Scandi synth-wave, Norwegian fruit pop or Lapland laser disco. Prins Thomas’ baby has become a go to for many crate diggers seeking surprises. Whilst there is a variety of different sounds that come from the snowy Scandinavian peak, Full Pupp has managed to carve out a niche over the past 12 years as the go to place for spacey disco. With Prins Thomas manning the wheel it has meant the rest of the label has kept treading this distinct musical path. As a label, it embodies this Norwegian disco, inspired by 1970’s New York, which is very hard to pin down - but it is expressed through terms like psychedelia, krautrock and cosmic. Obviously, this is quite a large umbrella they have opened but the sound they really work towards has this kind of thinking in mind.
After 50 releases, already it has been another big year for Full Pupp. With Magnus International ‘Synths of Jupiter’, Pandreas ‘Back to School’ and Laars ‘None’. Even today Prins Thomas released his fifth album - which is testament to the passion that goes into the productions up North. All releases are great in that they are almost their own takes on what the Full Pupp sound is, yet it still is maintained within the original parameters set up by Prins Thomas. A melee of bpm’s, sounds and filters, but the music is still original. There’s more to look forward to in early January with ‘Auto Remixes 1 & 2’ from Chmmr.
At its core, Full Pupp is a group of really talented, passionate, local artists. Throughout its time there have been artists like Prins Thomas and Magnus International churning out some exquisite EP’s over the years. But it has also become a place to nurture new home-grown talent with the likes of Laars and Andre Bratten. This is what gives Full Pupp a really distinctive feel, by keeping it local they are almost flying the flag of originality from their region. For me it almost feels like a continuation of the group of teenagers from Tromsø in the North of the country. The place is famous for being the birth of Norwegian disco started by artists like Bjørn Torsk, Mental Overdrive and the legendary Erot. This meteoric rise from Tromsø has been captured by Ben Davies’ (Paper Recordings) recent documentary, Northern Disco Lights. And I may be wrong but I feel like Full Pupp has been born out of this movement and could be a representation of what the movement that began in Tromsø would look like today.
It’s also quite pleasant to think that these out-of-space sounds are coming from some of the most Northern societies in the world - almost looking down on the rest of us, almost in contact with space. Or it may be the physical environment of the Arctic landscape that makes their music almost other-worldly. Either way they have had a great year and I hope will have many more.
Words by Jack A