Following releases on Seclusiasis, Planet Mu and Black Acre sublabel Special Branch, Birmingham producer Raffertie has launched a new label called Super, with its first release due out early October.
The label marks a significant change in the producer’s sound, moving away from his established dubstep sound into more reserved territory tinged by house and garage. "My main focus at the moment is making club-centric music which is hopefully both sonically gripping and danceable," Raffertie says. "There will still be some craziness in there." The label's first release is an EP from Raffertie himself, Rank Functions, featuring three new tracks plus a remix by Brighton's Ital Tek. Chatting recently via email to RA writer Andrew Ryce, Raffertie shed some light on his decision to create Super and the creative changes that came with it:
Why did you feel the need to start a new label?
I don't know if there was a need so much as it's been something which, like many others, I have always wanted to do, and at a time when I have embarked upon a new musical direction it seems like there will never be a better time to do it.
How would you describe the sound of Super?
Super is a contemporary and forward thinking label. I really don't want, if at all possible, to start naming genres and styles and things like that, because what I really want is for people to formulate their own ideas about what Super is. What I can say is that we are endeavouring to embrace every nuance and subtlety of the UK underground scene. Every artist that we are releasing has their own distinctive sound and I think those releases will speak volumes more about our label’s stylistic direction than anything I could put into words.
What caused the change in direction?
I've never really wanted to be tied down to any one scene or genre. Music is far too diverse to make just one type. As it happens, when I started to get a little bit of attention and radio play, people were getting more and more excited about dubstep and so people wrapped me up into that bracket, without actually giving too much thought to what I was making.
My decision to make music that is very different from anything anyone has heard from me before was a conscious and deliberate one. I want to shed the idea that I am a "dubstep producer and DJ" so I have spent the summer locked away in a seaside studio making a brand new sound which I am very proud of and happy with. No doubt there will be more changes and developments in the future but right now I feel like I am creating something that distinctly represents Raffertie in sound.
What can we expect from Super after the Rank Functions EP?
After my EP, we've got a single coming from a producer called Taylor. We are releasing a track from him called "CMB" with remixes from Girl Unit, Rekorda and myself. Then a release from Photomachine with remixes from Optimum and Throwing Snow and then a Randomer release with remixes from Greymatter and Home Park.
Tracklist
1. Rank Functions
2. His Counting House
3. Horse Flesh
4. Rank Functions (Ital Tek Remix)
Super will release Rank Functions on October 11, 2010.
