Seattle techno crew secondnature has been putting on excellent events in the region for the last few years, including shows featuring Shifted, Efdemin, Abdulla Rashim, Cassegrain, and Polar Inertia. Now its seven members are starting a record label (also called secondnature), debuting with an EP titled Oil Panes by local producer/DJ Fugal (aka Ted Shin). Renowned for his fathoms-deep minimal-techno DJ sets (check this phenomenal March 2016 outing for proof), Fugal displays similar inclinations as a recording artist. Judging from the snippets provided on Soundcloud (see below), Oil Panes is a disorienting excursion into techno's eeriest and most severe zones.
The five-track EPâout September 5âincludes a remix by Spanish DJ/producer Svreca, head of Semantica. secondnature describes it as "ambitious, experimental techno" that "challenges preconceived notions of convention, structure and temporality." No doubt, Fugal's music is strictly for the headstrong. Below, check out an interview with the secondnature collective, a video for Fugal's "First Descent," and Oil Panes' tracklist.
Discuss the reasons behind starting a label.
We are starting a label because we are getting to the point where we each have a fairly consistent output of music, and we want to be in charge of how that music reaches listeners. We put a lot of attention and effort into the details of our parties, and the label is no different. Running our own label, we decide every last detail in every step of the production processâfrom the artwork, to the phrasing of the press release, all the way down to what typography we use for the text on the inner label. We don't have to rely on anyone else to be the gatekeepers for our music getting to an audience.
What will be the label's aesthetic agenda?
The label will focus on the constellation of subgenres related to techno and house, but we aren't going to stick to any particular sound too closely. The label is an outlet for the producers in secondnature [Aos, Archivist, dĂžd, Nick Carroll, Fugal, Simic, and DJ Eddie Lee], so it will sound like us. We have a fairly diverse set of tastes within the collective, even though we perceive a common thread running through it. We may venture into ambient and more experimental electronic music down the road.
Who else besides Fugal do you plan to release?
Whoever in secondnature has material ready for release will get the wax treatment. Simic will be next up in a few months. We may also use the label as a platform to support our friends in a way that fits with our musical vision.
On which formats will you be releasing music?
The current production plan is for vinyl releases followed by a digital version. We have plans for a cassette series down the line, but the details are still to be determined.
The next secondnature event happens Friday, August 5 at Kremwerk, featuring Nick Höppner, Alala.One, Aos, Simic, and Raj.
Tracklist
A1 First Descent
A2 New Autonomy
A3 Traces
B1 Oil Panes
B2 Oil Panes (Svreca Remix)
