Since it’s launch in May 2006, Scum records has been pouring out tune after tune, receiving strong support from the biggest names in hard dance across the planet. Judge Jules has even tipped UglyDave, the label manager, as a tech dance-floor master to watch out for, whilst BK has hailed him a 'Prodigy' in Mixmag.
It’s been a very busy year for this young man. As well as Scum Records, Ugly has been also working on Fevah Records, FWD Records and Insomnia Trax,
So we paid a visit to the new home of the Scum studio in Coventry to see what all the fuss is about...
So tell us what Scum's all about - who's in charge, and how would you define the sound you're pushing?
Scum Records was set up in May 2006 by Riggsy & myself, to push the crossover sounds we have been carving out over the last 4 years. The sound we go for on the Scum label is very much tech based hard dance, and very abstract. It’s all about pushing boundaries & finding that sound and vibe that’s different to every other out there.
Most people will remember you from the days when you were signed to 12" Thumpers - how would you say your styles have changed or developed since then and why after all this time launch Scum together?
Ha-Ha! Trust the Thumpers to be brought up! Yeah we both were signed to the Thumpers back in the day. I generally pushed a slightly different sound to the rest of the Thumpers crew. I’ve always tried to be a little bit different with my sounds and try to bend the rules a bit. Especially with our newer material on Scum and Fevah, its all about fusing different styles together and not being afraid to experiment with sounds that haven’t been used before. A lot of the newer tracks have been quite techy, where as our old sound was just pure hardhouse.
I’ve been really lucky over the past few years. Having over 200 releases (under many different alias’s) signed on labels such as -
Scum Records / Xtension Records / Fevah Records / Species Records / ElectroScum / Cybergroove Records / Blue Cubed Records / 12"Thumpers / Passion Records / Insomnia Trax / Insomnia Trax / Rush Records / Tidy Trax / Lustral Records/ Tough Trax / FWD Records / TLS Records / Thumpin Hard / GRH Recordings / House Wives Choice Records / to name a few ?
Over the last few months, I have also been trying to share a bit of the Scum knowledge. Knowing how hard it can be to get anywhere in the music scene, me & Riggsy put together step by step plan of how to get started as a producer in the scene, and how to go about getting yourself noticed. The “How to start a record label” parts 1 and 2, on the Gurn website, were a big hit with up and coming producers and DJ’s.
That's a pretty impressive record you have there - does that mean that all the praise you're getting for the forthcoming Scum releases is like water to a duck's back or are you surprised by the response and support you've already had?
Over that last year we have had some really huge responses on our production work. Having Andy Farley, BK, Amber D, Karim, Paul Glazby, Chris Liberator, Judge Jules and many more all backing our work, and including some of our tracks on their compilations. This has come, as a bit of a surprise as these are the people who have inspired me over the years, and now they want our music. Mark EG recently contacted us at Scum Studio wanting to back our techno sound, which did come as a huge surprise, as Mark EG is a hard man to get thumbs up from and a huge influential figure, so yes it’s all very shocking and flattering that we've had such an interest in our work. To have such praise bestowed on you by someone as well respected as these artists is something which makes me very proud and just gives me more energy and drive to keep pumping the new shizzle out there!
Even with such big names supporting your work that still isn't always enough to make your label a hit; so what have you got planned to make sure that Scum releases hit the shelves with a bang?
We push the Scum label to the extreme with the promotion, its never ending really. The support from other artists is a god sent gift, but we still try and promote it ourselves everywhere we can. We set up the Scum Tour to push the sound and label and have recently hooked up dates at Storm, Squelcher, and the Cube and even have a few tours overseas this year to push the Scum vibe globally (South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Greece and more). We have also started planning our live shows, which is going to be a lot of fun!!!
We are constantly scouting for new abstract sounding material to sign to Scum. Whether its A or B list artists, it’s all about the sound we really after, not necessarily the artist name. We are in process off setting up ScumGlobal which is basically a Heavy Weight DJ management system based in USA, NZ and the UK, this consists of a team of five new managers all working closely together pushing all our artists and sound around the World, and that’s what its all about, getting the tunes to the masses!!
That seems like a pretty fool-proof and full-on P.R. campaign you've got planned there, but have you got anything else in the pipeline that will set Scum apart from the rest?
