“Familiar things are nice, but they’re not very interesting.”
This could very well be the mantra, advertising slogan and central philosophy of Denver’s , a record label dedicated to experimental electronic music. ‘s simple proclamation is also the guiding principle behind the label’s latest release, “,” a 16-track compilation of some of the area’s most interesting electronic music.
“It started as a joke,” says Gitlin — a.k.a. , one of the label’s founders — of the cheekily named compilation. “ and I were talking about ridiculous genres and we came up with ‘experimental dance breaks.’ I started to realize that glitch hop and dubstep have roots in experimentalism, and that I knew all these people around town who were making experimental dance breaks,” he laughs.
Soon, Gitlin and his Plastic Sound Supply partners — Scaffolding (a.k.a. musician and visual artist Lui Ferreyra) and (artist Anthony Cozzi) — began assembling what would become “Experimental Dance Breaks 36.” Gitlin acted as the release’s primary curator and took over a year to decide on the final track listing.
“It turned into just a local thing,” he recalls of the process. “There’s such an amazing group of producers I know and am friends with from being involved in the scene, and it was nice to bring all those people together and really rep Colorado.”
Gitlin’s deep roots in Colorado’s electronic music scene were an invaluable asset in creating the collection. In 2004, he released the “Phunkdaphonies” EP on Denver-based , the label that also released Scaffolding’s landmark “Field of Opposites” album. Just a few years later, Nobot folded under the pressures of a rapidly changing music industry. Gitlin, Ferreyra and Cozzi (who had been doing artwork for Nobot releases) decided to carry the Nobot torch forward with their own label, and Plastic Sound Supply was born.
“We’re really about experimental music, at least somewhat electronic, bucking conventions, not really worrying about what’s going on in popular music scenes,” Gitlin explains of the label’s aesthetic. The three friends’ commitment to putting out high quality electronic music with high quality artwork shows in every release, and certainly supercedes their desire to achieve commercial success.
“I’ve never made money from music,” chuckles Gitlin. “If I were in it for that, I’d quit.”
Since its beginnings in late 2007, Plastic Sound Supply has released projects from its founders, from internationally known artists like (a.k.a. ) and , as well as from and folkie project (spotlighted recently in ), , (founders of the late Nobot Media), and many more, “Experimental Dance Breaks 36” brings together an eclectic mix of sounds. Each of the artists pushes boundaries and looks for new ways to twist electronic music conventions. Dubstep, funky house, IDM, 8-bit and glitch hop all make an appearance — often in surprising combinations — but you needn’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of electronic music’s infinite sub-sub-subgenres. The collection maintains a connection to the dance flow that makes it accessible to mainstream listeners too.
“There are certain elements that most people should be able to understand,” says Gitlin. “You’ll hear some hip-hop beats. You’ll hear some break beats, and you should be able to say, ‘Hey, that’s a cool beat.'” The familiar beats provide an entry point for the uninitiated, but more adventurous listeners will find some unusual textures and sounds they haven’t heard before.
In addition to digital distribution, “Experimental Dance Breaks 36” — the title and artwork are a send-up of cheesy pop music compilations like “NOW! That’s What I Call Music” (which also just released volume 36) — will see a limited physical CD release. Gitlin — who is currently working on a new project with of — hopes it will shine a little light on the remarkable electronic music being made in our home state, and maybe broaden some minds.
“Both in the music and technology worlds, things happen so fast and keep accelerating,” he says with excitement. “It’s a great time to be excited about experimentalism. Even if it’s not something you listen to, hopefully people can appreciate the amazing strides made from combining disparate styles and technologies. I just want people to find out about it and make the connection to Colorado,” he concludes.
With the addition of a compilation as diverse and strong as “Experimental Dance Breaks 36” to its already-impressive catalog, Plastic Sound Supply — along with the rest of Colorado’s electronic music scene — is going to be downright hard to ignore. To give you a sneak preview of the album before its official release on Dec 15, the label and its artists have agreed to share some tracks with Reverb readers. Enjoy!
Eryc Eyl is a veteran music journalist, critic and Colorado native who has been neck-deep in local music for many years. Check out every Monday for local music you can HEAR, and the every Friday. Against his mother’s advice, Eryc has also been known to . You can also follow Sorry, Mom.
