Under The Shade boss David Griffiths will establish a new imprint focused on deep house in March.
Going under the name of 3rd Strike Recordings, the label will be the third time that Griffiths has founded his own record label, originally focusing his attentions on the Jiscomusic edits label back in 2005 before diverting his efforts to original productions and his Under The Shade project. While electronic disco is the name of the game for Under The Shade, 3rd Strike will be firmly focused on house music, with the first release coming from fledgling Hamburg-based producer Erdbeerschnitzel. Griffiths' longtime supporter and affiliate Mark E contributes a warm chugging take on the joyous and heavily swung "4 Months," while Arto Mwambé offer a more dynamic version of the soulful restraint of "Tonight Is Today Is Tomorrow."
We caught up with Griffiths by e-mail to ask him about the reasons behind starting the label, what his future plans are, and his dream signing.Why did you decide to start a new label rather than just including it within Under The Shade?
I've always been into deeper, more experimental house and wanted a new outlet for that stuff. Under The Shade is going in a more nu-disco/cosmic direction, so I wanted a clean slate. It's always fun doing new projects.
How did you find out about Erdbeerschnitzel?
It's a guy called Tim Keiling from Mittelfischbach, Germany. He just got in contact through MySpace. He has a really unique sound coming from more of an experimental direction, and is now turning his hand to more house/dance floor stuff. It reminds me a bit of Floating Points/Cottam, but a bit more chopped up, sample heavy and expertly arranged. I think he will have a good year, as he also has a release on Tensnake's Mirau label.
Do you have any further releases planned so far for 3rd Strike?
Yeah, the next release will be from Vakula (Uzuri, Quintessentials), then and hopefully James Duncan (Real Soon, Le Systeme).
How is Under The Shade going?
Really well. I've a massive backlog to get through, so the release schedule is going to be hectic this year. I'm hoping for at least one release a month. Next one is Chamboche with a Toby Tobias and Brontosaurus remix. Following that is a Toby Tobias' release, which I'm very excited about. I'm really pleased with the reaction the label has been getting. People seem to be diggin' it—onwards and upwards!
If you could pick anybody to do the next release on 3rd Strike, who would you choose?
Tough one. I like getting new unknown artists, but I guess someone like Hunee has been rocking it lately. Kyle Hall is on fire as well. Dream time would be Rheji Burrell or Pal Joey!
3rd Strike Records will release Erdbeerschnitzel's 4 Months on March 1st, 2010.