Feature

Armada Recordings

By yegor13 Jul 200411 min read

In mid-June this year the most anticipated label came into being. All the pieces of the puzzle are finally in place: its own image, a respected label boss, an excellent artist roster and the support of the entire drum and bass community. Clearly, the arrival of Armada Recordings will be one of the most important events on the drum and bass scene this year.

Somehow, despite his busy schedule, I managed to meet Daniel (Cyanide) and talk about the label, music and the future of Armada Recordings.

srix: Armada Recordings: where did the idea come from?

Cyanide: I had wanted to create a label for a long time. I felt that very few labels were releasing music I wanted to listen to and buy. I liked the early releases from Subtitles, Commercial Suicide, Metro, Virus, the now-defunct Audio Blueprint, and Underfire. I think a huge void was created when Audio Blueprint ceased to exist. I felt the urge to fill that void. I knew it had to be more than just another drum and bass label. I wanted to create a complete package: vibe, a unique sound, and a certain image, which I think we achieved thanks to Evan’s (INI’s) amazing talents.

srix: What are the label’s plans for this year?

Cyanide: First of all, there is the 12” release by Corrupt Souls (aka Impulse and Telemetrik) — Skyclad / Sentinel. Then the 12” Noisia — Desolation / Mav — Ocean Phantom. After that, a 12” from Mindscape and Pacific, and the release by our exclusive artist Desimal — Earthling / Arcanna.

For us, Armada represents the side of drum and bass music that has not been represented until now. It is a mixture of atmospheric and techno melodies in a crazy “vibeee.” We think Armada has EVERYTHING needed to fill the gap created by the now-defunct Audio Blueprint and Konflict several years ago. We hope Armada will put this sound in the place it deserves. — Noisia

srix: Which artists are currently on Armada’s roster?

Cyanide: Skc, Mindscape, Desimal, Mayhem, Chris.su, Noisia, Phace, Skynet, Pacific, Silent Witness, Corrupt Souls, Defiant, Future Prophecies, Brain, ASC, Psidream, Pyro, Cyanide, and INI.

srix: INI is Armada’s exclusive designer. What do you like about his work?

Cyanide: I already had several designers in mind when Ant/Mayhem showed me a preview of the Shadow Low website. I said to Ant, “That guy.” Ant gave me his contact details, and that was how we met. I was not looking for a designer merely to create a cool website design or a cool logo; I was looking for someone who would work on creating the label’s overall image. Evan and I found common ground in that. I told him about the music I was going to release and the idea behind the label itself. We spent a week or two getting to know each other better, which made it easier for us to work together. Evan made the leap from simply being a hired designer to becoming the label’s official designer. His design is “the next level,” and Armada’s website is vivid proof of that. Evan does everything in accordance with Armada’s overall image. I want everything to be unique, from the design to the tracks. And once you see Armada’s first release, you will understand what I mean.

Mr. Cyanide knows what he is doing, believe me... He has a nose for tracks and producers... He always finds the best tracks and producers from around the world before we even know about them, so I will expect only the highest-quality material from Armada. — Teebee

srix: Armada is introducing an exclusive artist on its roster — Desimal. I am sure he will leave his mark on the drum and bass scene this year. What can you tell us about this musician and his talent?

Cyanide: When I heard Desimal approximately two years ago, I was simply blown away. He has a completely unique approach to drum and bass music. He does not follow any rules. That is precisely why we signed him, although he thought he would never be released by any label. He believed his style was “too out there” and that nobody would take the risk of releasing his music. Despite this, several labels were interested in his work, one of them being Subtitles, but for various reasons they passed on his tracks. Then he had personal problems and we lost contact for about six months. When I launched the label, I contacted him immediately. I asked, “Are you still writing music?” and he replied, “No, there’s no point. Nobody will release this stuff.” I sent him some material I had already signed, and he was back in action. I suppose that motivated him in some way. The problem with his earlier work was the sound engineering, but that was not his fault, since he was working with AIWA hi-fi speakers and P 2. He now has a studio at his disposal, and Earthling/Arcanna are the fruits of that work. For him, everything is just beginning. I am sure he will have a huge influence on tech drum and bass.

srix: The label’s official motto is: “When diplomacy fails and a response is guaranteed, Armada will free you from sound conformity.” These are strong words. What story lies behind them?

Cyanide: This slogan was devised by Tony MC Mecha, formerly of Sinthetix. I called him after Evan designed the logo. I explained that I needed a slogan that would correspond to the label’s image and ideals. The slogan was ready a few days later, and I decided that it fit perfectly. It is a statement that the time for change has come. New thinking beyond sounds, beyond music, and beyond our conception of a drum and bass label as such. New sounds, new artists, and new values are replacing the old ones.

srix: Corrupt Souls were chosen for the first release. Tell us what determined this choice and what future awaits them on Armada.

