Labels to Watch 2011: Visionquest

Labels to Watch 2011: Visionquest

15 February, 2011 | 12.35PM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: benoit & sergio, labels to watch 2011, lee curtiss, ryan crosson, seth troxler, shaun reeves, visionquest

One of the year’s most eagerly anticipated label launches is finally upon us: Visionquest.

The label is a collaborative effort between Shaun Reeves, Seth Troxler, Lee Curtiss, and Ryan Crosson, who have been using the Visionquest moniker for productions and remixes for a couple of years now. At long last, with their collective cred at a record high and still rising, they unleash their label on the world.

Interestingly, the first release comes not from the quartet but rather from Benoit & Sergio, the D.C. duo that’s been making waves with its lush, melody-soaked releases for Spectral Sound (and, soon, DFA). “Walk and Talk"—with its unforgettable refrain of “My baby does K all day"—has been burning up sets from the ‘questers and their circle for a while now, and it’s set to be a massive underground anthem for 2011.

We reached out to Visionquest to find out more, and were treated to answers from all four members. Read on for an in-depth look at one of the year’s most exciting new outfits.

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

Shaun Reeves: The idea of the Visionquest has been something that has been happening since the dawn of man’s evolution of consciousness and we’re just realigning with it. For many ancient civilizations like the Egyptians and Mayans, and for some indigenous tribes still present to this day, it is seen as a right of passage towards spiritual enlightenment. In some cases it is used for healing purposes but usually involves an individual going alone into an unknown wilderness while fasting, seeking a vision or sign that will be a guide to them in the future.

Seth Troxler: With this concept in mind, musically our guiding philosophy behind the label was to put more of the kind music that wasn’t being released. We all have very broad tastes when it comes to the kind of music we are into and so felt it would be a good plan to have a platform where we could showcase some of these musical ideas and also put out our own music without limits.

Lee Curtiss: We are really lucky in the fact that some of our closest friends are currently making exactly the kind of music that we felt the world was missing. The whole label has, thus far, been an entirely family affair. For us, it’s less about classifying and categorizing music but more about how we think the music can contribute to broadening perspectives and creating long lasting material that people will connect to on a deeper level.

Ryan Crosson: The four of us are running it together, we are all involved in the decision making process when it comes down to major decisions. For the label we each are finding new music/artists that interest us and we can present to the whole group. Music aside, Seth is extremely savvy with design so he has spearheaded the artwork for the label, Shaun and I have been doing a lot of label logistics and artist relations and Lee is the musical engine room and is also concocting some amazing video segments for the label.

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

Shaun Reeves: For our first four releases on our new Visionquest label we are bringing in three duos and one female solo artist, all of whom are relatively new on the music scene. The first release, out at the end of January, will feature Berlin-based production duo Benoit & Sergio, who have previously released on Spectral Sound and have an EP out coming out on DFA soon. The second release is from a band called Footprintz, out of Montreal, who we are really excited about. We aim to have this out in time for Miami WMC. Their music is not exactly what could be described as straight-up dancefloor tracks but will be backed up by an amazing remix from Ewan Pearson.

Ryan Crosson: Visionquest 03 will be the Italian production partnership, Tale of Us, aka Karm and Matteo. These two are such genuinely great people and it shows both in their productions and their DJ and live performances. Their use of vocals on the record creates an amazingly sensual vibe. The fourth release will be quite a special one, we are releasing two to four tracks by an up until now unknown vocal talent from Mexico City called Niki Nakazawa.

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

Ryan Crosson: I think we’d all choose Perlon. They’ve maintained a strong integrity while trends have come and gone. The design is simple and the music speaks for itself.

Visionquest - the label

Visionquest - the collective

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