Label Realm: quIrky motIfs

ID&T is a music label established in 1992 by Dutchmen Irfan van Ewijk, Duncan Stutterheim & Theo Lelie (it is obvious that the acronym stands for the initials of the founders' first names).

The label's history originates from the first gabber party organized by the 3 guys in 1992 at Utrecht Conference Center, which was named "The Final Exam" and gathered 12.000 people. Due to the party's success, they organized more events such as Thunderdome, Mystery Land and Global Hardcore Nation. The popularity of trance genre at the end of the 90's led the label to change their sound focused on the emerging Dutch trance artists.

In 2005 the company went through a big change since it was acquired by Be Yourself Music, a label started by old ID&T employees. Nowadays, the company continues to throw big dance parties for the masses mainly in the Netherlands.

Instinct Records was a dance label set up in New York by Jared Hoffman (1989). The label gained popularity from its first signing, which was a then unknown artist called Richard Melville, better known later as Moby! Through Moby's work, the company released worldwide hit singles and launched sublabels as alliances with other companies (such as FAX USA to re-issue material from German label Fax +49-69/450464, This Is Acid Jazz to publish material from UK label Acid Jazz in North America). Additionally, the label introduced to the US market prominent artists (DJ Krush, Amon Tobin, DJ Cam & Ninja Tune acts) through its sublabel Shadow Records. The company's success lasted until 2002, when it was sold to Knitting Factory Records.

Internal was a sublabel of FFRR (Pete Tong's label), which was established in 1992 by Christian Tattersfield, the former Marketing Manager of London Records. It was the production home of significant electronic music artists of the 90's, like Orbital, CJ Bolland, Salt Tank & The Advent. In 1996 Tattersfield left the company to become the Head of BMG UK imprint. Since then, he established a successful executive career in the music business, since he was appointed CEO of Warner Music UK between 2009 - 2014. With his departure, the label ceased operations a little years after.

P.S. Happy New Year!!!

Tune #112: B.I.G. - Autumn Waves

Klik Records has been an influential Greek label that pushed the boundaries of Greek electronic dance music. The first five years of the label (2003 - 2008) were extremely productive with the solid releases composed by the best Greek producers of that era, such as Nikos Diamantopoulos, Ioannis Douskos (aka Dousk) and George Pallikaris (aka G-Pal). However, my favorite Klik release is undoubtedly Mindscapes, the seminal studio album by B.I.G.

B.I.G. (Believe In God) is the music project of brothers Dimos & Michalis Siavelis. The Siavelis bros were raised in Aigio, a town in Achaea, West Greece and they had been involved in music studies (including classical music) for more than 10 years. The turning point in their music journey was Dimos' attendance in Yamaha Music School and Michalis' DJing in summer clubs, both under the apprentice of prolific house producer & DJ Nikos Diamantopoulos.

Dimos and Michalis have been influenced from various music artists, spanning different genres, such as rock (Dire Straits, Pink Floyd), ambient (Brian Eno, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis) and progressive house & trance (Yoogie Van Bellen, Faithless, Bill Hamel). The progressive sound era of the 90's inspired them to a great extent, which can be easily recognized in Mindscapes.

The studio album has been one of Klik Records' earliest releases (seventh), aligned with the company's ethos to publish timeless and classy productions. It was released in 2004 in a double CD format and it features 16 tracks, which are an eclectic blend of progressive house & ambient.

One of the album's highlights is certainly the well-known track A Promise, which has been included in several mix CDs and supported by famous DJs (Armin Van Buuren, Hernan Cattaneo, Nick Warren). However, the current post will present another personal favorite; the soothing Autumn Waves (which also features the mesmerizing words of Giota Nikolaou as per the former track):

B.I.G. - AUTUMN WAVES

B.I.G. should return to music production to provide us with gems like Mindscapes!

Tune #111: Evnus - Παγκόσμιος Πολίτης

EVNUS - ΠΑΓΚΟΣΜΙΟΣ ΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ


Evnus was originally a hip hop duo, which was formed in 1996 by Dimitris Kottakis (as lyricist) and Nikos Golfis (as composer). Their collaboration lasted only for 4 years, when the latter decided to retire from the project. The pseudonym was maintained by Dimitris for his solo works. As a duo, Evnus produced 2 studio albums; Αναλογική Ανάμνηση (1996) and Μπερδεμένα Μας Τα Λες Φίλε (2000). Both of them were released by Warehouse Records, a small label / recording studio set up by Vangelis Zisis & Vangelis Louroutziatis.

In my opinion, Evnus were differentiated from the prominent hip hop groups of that era (Active Member, F.F.C., Terror X Crew, Goin' Through, etc.), focusing on feel-good vibe in their tracks, even if they shared a political content. Disclaimer: I do not put in the equation Imiskoumbria, because they are a league of their own!

A personal favorite from Evnus' first album was Παγκόσμιος Πολίτης (Universal Citizen); the heavy bass vocals of Dimitris and the jazzy hip hop composition of Nikos are utilized to create an amusing track.

♫ Είμαι ο παγκόσμιος πολίτης, είμαι της ζωής αλήτης... ♫

Concerning their current whereabouts, Dimitris Kottakis continues to produce occasionally new tracks as Evnus while living a peaceful life in his hometown Aegina, a popular weekend getaway destination for Athenians. On the other hand, Nikos Golfis is not visible in the social media...