South Coast Vibez – Codename: RCRDS

“The vision we have always had for the artists is: ‘when the tide comes in, all ships rise together’, and we very much believe that.  We look at the meteoric rise of other labels over the past few years, and are looking at ways we can emulate that, but with our own musical vision, which we feel is pretty unique in style”.

Despite our culture of distraction and minimal attention span that seems hell-bent on burying new releases beneath an endless scroll, the drum & bass scene these days seems as exciting and healthy as ever. It’s been definitely easier, almost de rigueur, to establish a new record label nowadays, as opposed to the 90s, however to carve a niche in a small yet saturated market without vision, purpose and commitment is a first class ticket to disappointment.

The next installment of the blog’s ‘This Side/That Side’ label profile series, is about a new, boutique independent record label and DJ collective based in Southampton UK, which has been a creative hub the last few years. The brainchild of dj/producer Jon Moakes (Moakz) and David Hammel (Chiron), Codename: RCRDS was founded through love and dedication to electronic music. The new label has already showcased some of the rawest well-known and underground talent in the drum & bass/jungle scene, unhindered by association with a particular sound or DJ. Their first string of releases has emphatically validated that statement.

I have the privilege and pleasure to host for an interview Moakz and Chiron, DJs, owners and curators of Codename: RCRDS. Jon and Dave narrate the background story of the label and share their articulate views, which extend well beyond the musical sphere.

I discovered Codename: RCRDS via a friend’s recommendation, who’s been Jon’s label mate at Omni Music and I have been hooked since their fist release. When you think you’ve heard it all before, surprise is just around the corner. Jon and Dave dissect the label’s ethos and vision:

[Moakz] I would say that the label’s ethos is one of creativity, and of unity.  It is about championing new talent, also releasing music from our favourite artists, but ultimately the aim of the music policy is to be ‘a rave in a label’, somewhere where you can hear true variety – musicality alongside raw griminess, euphoric energy alongside more introspective moments.  It’s about emotion, and music that channels this emotion.  The music policy is in essence about it generally having a “ravey buzziness” that makes you feel energized, but with musicality often at the forefront alongside the beats.  It’s about tunes that work well on the dance-floor, but that you’d also listen to at home.  A lot of the music we release is ‘journey’ music, something to get lost in, and tracks that feel like they tell a story.  There is a heavy influence from the 90’s scene for sure, especially in the use of sampled breakbeats, but this is a continuation and evolution of that sound, not a case of trying to recreate the past.

[Chiron] Codename: RCRDS is a natural progression and complimentary creative hub, which sits alongside our event Codename: Amen. The ethos of both is simple: to deliver the best quality jungle and atmospheric drum and bass to a discerning audience, whether that is on a Saturday Morning at 3AM in a nightclub or to listeners browsing our bandcamp page for the first time.

[Moakz] We always encourage the artists we work with to be creative and inventive in their music.  We work very closely with the artists to help realize the potential of their music.  Many tracks arrive fully formed, but many also arrive as fantastic demo ideas, and we work carefully with the artists to help ensure that the final product is the best it can possibly be.

We have specifically focused on releasing music from what we feel is a snapshot of the best new talent coming through at the moment, and helping support and nurture them.  The vision we have always had for the artists is “when the tide comes in, all the ships rise together”, and we very much believe that.  We look at the meteoric rise of other labels over the past few years, and are looking at ways we can emulate that, but with our own musical vision which we feel is pretty unique in style. We absolutely love working with all of the artists on the label.  We try and give them opportunities to play at our events, wherever possible around availability and budget, and this has so far included a takeover at Planet Wax in London, alongside our Southampton-based Codename: Amen events, and to date we have had UK debut appearances for international artists Mineral and Krugah, alongside slots for UK artists NonRev, Fortune & Chance and Missen, and we’re really proud of that achievement in offering opportunities for new artists to shine in person as well as on the label.

[Chiron] The label is privileged to represent a growing roster of international artists and – alongside this – our initial mission statement includes working with local talent from the south coast of the UK. So far,this has been mostly focused on the live events and media side of the label, and it would be nice to see more artists from the local area featuring on the label.

