changed his remix view a lot—the result stands on its own. It is the first time that Peter releases something like this.

Finally… what else can we expect from Exone in the coming months?

The next EP comes from a very talented Italian producer, Andrea Zannini. Then Dave Vega is working on new stuff and so is Phantasmeano. The next Matilda is also in the pipeline, and Exercise One will have another collaborative EP with two Canadian friends. Then we have to see how things go…. We’re going to be playing live less and DJing more in the future, to keep the live set as something much more special. We will premiere a new live show at Panorama Bar on February 18—definitely something we’re looking forward to in the new year.

If you’re in Berlin, catch the Exone crew at their monthly party Off The Shelf, at Neukölln’s Pigalle. Marco Freivogel, Melissa Taylor, and Deadbeat founded the night as an outlet to play music from outside the conventional club spectrum; guests so far have included Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts, Nick Höppner, Peter van Hoesen, Marc Houle, Scuba, and Mathew Jonson. Get more info here.

Exercise One photographed by Lars Borges.

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