Beatport Hype: Rawsome Deep

With several Beatport number ones to its name, Rawsome Deep is one of the most exciting young labels in minimal and deep tech. We get to know more about the label with its founder, Greco (NYC), who provided an hour-long mix of Rawsome tracks you can expect to hear in 2021.

Tell us about how Rawsome Recordings first came to be.

First I want to thank Beatport for this incredible honor! Rawsome was actually a direct result of my blog site, Spira Music. Formed in 2014, we specialized in free downloads and helped emerging artists share their music with our fast-growing network. As the quality of submissions rose, so did my interest in launching an official label. In March 2016 we released our first free download on Rawsome and in March 2017 we released our first official release!

Rawsome Recordings is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. What are some of your biggest takeaways from running the label after this long?

Rawsome would have celebrated its 5th year in Amsterdam this past October where we host our annual boat party during ADE, however we are coming up on our 4th year as an official label in March 2021 and couldn’t be more excited with the progress we have made! The biggest takeaway is honestly the family we have built over the years. It brings me so much joy to travel around the world, connecting with so many music lovers along the way! Another huge takeaway has been witnessing the growth of our artists such as DJOKO, MADVILLA, JIZZ and many more!

What went into the decision to create Rawsome’s sister-label, Rawsome Deep? How would you characterize the sound, and why did you think it necessary to develop another imprint?

Rawsome Deep was a direct result of our 2019 boat party in Amsterdam with DJOKO, MADVILLA, JSRP, Thijs Haalan, Menesix, and Maitre Disco. I noticed every one of our artists had shifted their sound to minimal/deep tech instead of our usual “raw” house and tech house. DJOKO was a perfect representation of where I wanted to take the new label; high-energy records with feel good basslines, vibey melodics and jackin’ grooves. Lastly, the decision to create Rawsome Deep was purely inspired by love and appreciation for the music!

What are some other labels that you would say Rawsome Deep shares a close kinship with?

Labels we’ve grown very fond of and had the pleasure of working with are PIV, Tamango, Moscow, Solid Grooves, Heavy House Society, Ovrdose Deep, House Keepers, Andhera, Refuge, and Heat Up Music!

Rawsome Deep first started releasing records around the start of the pandemic. With some obvious bombs on the label that unfortunately missed hitting more dance floors this year due to lockdown, are you pleased with the reaction to these tracks?

In short, I’m extremely pleased with how well the music has been received. As the pandemic reached the US, I immediately said to myself “this is exactly what I need to be doing.” The world was experiencing one of the most unique hardships and felt it was my purpose to make this shift towards feel-good music. Music that would soothe the soul. I invested every minute I had to promote the launch of Rawsome Deep and crazily enough hit number one on minimal/deep tech releases with my first release ”The Box”!

Tell us about the rapport you have with the artists on Rawsome Deep and how you’ve managed to maintain and grow those relationships this past year.

Most of the artists on Rawsome Deep have stemmed from Rawsome and even Spira Music. The family has only continued to grow and rise together since we began. JIZZ was actually one of the first artists to release on Spira Music, then 5 years later he’s on Rawsome Deep hitting his first number one on Beatport. DJOKO is of course another tremendous artist we’ve had the pleasure of working with, first releasing on Rawsome back in 2017 as our third official release on the label! Fast forward a few years and we nailed a number one record on Beatport with a stellar remix from Archie Hamilton. With the entire world on lockdown, I took to the Internet and started streaming on Twitch a few times a week listening to demo submissions for the label. This became one of the most rewarding experiences as it aided in our search for emerging artists! Tom Spark was one of our earliest discoveries on the Rawsome Demo streams, delivering an outstanding four-track EP titled Hurricane. Tom also wound up becoming our A&R for Rawsome Deep and plays such a huge role in the execution of each release.

What can you tell us about the Rawsome Deep label aesthetic? Who comes up with the album art designs, and who are the models used for each release?

Funny story about the artwork. I actually created the first few drafts of Rawsome Deep artworks myself and just before our first release. Then I discovered an incredible indie designer, pulled the old art, and replaced it with his! I loved his use of minimalism for these releases. There’s not much else to it, I’m just thankful the world never saw my designs as they were nowhere near as good as Navid’s.

What are your hopes for the label’s development, and what can fans look forward to hearing in the future?

2021 is looking brighter and brighter by the minute. With minimal/deep tech rising in popularity, we’re also raising the bar with our selections. We’ve been so fortunate to hit #1 three times this year on Beatport and will continue to provide cutting edge music for our fans. As for 2021, we’re gearing up for our biggest year yet with artists such as Carloh, Yaya, Dale Howard, Prunk, Luca Donzelli, and MADVILLA coming to the label early next year!

Tell us about the mix you made for us.

For this mix, I wanted to include some old and some new. We’ve been so fortunate with early success and wanted to showcase some of the tracks that laid the foundation for the label as well as premiering some of the newer music you can expect to hear in 2021! We want to thank Beatport again for this incredible honor and a massive thanks to all supporting! Keep it Rawsome!

Cameron Holbrook is Beatportal’s Assistant Editor. Find him on Twitter.