[Moakz] Definitely, always support your local scene!  It’s been a bit easier on the local DJ front for the events, as there are some great DJs in the Southampton and wider south coast area – Omen, Baggy and Amy Willow are just some of the bright young talents who have featured at our events alongside more established local names.  The nearest artist to release on the label so far has been Fortune & Chance, who is just a few miles away from us in Bournemouth.  We did a launch event for the label in summer 2023, and it was amazing to have both international and national artists present at the event, either playing or in attendance.

[Chiron] I recall the early days of drum & bass and jungle where multi-genre nights were common. In AWOL in 1992 for example, you had the main room showcasing the freshest hardcore and emerging jungle sounds but also a chill out room and a house night upstairs. My friends and I would experience and enjoy the different music genres and vibes within one venue and promoter. I would love to replicate this within our events and the label releases.

[Moakz] This is exactly where I come from too – the first events I went to in late 93/94 very much had a mix of styles – Hardcore, Jungle, Techno, Trance and so on… I always loved that at events like Dreamscape & Helter Skelter you would have sets as diverse as Bukem, Slipmatt, Gachet, Clarkee and so on… I get why it happened, but I do think something was lost a bit when events lost this diversity and focused specifically on one niche.  In my DJ sets I jump between styles and vibes quite regularly, but there is always a toughness to the drum work and an underlying groove and vibe to the tracks I select, and the label is intended to represent this.

Codename: RCRDS covers a wide range within the drum & bass spectrum from ambient drum & bass to jungle techno, alleviated from expectations, genre constraints and musical agendas. I love labels which are bold enough to change styles with every release; however does it come at a price? Does it alienate hardcore fans, who expect a certain consistency in the label’s output within the boundaries of their pre-established style, or the appeal to a wider audience compensates for versatility?

[Moakz] Variety is the spice of life, right?  I like to eat Asian food one night, pasta another, middle-eastern the next… why would I not want this in the music I listen to?  We do generally apply some restrictions (the majority of tracks sit between 160-170+ bpm, we don’t generally release much music with a 2-step liquid / dnb beat, there has to be variety on every release), but within that there is huge scope – from tear-out jungle to 4×4 jungle techno, to dancefloor atmospherics, and everything in between.  Why not have a 4×4 atmospheric jungle techno track?  Exploring different blends of styles and genres feeds creativity and keeps things exciting!

I can understand your point regarding changing of styles across releases, and it is definitely something we are conscious of with the DJs who support the label, as there are many other labels you can look at and say “oh they’re an Amen label, oh they’re a ‘techy’ label, they’re a ‘deep atmos’ label” and so on and then just go and pick a track you like in that style for your set.  We release a pretty large amount of music, and if you look wider in the scene at labels such as Shall Not Fade, they’re putting out Techno, House, Garage, Jungle and all things in between, so actually although maybe the view of our scope in the Jungle/DnB scene might be considered wider than some, actually it’s still pretty tight in terms of what we put out there.  But yeah, you definitely won’t find an EP of four fairly interchangeable Jump-up tunes on Codename.  I like to think that we’re a ‘crate-diggers’ label, that people will pick through our back catalogue and stumble across some unique gems.  I’d definitely encourage people to look past just recent releases as there are some stunning tracks right the way through all the releases.

Do you believe that it will ever be possible to recapture and recreate the atmosphere of the mid-90s or is it wishful thinking and borrowed nostalgia?

[Chiron] I believe it is difficult but not impossible. When I joined the business officially in late 2022 I stated that I could see social and economic similarities between the current time and 1992 where the UK was experiencing a deep recession and there was a growing dissatisfaction with an out of touch and failing Government. Whilst there are synergies between the problems of the era it appears that consumers, rather than having a frequent fix of a nightclub experience most weekends, now prefer to be more patient and wait for the big festivals and events. I have read several articles on this and there are differing theories regarding why. As long as our music releases and events are popular, and ravers and listeners enjoy the product, and the feedback we receive supports that, then we are doing what we can. The main difference between now and then is the advent of the mobile phone and the (perceived) need to film and upload everything. Looking at a recent video of NYE in Paris, everyone was behind a phone and recording the fireworks rather than actually watching them. If I could, I would ban mobiles and provide a free highlights video of the event to attendees. 