Cyanide: Impulse and Telemetrik are my friends. As soon as they started working together, I knew it would be great. They absolutely blow me away. The combination of dancefloor funk and depth in their music is exactly what Armada needs, which is why I chose them for the label’s first release. For me, there could be no better beginning than this.

srix: As I understand it, there will also be a side project called Armada LTD. Tell us a little about this project’s direction.

Cyanide: Armada LTD was created to release the label’s artists’ non-drum and bass projects. I love downtempo, and I think many people will be interested in the Armada artists’ downtempo material. The releases will be on CD because of the low demand for downtempo on vinyl. Through these releases, we will try to attract new listeners to drum and bass music. The target audience for this project is people who listen to downtempo but are not familiar with drum and bass.

Music is technology, that is true, but it is more than mastering simple technical rules; it is a message aimed at understanding life and the desire to move forward. The best motivation for this is one’s own striving to understand the present. Everyone thinks and brings something of their own, and when all of this correlates, Armada truly shows its face. — Phace

srix: Distribution. Can you shed some light on the battle you are fighting and what you have achieved?

Cyanide: Distribution is always the most difficult part of launching a label. It is a constant battle until you have proved that it can sell. I was lucky that many people met me halfway and gave their vote to me and the label; that helped a lot, but I think this exhausting battle is only just beginning. I hate “sitting on tracks,” and it is the last thing I would want to do, but sometimes it happens because the process is very long. We now have a good relationship with a major distribution company whose goals are similar to ours.

srix: Few people know about your project called Quadrant. Tell us about it.

Cyanide: Quadrant is Advance, Noise Machine, Texel, and me. We are all friends, and each of us was working on a solo project until one day we decided to write something together and see what came of it. It worked. We worked for 10 hours straight. It was a good alternative to the exhausting work of working alone. When you work with other people, you can contribute something of your own, take a break, return to the work, become interested in something one of you has come up with, and return to the work again. We called our first track Silver. At the moment we are working on five more tracks, one of them called Faithless, which is a bootleg of that group; another is Midnight Stomp, and another is a collaboration with Karl K and Jae K. There are others made in a hip-hop direction, as well as several singles for R&B singer Shsnnon Swain. We are also preparing Quadrant’s live act, with which we plan to debut in September.

srix: Which producers suit your tastes these days?

Cyanide: Apart from those on Armada? Haha. The producers I love are Teebee, Matrix, Fission, Kiko, Rob F, Kryptic Minds, and Pendulum. I like what D Bridge is doing with Exit now, as well as Tactile, Amit, Hive, C4C, Feirce, Break, Chase and Status, Bratwa, Kaos, Karl K and Jae K, Safair, Silent Witness, Cailbre, and lately Gridlok — I love a lot of his material. There are a great many good artists right now.

I am very interested in what influence the label will have on the scene. Daniel has a unique vision and drive, which he uses successfully. — Skynet

srix: Which new artists will you be bringing in during 2004?

Cyanide: There are several people who I think will make waves on the drum and bass scene this year. The first of them, I think, are the duo Silent Witness and Break. They are my favorite artists already. Everything they do, together or separately, is simply great. They have an excellent British tech sound, and I expect nothing from them this year except “killing dancefloors.” Mindscape, SKC, Bratwa, and all the Hungarian guys are coming through with their funk. There are also two new musicians from the UK. These guys are making excellent things, and they will definitely come into their own; it is only a matter of time. Evol Intent, from my home state of GA, have finally received the recognition they deserve and are continuing to create. Hopefully, American labels and American tracks will become a major event this year: SLR, Warm Communications, Project 51, BBS, Cartel, Evol Intent, Levitated, Human, Circle, Nite Recordings, Off Shore, and of course Violence. The music coming from the States is very diverse. A large number of people and cultures have influenced this music.

Cyanide: In conclusion:

I want to thank my dad and mum for their support, as well as Donna, Evan, Ant, Pete Rukus, and Dylan H. All the Armada artists, for believing in me and for sharing my desire to do something more with this music. Thanks to Leigh Texel, Mike Advance, and Mike Noise Machine for Quadrant. Big up to everyone who supported Armada: Teebee, Elhornet (Pendulum), D Bridge, Jaeson K, Chris Kaos and Karl, Kiko, Rob f, Kemal, Dnaudio crew, Chase and Status, Evol Intent, Brok, Negative, Contact, Empress @ Hostile, Ronnie @ Habit, Hive and the whole Violence crew, Gridlok, Digital and Brillo, Stu and ED @ C4C, Nathan Skynet, Optical, Rando @ Levitated, Souru @ Distrubed, Leet crew, Paully Reset @ Nerve, BSE, Klute, Stare and Phibbs, Infiltrata, badman Longman and Tactile crew, Philly crew, Shannon, Illy, Henry @ Subs, uncle Gimble @ Circle, the Gasm crew Rob, Drew and Trust, Armanni and Sharpness, Structure @ PJM, the entire Platnium and Subcode crew, Synikal, Clayton, Art, and everyone who helped us. I have probably forgotten to name many more people.

Text: srix. Translation: Yegor. Originally published by DnbNation (dnbnation.com); translated for DROP THE BASS.