Thu, 15 Dec 2011 / Post a commentwww.soundcloud.com/discrete
The Renaissance man Leon Battista Alberti once said “A man can do all things if he will.” Fittingly, Alberti was an author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher and cryptographer. This multidisciplinary approach is exactly what artist, producer, and label boss Kyle Yip has implemented into his vision of Savvy Records. Under the production moniker of Discrete, Kyle started out by playing at nightclubs around Toronto, bedroom producing original tracks and remixing as much as possible. Soon after, his hard work received recognition when his first EP “To All The Killers” was released on the German Brickhouse Records, and got airtime on international radio with the Loose Cannons on UK’s Kiss FM, and Kissy Sell Out on BBC Radio 1. After performing and promoting in Europe, Kyle decided it was time to apply his experience to create the Toronto based Savvy Records label.
Surprisingly, when asked about his musical inspirations, Kyle declines comment and opts to describe more conceptual influences. Themes of appropriation, Dadaism, deconstructionism, Fluxus, neo-pop and mortality are more relevant to Kyle, who finds the parallels between visual art and music to be crucial. By regimenting his label with concept driven material, he hopes to break down the passive music listening process.
“In the end my objectives are to remind people that the imagination is more important than many of us take for granted. With it you can do almost anything” says Kyle. “That being said I like my work to present itself as an opportunity to exercise your creativity. I’m more interested in the viscerality and subjective interpretation of art than something that is intellectually finite. Art can be very segregating so I try to encourage a more communal and interactive experience with my audience.”
This ideology is reflected in the labels debut EP. “Loud Vacuum” by BNY is difficult to classify (much like Kyle’s Discrete discography) but can be described as underground Detroit influenced techno-house. While avant-garde electronic genre fusion is commonplace for those familiar to the scene, general audiences that are comfortable with more conventional musical structure may be reluctant to indulge.
“I am always striving to achieve a sound that satisfies my audience and myself, but more often than not I fail because I don’t pander to the masses. Most people want to hear songs they know and aren’t all that interested in hearing something different, especially if it is a genre they’re unfamiliar with” says Myles Smith, a fellow artist and former deejay partner of Kyle.
Although the scene is seemingly adverse to innovation, Kyle takes solace in the uniqueness of his product and maintains that like-minded individuals will recognize the label’s altruistic intentions. Savvy Records launch party at Sleeping Giant Gallery proved that by filling up the venue and getting a critic’s pick in local newspapers. Despite the warm reception, Kyle vigilantly keeps busy on upcoming releases including an EP by Orange Jews, an album by Brabe and his own Discrete tunes.
Popular contemporary music is often characterized by auto-tune, instant gratification, focus groups, celebrity worship and has effectively limited our expectations and utilization of music. This is why projects like Savvy Records are so important. They can change our perceptions of what music is. They can place significance on execution. They can communicate meaningful messages, ideas and inspire us. They can place the artistry back into music because after all, what is music without, if not art?