The closest event I have been to recently that attempted to recapture that atmosphere and multi room genre was “The Rave Story” at Electrowerkz which is a cool venue in a great location. Arguably, it was branded to appeal to the 90s Ravers but it was wicked to see Mums & Dads with their grown up children attending.

[Moakz] The 90’s was a unique time for music, and particularly within the electronic music scene.  The music was constantly shifting and evolving, and often moved rapidly past one sound and on to the next thing.  We’re about the continuation and evolution of those sounds, with modern techniques and new influences as part of the melting pot.  Talking to the regulars at our events, it’s fascinating to hear how many of the younger audience members have had influences from older family which have steered them towards our style of music, either through inheriting record collections, growing up in houses where tape packs are still played, going round a friend’s house and spinning for the first time on the parent’s turntables, or seeking out classic-era music on streaming.  You would imagine that this will play out across the world in much the same way that new generations have taken influence from their parent’s funk, soul, disco LPs and so on.  So, I think there is always a potential audience there, it’s just about them finding the music and connecting with it in a deeper way.

I do, however, think there is a big disconnect between this ethos, which I would view as being a continuation and evolution of the ‘true’ rave scene, and the current ‘TikTok-DnB’ trend, which seems to be very centered around how things look in a short video clip.  I don’t want to be ‘that old boomer’ as ultimately every generation has its music and it is by its very nature for it not to appeal or be understood so much by previous generations, but I do hope to see a bit more of a musical journey and vibe take centre stage again over just production values and DJs constantly switching between multiple (in my opinion) very similar tracks.

I firmly believe that a record label must have a strong visual identity.I also have an obsession with music artwork. Most releases revolve around a specific concept or theme, augmented with stunning artwork, which complements the musical narrative. Who designs the digital posters/sleeves? Are the artists directly involved?

[Moakz] The visual style of the label has initially focused around two concepts – neon future dystopia, and organic life.  For me they represent the ‘ying & yang’ of modern life, the destructive pathway on which the world seems hell-bent on directing itself, occasionally in harmony, but more often than not, in full competition with the hopefulness of moving towards a cleaner, greener future.  ‘The Night Ravers’ and ‘Hollow World’ releases attempted to introduce the concept of the first of these – an imagined future world where authoritarianism has taken hold, and the rave scene is the last bastion of resistance.  I’ve always liked the original rebellious ethos of the rave scene and how it was birthed, and also the influence of the free party and traveler scenes.  A lot of music used to be political, this seems to be mostly sadly lost these days in most music…nothing wrong with being a bit punk!  A huge influence on this visual style would also be the micro venues at the festival Boomtown (particularly Area 404), which has some incredible visual minds involved and is a constant source of inspiration – this definitely rubs off in the design briefs I put together.  For the more atmospheric releases, we tend to lean towards more organic visual stylings, often trying to capture an overlap between nature and technology, in keeping with the vibe of the music.  Probably my favourite example of this was the ‘Songs For A Drifting Rose EP’, where the inspiration came from the Nothing track included in the EP, and in the end drove the artwork (which we actually generated using AI on that occasion), which represents a fusion of nature and technology.

For the solo releases, we try to give the artists more of an opportunity to lead on design ideas if they want to, for example the Trident, Outrigger and NonRev releases in particular the artists were involved in design concepts throughout the process, and you will start to see this continuing further in the the designs coming through in 2024. 

The first two release artworks were produced by Kellee Blac, the 3^rd as I say was AI generated (we used Midjourney), and since that point all our artwork has been produced by Mark Thraves (DnB artist Marcus Tee) from design briefs we have put together.  It’s been brilliant working with Mark, who is an old-skool raver like us and is really passionate about his work!

