01. Calibre - Me, Myself, and I [Signature]
02. V.I.V.E.K - Eyes Down [Deep Medi Musik]
03. Marcus Intalex - Dusk [Soul:R]
04. Bastille - Through The Haze [dub]
05. ID - Slope [Sub Slayers]
06. Synkro - Just Say [Box Clever]
07. Kromestar - Konfuzed [Deep Heads]
08. Von D - Zhakee Bon (Distinction Remix) [Argon]
09. J:Kenzo - The Roteks [Tempa]
10. Silkie - Float [Deep Medi Musik]
11. Lennie De Ice - We Are I.E. (Caspa & Rusko Remix) [Y4K]
12. Bro Safari - Amazon Rock [Deceast]
13. Marcus Intalex - From The Ashes [Soul:R]
14. Icicle - Redemption (feat. Robert Owens) [Shogun Audio]
15. Atlantic Connection - No Explanations [Deceast]

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Our latest cloudcast comes courtesy of L.A. (by way of ATL) resident Deco, founder of the Deceast record label. We had a chance to chat with him about his music and design background as well as the innerworkings of operating the label and maintaining it's distinct vibe:


First off, it seems you have worn all kinds of hats in this industry: would you mind giving us a brief introduction and lending some insight to your musical and design background over the years?

Music has always played a big part in my life, but I didn't get heavily involved in the industry side until college when I started working at my school's radio station. I first got on the air at WRAS Atlanta doing a weekly graveyard shift and eventually spent several years being heavily involved with the station all the way up until I graduated. At the same time, I had started DJing around Atlanta mostly doing locals parties and opening for the occasional headliner. Those years offered up seemingly endless musical experiences and really sealed my fate of being involved in it one way or the other for the rest of my days.

After graduation, I moved to Los Angeles for what I thought would be a short stay to finish a master's degree. Instead, I dove head first into the music scene at a time when the first dubstep parties were being thrown in LA and drum & bass events were bringing out huge crowds multiple times a week. For about three years, I worked for the promoter Insomniac while also picking up other music-related jobs on the side -- during this time is when I really learned a lot more about how the larger music industry operates.

As for design, I gained an interest in it during the 90s through a combination of graffiti and the BBS scene art groups. I had an internship at a small graphic design studio when I was in high school doing really early web stuff and things like that. I did a lot of freelance design work to support myself in college and have spent stints working at design agencies and start-ups for the better part of the past decade.

While I've done both music and design for many years, Deceast is really the first time I've had the ability to blend the two worlds in a meaningful way.

When did the idea of starting your own label first come about and what were some of the first steps you took in terms of getting the ball rolling and signing those first tunes? What was it like seeing your vision come to fruition with that first release?

I've entertained the idea of running a label for a long time, but I didn't start to act on it until just over a year ago. At the time, I was getting sent a lot of great music that, for whatever reason, other labels weren't picking up. I thought this music deserved to be out in the world and given some attention, so I took it upon myself to make that happen. I started by getting the infrastructure set up, signing a distribution agreement to get the music to retailers, creating the branding, and signing the first batch of singles. After that, a lot of the work is focused on making sure people know the music is out there!

As for the first release, it was a great step but I knew it was just the first move down a long road. However, I still get really hype when I hear a DJ play a Deceast track or see one in the tracklist for a mix! It's very satisfying to see your contributions back to music getting picked up and supported by other people.

Any reccomendations or advice for anyone looking to start up their own imprint? It seems that now more than ever, there's a huge waiting game in terms of getting records pressed if you're a new upstart label. How important are vinyl releases to you these days?

I certainly know how tough it is to press vinyl these days, as I'm still trying to get a deal for vinyl distribution worked out. However, it gives me something to strive for as I would love to hold a Deceast release in my hands! For those looking to start a label, just remember to do justice to your vision and only put out the best possible music statements that you can. A lot of people now look at music as something disposable, but I try to put out releases that are carefully curated with a lot of attention to detail.
The releases on Deceast so far have all maintained a similar deep and soulful vibe while not being pinned down or restricted to any one specific tempo. Has this always been part of the vision for Deceast or did this part come about with time? What are the advantages and if any, the disadvantages of not being tied down to any one specific genre?

The vision for the musical direction of the label has always been based on vibe; tempo and genre have been secondary. If it has the right mood to it and it fits within the overall sound of the label, then it's probably something I'll consider signing no matter what the style is. I prefer to embrace the ability to release multiple genres on Deceast rather than focusing on one. I spent a lot of time sequestered away in drum & bass, so the past few years of the genre walls coming down have been liberating. I plan to include many styles of music in the Deceast discography as long as the vibe is right!

Could you talk a little bit about what influences have played a part in achieving this overall vibe that seems to have remained a constant from release to release? For example its seems that early 90's hip hop vibes certainly play a big part in the Deceast records DNA.

