Labels to Watch 2011: Retrofit

Labels to Watch 2011: Retrofit

2 February, 2011 | 3.10AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: jay shepheard, labels to watch 2011, retrofit

There are no great secrets behind the name Retrofit, the “boutique” label that London producer Jay Shepheard launched early last year. His love of classic dance-music styles is right there in the first two syllables.

But if this is retro, it’s retro with integrity. Instead of shamelessly aping bygone styles, Shepheard and his collaborators get deep inside their source material, figuring out exactly what made the old tunes tick and bringing that knowledge to bear on rich, emotionally satisfying tracks that couldn’t sound more modern.

Read on, as Shepheard talks about his inspirations for the label. And if you’re in London on March 4, don’t miss the label’s first birthday celebrations at East London’s Dalston Superstore, in partnership with allied outfits Do It! and Scandal. Shepheard plays a “one-off oldschool acid house vinyl set” in the basement, alongside Retrofit regular Matthew Burton and Do It/Scandal residents We’re Not Cool and Greg Brockman. Upstairs, Faze Action’s Simon Lee joins Trailer Trash’s Ian Robinson, Namedrop from DJ History and Retrofit “promo queen and all round party girl” Marysia.

What’s the vision or guiding philosophy behind your label, and what sets you apart? How many people are running it?

As people who have followed my releases over the last few years will know, I’m very much influenced by early house, acid house, disco, old techno and vintage synthesis, etc. The term Retrofit means to modernize a classic product or theme, in other words updating the past, and in short that’s just what the label is about. I wanted a platform for me and other artists to bring all these influences together in a forward-thinking and original way and create a distinctive sound for the label without being tied into any particular genre or “sound of the month,” as it were.

Regarding the team, I’m pretty much the center of operations and ultimately decide about what gets put out. Marysia, my fiancé, also works on it helping out with general admin, organization, etc., and also helping me with feedback and opinions on the music. Then we have the one and only Jimmy Posters on press and web duty, Ryan & Matthias from Shucks Studio for the artwork and imagery (limited-edition full-sleeve art on the next 12”, by the way) and I work with Graeme at Digital Dublates for the DJ promo…

What can we expect to see from the label in 2011?

Well first up we have Retrofit #4, a three-tracker from myself, followed in mid March by #5 - another collaboration from Matthew Burton and I featuring the track “Liberal Zee” which I’ve been hammering in my sets for the past six months or so, so really looking forward to the release of that one. After that got a few other great artists both new and established that I’m in talks with about #6 and 7, but things are not 100% confirmed yet so will not mention any names for now. 

Which record label, past or present, would you name as an inspiration or role model for what you do, and why?

I’ve been collecting and playing music for ages so there would be a lot to choose from! However I think one really strong label over the years has been DFA Records. They can release across many different genres while retaining their sound and style. Also they are able to release very underground and specialist stuff like Still Going and also pop acts like LCD Soundsystem and Hercules & Love Affair while remaining very credible. There are tons of good labels about these days, but many of them can fairly one-dimensional. In the long run, I’d really like to try release a diverse and broad range of music on Retrofit in the way that DFA have done, and for me that makes them a really good role model.

• (0) Comments
• (1262) Views
• Get Retrofit on Beatport