Release/Liner notes are another fine and intricate detail – a ‘lost art’ which brings back fond childhood memories. Sadly they are often neglected or considered redundant in electronic music. Of course, music should do the talking, but some pieces of art call for an extended narrative.

[Chiron] Again Moakz leads the creative writing aspect of the label, whether that is EP press releases and descriptions on Bandcamp or forthcoming notes on Albums & Vinyl.

[Moakz] A lot of the driver on us creating these lies with the influence of Chris Eschaton at Omni Music.  We are huge fans of the label and I have released several EPs with Omni, and one (of many) things we are very fond of in respect of the label is the liner notes he puts together.  Chris is a novelist away from music, and you can see this in the liner notes.  Growing up I wanted to be a journalist for a short while, and I’ve always enjoyed creative writing, so this was a bit of an opportunity to sate that creative desire of mine just a little that I couldn’t pass up!

The merit of music writing is to live and breathe through various shades of shifting interpretations, so the listener can conjure his own imagery and vision. I am an enthusiast of thought-provoking track/album titles, apparently one of my many compulsions. I delve into the semantics trying to deduce and identify hidden messages, themes or allusions that might or might not be there. Like photographs, individual chapters of a book or torn pages from a diary, song titles sometimes create streams of thought that might stray into parallel narratives and ‘sliding doors’ type of endings.

[Chiron] I am not a producer and maybe that ship has sailed in terms of learning that skill set and the patience (and time) it would take!

[Moakz] I’m mostly terrible with titles of my own tracks haha! I’m in awe of many of the artists we work with and the titles they give tracks, they definitely help generate streams of thought as you say, and they also particularly influence the video shorts we produce to accompany the releases – see here.

Some of my favourite tracks on the label I now can’t hear without visualising the video shorts – two that come to mind as being particularly memorable are Trident’s ‘World Of Tomorrow’ and Cold Leader’s ‘The Hollow Sausage’, for very different reasons!  I think in the digital age with so much content out there, anything which is going to help you remember and hold a special place for a piece of music – be it artwork, accompanying videos, evocative track titles, is definitely a good thing.

An eclectic variety of artists, composers and collaborators graces the label’s roster. Jon explains the A&R process:

[Chiron] Moakz has done an incredible job building relationships with artists and signing EP’s across the Jungle and atmospheric DNB genres globally. This commenced well in advance of my involvement in the business.

[Moakz] I lead A&R for the label.  A lot of our early A&R initially started with existing relationships – other artists I had already become friends with through a mutual respect of each other’s music and several of the artists in particular I feel I have really gelled with on a personal level over the past two and a half years of releasing my own solo music.  I used to write Nu-Skool Breaks releases a long time back as ½ of a duo called Mobius, and was a bit at a remove from connections with any other artists then, and after a lengthy break of over ten years, when I started releasing music as Moakz I was adamant that I would connect more with the scene and particularly with other artists.  For each release I put out, I would often do a 1-2 hour mix to accompany it, and I would always try and tag in the artists who’s tracks I featured.  Over time this evolved into receiving dubs or promos from some of them, provided some feedback on early demos on others, and I guess that sowed the seed that I was hearing lots of great unsigned music and I started to half-jokingly say ‘I should sign this!’

We’ve now moved into a stage where more demos are starting to arrive from new artists who maybe have just had their first releases elsewhere, alongside other connections we have made with more established artists.  We reached out pretty wide to many artists we rated highly in the first few months before we announced the label, and the feedback and support we received was really incredible.  I think with our regular Various Artist releases, we also offer artists something a bit more unique to send us tracks which are maybe outside of the norm they release elsewhere.  If you look at someone like Wez Walker for example, his ‘Under The Surface’ track fits perfectly for us, but maybe isn’t such an obvious fit against other releases he has elsewhere where his tracks tend to be more of a Liquid style.  By offering a VA option, people aren’t feeling pressured to do a full EP or LP just for Codename, although we’ve definitely got plenty of those slated now which I think comes from people feeling comfortable working with us.  We try and be really supportive and attentive, and treat artists only as we would expect to be treated ourselves.

