By now Hessle Audio is likely on everyone’s radar, however, with a ten year anniversary tour ongoing and two exceptional releases in quick succession, it seems like the right time to have a look at what makes the ever-popular and consistently brilliant label so unique.
In some circles, dubstep is a genre that gets a hard time these days, largely because more commercial minded produces took some of it’s aspects and began rumbling towards big money, radio play music- the kind that has now morphed into EDM. With this in mind it’s important to disregard any prejudices to the potential musical buzzword ‘dubstep’ has become. Indeed, the genre serves very much as the roots of the label which are characterised by the precedent setting early releases of founders Pangaea and Pearson Sound as well as production from the likes of Joe, TRG and even James Blake. These EPs are full of rolling, heavy, broken percussion, some are late-night and club oriented while others are more atmospheric and experimental.
Crucially, Hessle Audio has always been experimental in a progressive and origins-acknowledging manner. As dubstep in the UK gave way to techno, to some extent, the label followed suit while always curating music and choosing producers who brought something different, new and often leftfield. Ultimately, EPs like Joe ‘Claptrap', Blawan ‘Fram’, Objekt ‘Cactus’ and Bruce ‘Not Stochastic’ occupy their own ground, demonstrating an awareness of many aspects of the genres they pluck from, while disregarding all the so-called rules of generic production. This is testament to the kind of producers that inhabit the label, and who send Hessle Audio their music. However, it also demonstrates just how considered the approach of founders, Ben Thomson (Ben UFO), Kevin McAuley (Pangaea) and David Kennedy (Pearson Sound), is. In part, McAuley and Kennedy lead by example with their production, however, there is also a level of curation that goes into the label’s releases that seems to elude others. Indeed, stories like Bristol-based producer Bruce (Larry McCarthy) being persuaded to remove the synth line from the track ‘Trip’, show the respect and influence the trio have. Crucially, McCarthy was happy with the results. In this sense, while many of the label’s releases are very different from one another they all sound recognisably of Hessle Audio, without being pigeonholed. Resultantly, the imprint has often been described as genre-defying. I would agree with this to the extent that they are defying genres by creating their own. Indeed, I have often heard releases that sound like Hessle Audio, something that doesn’t often get said about labels, and with their depth of catalogue and renown it seems clear where the influence has come from.
In terms of recent releases, late September and mid-October have seen Beatrice Dillon and Call Super’s 'Inkjet/Fluo' and Joe’s 'Tail Lift/MPH'. These rapidly released EPs, combined with a ten year anniversary, provided a welcome opportunity to write about the label. HES031 'Inkjet/Fluo' is a class act, home to atmospheric alien techno, weird drum patterns and synth stabs.
In terms of their most recent release, Joe and Hessle Audio are a consistently weird and wonderful combination, tracks like ‘Claptrap’ and ‘Slope’, are some of the most interesting dance floor assaulting productions in recent years (in my opinion). After all, this is the producer who turned Bobby McFerrin’s 'Thinkin’ About Your Body' into a loopy, thumpingly percussive, dance floor ready, surprisingly explosive slow burner. ‘Tail Lift’ fits the same brief, ultimately and quite simply it sounds like Joe having fun- there are aspects of bass, percussion heavy music combined with carnivalesque, off-key synth lines, stabs, deranged sounding bird calls, whistles and cow bells. On paper the track sounds like it shouldn’t work, it’s just off madness inducing, but thankfully it does. And riding these kind of risky lines successfully is what sets the label and their returning, almost-resident producers apart.
Over the course of ten years, thirty-two EPs, three LPs, a series of extended mixes and three compilations Hessle Audio’s quality has never waned. The label has consistently been home to some of the most progressive and forward thinking releases around. Certainly, it speaks volumes that Pearson Sound’s ‘Blanked’ has enjoyed a renaissance/re-discovery this summer and a ‘mere’ seven years after it was first released it is still stunning audiences. This article could go on and on, but hopefully it is a small insight into what is so impressive about Hessle Audio and why they are perhaps the premier and longest serving example of what is so exciting about the UK music scene.
Words by Hugo B