Hype Label of the Month: Love & Other

Started in 2014 as a sister label to dance music goliath Toolroom Records, UK imprint Love & Other is one of the foremost labels that give up-and-coming house producers a place to grow and shine. With hundreds of tracks and remixes under their belt, Love & Other helped give rise to now-established acts with early releases from the likes of Bearcubs, Illyus & Barrientos, Black Girl / White Girl, GotSome, and more. Using their ability to dig deeper than their Toolroom counterpart, Love & Other continues to deliver fistfuls of promising new house music talent the support they need to succeed.

We caught up with Love & Other’s lead A&R Manager Sean Holbrook to learn more about the label’s mission, some of their greatest hits, and what they have planned for the future.

Thanks for joining us Sean and Happy New Year! Now that 2021 is behind us, what would you say was Love & Other’s biggest achievement last year?

2021 was a great year for Love & Other as we continued to release amazing music and got to work with amazing artists. Some standouts achievements for me would be in the summer, we hosted our first writing camp, which went really well, and receiving two Track of The Weeks at BBC Radio1 with Ali Story‘s “Higher Love” was pretty special, but overall being able to work with brilliant artists and their teams on a daily basis is such an ongoing achievement!

How did Love & Other first get linked up with Toolroom?

Love & Other was born in 2014 as the quirky little sister to Toolroom Records. The label has more room to move to the left than Toolroom and this has been reflected with early releases from Bearcubs and GotSome, etc. Our sound can be accessible but we still need to make people dance, so we always have one eye on the dance floor and the other on the radio.

What would you say are some of the most significant benefits of being attached to a record label like Toolroom?

The team: the people that move across both labels are incredible, and the family ethos is massive at Toolroom, which is reflected in how they work together from A&R to marketing and beyond.

How would you describe Love & Other’s overarching A&R strategy? What are some of the key factors you look for in an artist/release before agreeing to sign?

Brilliant music, something you have to connect to from the first listen — this is the most important. Then it’s a series of questions I ask myself: how are you going to play a small but key part in this artist’s journey? If so, what is it? Is the artist or team-driven, focused and up for collaboration? What is the process and what does the end goal look like?

What are three of Love & Other’s most essential tracks?

Ali Story – Higher Love

When track and song come together, it’s the perfect combination of dance floor sonics and a brilliant song!

Heliotype – Never Enough

One for the dancefloors — quirky combinations of breakbeats/rave stabs and killer vocals!

Mikaela – Stronger

Slightly left for the label but such an accomplished track. Everything in the right place, energy levels on ten and such a beautiful vocal from Mikaela.

What does Love & Other have lined up for 2022?

More amazing music, more amazing artists, more progression, more good times…