I also think that as an artist myself I have experienced relationships with a few different labels now and have a good view of what I personally feel makes a great label to work with.  Chris (Omni Music) and Ian Crook (Default Recordings) are two absolute gents I have worked with over the past two years who I would say have been an absolute pleasure to work with, I have learned a lot from interacting with the two of them and they have provided lots of useful guidance during the early period of setting up the label, as did several others.  Another key side of our A&R is that we always listen to and respond on all demos, always try to polite and constructive with any feedback, and tracks will only be signed if at least two of the three of us want to proceed, which always helps ensure consistency and a high quality amongst our releases. 

List of artists in alphabetical order:

Arcologies, Arkyn, Charla Green, Code Of Silence, Cold Leader, Con-Figure, Data B, Digital Altair, DJ Junk, E.B.S, Eminence, Eschaton, Flipper, Fortune & Chance, Jack Rapture, Krugah, M-Ocean, Marc OFX, Marvel Cinema, Mineral, Microcosm, Mineral, Missen, Moakz, Neekeetone, NonRev, Nothing, Okee, Outrigger, Pathfinder, Perspective: R, Rome, Sam Link, Trident, Toni Bassi, Wez Walker, Worsleyy. 

There is a common misconception that unless pressed on vinyl, music is of second-rate quality or even disposable. Which are your thoughts on the alleged vinyl resurgence and the importance (or non-importance) of the musical format, as you’ve decided to add also physical products to the label’s catalogue?

[Chiron] As the son of a confessed audiophile addict, I became interested in making sure I had the best sounding hardware I could afford from when I got my 1^st paper round. In the early days of CD I believed that vinyl sounded better but was less convenient and easier to damage, but the majority of my purchases were vinyl especially when I got into mixing hardcore tunes in 1991. Now, being brutally honest, I view them as a tool of the trade, but still appreciate the better sound quality so will buy and play WAVs rather than any other format. In terms of the actual music being better (on vinyl), I have not found that over the last 4 years since I started buying digitally after taking redundancy the week after lockdown, and deciding to buy a digital controller initially as a hobby again.

The plan for 2024 is to transition to physical products alongside digital, with our 1^st album being launched on a collector’s CD, alongside periodic limited-edition lathe cut ‘dub’ vinyl releases and maybe other formats such as USB to follow too.

[Moakz] I do think it’s a funny misconception about vinyl pressing being a bastion of quality.  I hear plenty of pretty average music released on vinyl on a regular basis, and generally most of my sets are made of easily 75% music which are only available digitally.  I’m often playing tracks which have maybe only been completed a few weeks ago whereas some of the lead times on vinyl releases can easily be 18 months plus – I’m not sure it’s conducive to a healthy scene to view a single medium as the standard bearer of quality above and beyond all others.  For me a good tune is a good tune, I don’t care how it has been produced or what medium it exists on, if it works a dancefloor or gets me nodding at home!  If you want to be representing the cutting edge of your sound, whatever that is, then digital is always going to be where it is at nowadays.  I’m a vinyl head 100%, I have a big collection spanning decades and still buy bits regularly,and have been avid fan of this format since I was at school, however you have to move with the times, and I’ve been using a digital setup alongside vinyl for maybe 15 years now.  I can appreciate though if you are someone who already owns turntables and a mixer, then you might not want to invest in a digital setup and that’s fair enough, it’s not for everyone!

I think the current challenges that the vinyl industry faces are well documented already so I won’t spend a lot of time discussing this, but let’s just say as a new label it’s quite unnerving to hear some of the experiences both new and established labels have been having on a regular basis these last 4 years – it’s clearly a fairly fragile eco-system. Vinyl is a medium we will be dipping our toes into more regularly, as we feel the time is right. As a new label we set out a target to grow organically within our means, and vinyl is always in our thinking for releases for the future as we do respect that there is a market only interested in releases in this medium.  On a personal level, I do love having the physical product to own and to cherish, as Dave says, a good way for us to start doing this rapidly and organically is via dubplates.