90s hip-hop plays a big part, as that was a major entry point for me into the world of underground music. Same with the atmospheric drum & bass sound typified by Good Looking Records, as well as the darker mid-90s sound of labels like Metalheadz and No-U-Turn. I also count jazz, funk, and soul producers from the 1960s and 1970s among my influences as that's where a lot of the conventions of the modern deep/soulful vibe were first pioneered.

Deco & Linker - Greenthumb Funk [Deceast - DEC004 - Released June 27th 2011] by deco

Greenthumb Funk is already in heavy rotation for me as a defining summertime anthem. How long have you been producing music and how did you and Linker first get together in the studio?

I first started dabbling in producing about 8 years ago but didn't get serious about it until recently. It took me a long time to get to a level where I felt good putting my name on the finished product. Linker and I know each other from the LA music scene, although his main musical outlet is a house music outfit known as Breakdown. He had been interested in expanding to some new musical styles, so we got in the studio and Greenthumb Funk was the second track we wrote together. We work really well together, so expect to see more from us soon.

Any crazy stories to share from your days of promoting/ being on the road as Evol Intent's Tour manager?

Those dudes read mad books. Like, more books than any other DJs I know. For real. Crazy book readers.

It seems like parties, as well as record labels run the risk of inevitably getting pigeonholed and having a hard time breaking out of what people's expectations are for a night or release to sound like. What are some of your favorite club nights and why do you think more promoters haven't taken a similar path to the label in terms of creating events with varied tempos and styles while still maintaining an overall vibe that serves as the common thread between the acts?

I don't travel much right now, so all of my favorite club nights are here in LA. For drum & bass, Respect is the weekly event for the heads. They've been going strong for over a decade and you can always expect to hear quality beats there -- they really love the music and know how to book the good artists who may not have a big reputation yet. The vibe there is quintessential LA too. For dubstep, both SMOG and Pure Filth are the two who really laid the foundation here and they still throw events that capture that early dubstep vibe that a lot of the new promoters totally miss. For more eclectic sounds, the surprise guests at the Do Over are always a treat, and the underground house parties produced by theLIFT are a favorite of mine when I want a bit of an adventure.

As for promoters not trying to vary the music of a night, I actually think things are more varied now than they have been in a while. On an average night going out, unless I know I'm going to an event that is catering to a specific genre, I hear many more styles of music than I would have even just a few years ago. Also, dubstep and a lot of the offshoot bass music genres have crept into much larger clubs typically reserved for big room house music, as well as festivals, and that's really opened things up stylistically. It's refreshing to hear different styles commingling.

You had mentioned in one of our earlier emails your experience seeing DJ Marky down in Atlanta in the mid 00s when he was just starting to blow up. Could you talk a little bit more about that experience and about Atlanta seemingly being a hotbed for DnB around that time?

DJ Marky came to Atlanta with XRS and MC Stamina in late 2003 right as The Brazilian Job and LK were blowing up. They played for a good three hours or more and it was great to see that liquid funk could drive the entire night instead of only serving as the opening soundtrack.

I think Atlanta developed a jungle / D&B scene earlier than many other cities in the Southeast, plus we had some great record stores that helped sow the seeds of the community in the 1990s. At the time, drum & bass was closely tied to the rave scene, but after raves all but vanished from Atlanta in the early 2000s it developed it's own identity. Atlanta was more receptive to the forward-thinking sub-genres than other places in the Southeast and it was a good time & place for me to come of age as a DJ. It has really helped me keep a high standard to what I do musically and with the label as a whole.

After being involved in the industry so long, are there any recurring trends you see coming back again full circle? Predictions for the future?

Music moves so fast now and new trends seem to come out of unexpected places more than they did in the past, so I'm not really sure what the future holds. With that said, I do think we're going to reach a breaking point with the relentless highest-energy-possible style a lot of DJs are pursuing these days. I hope that yields a return to hearing more dynamic sets and seeing more varied levels of energy at club nights and across the entire culture.


Lastly, on a lighter/less serious note, would you mind breaking down your TOP 3:

Cities:
1. ATLA (If only I could put ATL's food in LA's climate...)
2. Chicago (One of the greatest cities I've ever been to)
3. Denver (clean, crisp, and chill)

Meals:
1. Breakfast
2. Brunch
3. BBQ

Movies: Impossible to choose, so here are the last three I watched.
1. La Haine (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113247/)
2. Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114660/)
3. Primer (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/)

Websites:
1. http://ffffound.com/
2. http://createdigitalmusic.com/
3. http://iwdrm.tumblr.com/

Activities outside of music:
1. Reading (currently The Record Players: DJ Revolutionaries by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton)
2. Technology (currently creating touchscreen interfaces for movie theaters at my day job)
3. Design (currently designing the cover of the next Deceast single!)