Jamie Russell launches Sneaker Social Club

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  • The Hypercolour founder tells us about his '90s rave-inspired new label.
  • Jamie Russell launches Sneaker Social Club image
  • Jamie Russell, the man behind Hypercolour and Glass Table, has put together a new label called Sneaker Social Club. The label is all about three things: sneakers, '90s raves, and the continuing cross-over between house and bass music. Though based in Brighton, where Russell and his girlfriend throw a party of the same name, Sneaker Social Club is particularly inspired by the scene in Bristol. "You've got clubbers going to events there where they're listening to house, techno and bass all under one roof," says Russell. "Everything is crossing over right now, so-called 'dubstep' DJs playing house/ techno and vice-versa. Something fresh is happening in the UK, and I wanted to be a part of that." The label officially launches next month with a 12-inch by Throwing Snow called Shadower / Sanctum (a keen-eyed reader might recognize the first track as the opener from Claude VonStroke's recent RA podcast). Both tracks land somewhere between house and dubstep, a sound Russell plans to stick with on future releases by T. Williams, Al Tourettes and Maya Jane Coles (as Nocturnal Sunshine). Chatting over email last week, Russell told us more about the inspiration behind Social Sneaker club:
    You've said '90s rave is a key influence for Sneaker Social Club. What was your most inspiring experience from that era? Well I guess it would be my dad! I was ten in 1991 so was too young to experience proper raves, but my dad was a regular raver. Him and my mother divorced when I was quite young, so he had free reign to behave like a teenager, and was able to get away with it. He still does to this day, bless him! I would go to my dad's on a Sunday, and more often that not, he'd have been to a rave the day before (or was even still up from the night before). It started off with me obsessing over these crazy looking fliers, and I would soon ask my dad if I could borrow his mix tapes to play on my Walkman. Fantazia, Obsession, Mickey Finn, Ratpack etc. I still listen back to music of that era and it gives me goosebumps. I so wanted to be old enough to go raving back then! How will the '90s rave aesthetic appear in the label? Well ultimately, it will incessantly resonate throughout the music, our first release is quite a mission statement I think. It's by Throwing Snow, AKA Ross Tones. He is one of the most talented artists I have worked with in my many years of running labels. I'm super-hyped about this record. It draws in influences from early '90s hardcore via its tempo, its atmospherics are very Detroit and the percussion is 808-style, so on an electro tip. So I guess you could say it draws from many styles from the era. How exactly does sneaker art factor into all of this? Firstly, Sneakers are probably my biggest vice! Well, it's close between that and vinyl. We're paying a lot of attention to detail with the 12-inches, we have extremely cool A2 poster inserts (I'm heading up to the distro next week to personally insert the posters myself, cause I'm a tight ass! Dedication though, right?!) and we're working with some amazingly talented sneaker artists. The first poster is by a Dutch artist called Gaby Gaby. He's done some cool brush stroke Air Force Ones. We've also got Catherine Siofra Prendergrast, who did all the new Wagon Repair sleeves, and Zeke Clough who should need no introduction to RA readers, but he did the Skull Disco and Shackleton profile illustrations for those who don't know. Zeke is also doing the full artwork for our first Sneaker compilation which is gonna drop in January of 2012. It's going to be mixed by Throwing Snow and I'm buzzing about some of the licenses we've managed to sort so far. I won't give away too much, OK...well just one then. Luke Vibert's remix of Jamie Lidell's "A Little Bit More" on Warp, which is probably my favourite remix of all time! Early rave tapes and house CDs were my first foray into electronic music, so I'd like to think that we're carrying the torch here, for introducing the kids to credible, current electronic bass music.
    Have a look at the ravetastic video for "Shadower" below. Tracklist 01. Shadower 02. Sanctum Sneaker Social Club will release Shadower / Sanctum on September 19th, 2011.
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