Hell yeah I decided a while back that to make Scum a cut above the rest, we'd do something totally out of the ordinary for hard dance fans worldwide, by releasing a huge surge of tech-dance tracks, also collaborating with some the biggest names in the industry we also signed some names who seem to be pushing though the industry at great speed. Artists such as this we owe a lot to * Waves to Sazz, Adz, Kam Pain and Karnage*. Releasing over 30 releases plus supporting remixes on the Scum label to date things have been very very hectic indeed.
That sounds like one hell of a task; did you find that fun or massively difficult when working to such a tight deadline?
HAHA! Of course i found it fun. James, Riggsy and myself have all been working to tight deadlines for over 5 years now, so while it wasn't the easiest project we've ever done, we didn't let it stress us out, and we made sure we have a right laugh in the process!
A little birdy told me you are deeply involved with a global tour, could you fill me in on this rumor?
Lol, Yeah I started me main global tour this year. Infact when you all read this I’ll be in Greece Touring Scum Records lol. I been exceptionally lucky over the last few months with tours and bookings in India, Greece, USA, Europe, Singapore and more, the buzz you get from an overseas crowd is mind-blowing. I owe a lot to my management, also my productions over the last year and also through the support from the clubbers and artists that have been there helping me push and push. Without this support I’d not be going anywhere. I’ve got to say though I’m seriously missing the Uk crowd at the min, with all my overseas performances I’m struggling to fit in UK dates. I have a few lined up and Cybergroove & ScumGlobal are doing there best to keep me in the Uk for certain dates & performances such as Squelchers 3rd Birthday also various other billings. One thing we are working on is Fevah Events in the Uk so this will obviously free up some dates for the UK whilst bringing a whole new offering to the UK scene.
Regarding your Scum Global Tour can you tell me what’s you involvements with the Squelcher Event
Haha! D4rK is a very good mate of mine, we have both been working closely together on a few projects including Squelcher on 16th march, and a tonne of studio projects not to mention a few other companies we’re working on launching, however the main Squelcher event I can not claim as my own though as is the work of the D4rK, although D4rK and I do have plans for a party merge for the end of 2007 so keep ya eyes peeled for this!
Putting all this time and energy into Scum must mean that you haven't had a lot of time on your hands to get your tracks signed up to other labels?
No such thing as “not enough time!” Haha. Recently, we've been doing tracks and remixing for allsorts of labels including TidyTrax, AA RECORDS, GRH Recordings, Flashpoint Records, (The Forthcoming) Attack Records, Fevah Record , Boshed Records, FWD Records, Species Records, Composure and of course new material for Scum & Xtension.
Scum is of course our priority but we've still been in big demand so we've just had to put blood, sweat and tears into getting everything done in time! This last 12 months , all the Scum artists have had a shed load of tunes signed , and have been in the studio 24/7 working on collaborations with artists like Alex Kidd, Amber D, Grady G, Karim, DrWillis, D4rK and just too many other peeps to mention.
Over the last year we started dabbling in some really sexy Electro & House. Working with a few labels in the Electro scene and peeps like Amber D on her new coming Electro Label we seem to be also pushing some barriers with this vibe also. All I can say is bring it on!
So what next after the launch of Scum? are you just going to keep ploughing new material out on it or have you got any other projects lined up?
All that I've been talking about is only the beginning for Scum - I’ve got some huge plans in the pipeline including a possible merger with a massive US based label as well as the new ScumGlobal project.
We recently completed a huge project, which took 9 months, some serious hours but with some serious results. Generally, in the studio we are 99% synth based with our sounds, so generating all our own kicks, perc loops and synths we started The Scum Collective Sample Pack1. I can laugh now, but at the time though it took months and months getting this sample pack professional and ready for release. Still Scum related but rather than banging out tons of new material we thought we would share our knowledge with up and coming producers trying to make a go in the scene.
Scum isn't the only thing we've been working on lately - like we said, we've got remix commissions lined up for loads of labels, and we've also been heads down prepping up the Fevah Record Re launch, which I have to say has taken and is taking some serious work.
Watch this space peeps……
And thanks for you’re support so far!!!!
Interviewer (Alex Jukes)