Discography Highlights

If it’s all too overwhelming and you need somewhere to start, here’s a selection with my top-5 Codename: RCRDS tracks in chronological order. I have also coerced Jon and Dave to share their own top-5.

1. Moakz – The Night Ravers (NonRev Remix) [The Night Ravers EP, CODERCRDS001]
2. Trident – World of Tomorrow [Drums For A Drifting Rose EP, CODERCRDS007]
3. Mineral – Abstract Motions [Distant Journeys EP, CODERCRDS010]
4. Microcosm – Journey Of A Thousand Miles [Distant Memories EP, CODERCRDS014]
5. Digital Altair – Auras [Look To The Future Vol. 1, CODELP001]

[Chiron] Thanks for leaving the toughest question until last. Personally, I love them all. This is like being asked to pick your favourite child. However, my top 5 are below.

1. Missen – All U Need
2. Moakz – Howler Monkey (Another Dream)
3. Cold Leader – Universal Rules
4. NonRev – Inconsequential
5. Fortune & Chance – Timeslip (Eminence Remix)

[Moakz] Yeah this is too tough!  I love all of the tracks we’ve released – they’re all so different too!  NonRev – Inconsequential would have been in my list too, but as Dave has already picked that and as I could probably pick 5 completely different tracks on a given day, for now I’ll go with:

1. Nothing – Song For A Drifting Rose
2. Trident – Far Away Dreams (VIP)
3. Arcologies – Spa Gallery
4. Mineral – Shallow (Sam Link Remix)
5. Moakz – Dark Future (Mineral Remix)

Forthcoming Releases

I would like to share a few thoughts about a misunderstood and under-appreciated art form: compilations. Streaming platforms have effectively become a substitute, as anybody nowadays can tailor their playlists according to their preferences, mood and tastes, but I would still argue that VA compilations are still here, meticulously curated and still as relevant as ever.

I admit that even the word ‘compilation’ evokes images of those formidable ‘Jungle Massive’ and ‘D&B Selection’ volumes of the early days, followed later by the more streamlined ‘Logical Progression’, ‘Platinum Breakz’ ‘Artcore’, ‘Promised Land’, the regional Moving Shadow series etc. When I started collecting records, buying compilations was more of a necessity rather than choice. I couldn’t afford buying each and every single. Sometimes I was too timid to do so, just in case I bought the ‘wrong record’. I have a few regrets, which I compensated for at a later date and at a greater cost, but that’s a story for another day. Furthermore, the distribution in Greece at the first half of the 90s was limited, so I would usually find what I was looking for concealed and buried into VA Compilations. I didn’t mind the silent or lousy pressings, or the edited versions of the tracks, as long as I could listen to the music. And the exclusive tracks in many cases pretty much subdued my second thoughts.

[Moakz] Just before I talk about forthcoming releases, to frame them a little, we have a first Various Artists LP which just dropped in March with a limited edition CD as well as digital, which focuses on a more chilled atmospheric DnB sound, with some classic era leanings on many of the tracks, and is entitled ‘Look To The Future volume One’. This will be the first in a serious of more relaxed LP releases which we feel better suits the longer form and Volume Two is pretty much in the can already. The working title on this one was for a long time the ‘Ironing Board LP’, in reference to the famous Tony Fordham scene from the documentary about Good Looking Records, and it’s fair to say that the vibe of that label holds a strong influence on this specific series.

Around the same time frame we then get into the next round of releases, which bring new material from myself, Fortune & Chance, Nothing, NonRev, Krugah, Okee, Charla Green, Data B, TRC2, Trident, Missen,  and some great releases from newer artists to the label including Krugah, Marvel Cinema, Indigo Virus, Jack Rapture, Joey Del Toro, and No_Name to name but a few!

Afterword

[Moakz] Thank you for taking the time to put together this article on the label, we’re truly humbled by both this and the support of the DJs and listeners for the label in the brief period we have been running.  We’re looking forward to what 2024 brings!

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