From FoF
It’s only been months since FoF launched their record label experiment and with some good fortune we’re finding ourselves inching closer to our goal: to get both artists and fans alike to re-think the notions of how music is be created, distributed, and consumed.
The name itself FoF Music (Friends of Friends) is the driving force behind the label, referring to the most effective, trusted way that people find out about new music…through their FRIENDS, with good old-fashioned word-of-mouth discoveries. The concept in short, is we invite an artist whose work we truly admire to create a split EP and they in turn invite another friend to complete the B-side. The curator also invites another artist to create the visual component of the collaboration. For our inaugural FoF Volume 1 release we invited friend and electronic madman, Daedelus, who asked his buddies Jogger to be the EP’s flipside. Instead of releasing it on a CD, Daedelus asked a visual artist to create a t-shirt with which we included a download card. Our first foray into becoming a “record label” was unique one, we received kind words from music fans and artists of all kinds whose curiosity was piqued. While it’s too early to tell if our model will actually work, we’re relieved to know our first release won’t eventually wind up as a beverage coaster.
With Volume 1 a success, the stakes are high for FoF Volume 2 to deliver so we invited one of their very favorite acts, Larytta to curate the second release. Last year the Swiss duo released their debut “Difficult Fun” which we believe was one of the criminally underrated albums of the past year, an infectious, whimsical fusion of weird beats, afropop, 80s electro-funk, futuristic soul, and sunny folk that would comfortably fit anywhere between Kompakt/Spectral 12″s, Hot Chip, Konono no.1, and Paul Simon in one’s record collection. Without ever meeting them, we reached out and explained the idea and to our surprise (and elation!) they enthusiastically took us up on the offer.
Like the first installment, the artist who Larytta chose to complete the b-side, fellow Swiss producer Bauchamp, was one that wasn’t on our radar at all before but now we’re ever so happy to have an outlet to showcase this friend of a friend. A perfect complement to Larytta’s a-side of island-influenced electronic pop, Bauchamp’s contribution is a breezy dose of tropical techno and electro. As huge fans of Larytta, we would have been grateful if they handed gave us some “outtakes ” or more “experimental” jams but instead they turned in their best, maybe catchiest output to date. It’s an exciting glimpse of what’s to come from this increasing unclassifiable eclectic duo.
The opener “You Got Nothing” is equal parts humorous art-pop and tribal electronics, lightly accented by Caribbean flourishes and new wave synths. The bright “Promises” sounds like a hit to us, anchored by a sunny african guitar line it’s crooning electronic R&B/pop has been in our heads since the moment we heard it. Lastly, they give us their dance-floor banger “Play Me Loud (Futuro)”. Think fire + melody and you get Larytta’s third and final contribution to the release.
If Larytta is your soundtrack to sipping daquiris in the sand, Bauchamp is what’s playing on the beach’s dance party. Exploring many of the same influences (techno, funk, latin) as the a-side, Bauchamp transforms them into his own unique, intoxicating dance-focused brew. In the bouncy “Calypso”, synth bass and steel drum melodies riff off each other over housey drum programming and analog island-jazz. “Tchumu” rides a sped up, funk bassline while the meticulous arrangements turn the rhythm track inside out, getting a lot of mileage out of little bit. While the careful production takes a cue from Cologne and the “microhouse” it spawned, Bauchamp is sonically more melodic and playful fitting well with Larytta’s poppier a-side.
FoF Volume 2 will be on released once again on a 100% organic cotton tee(Alternative Apparel), designed by Tatiana Rihs and including the incredible seed-paper(you can plant them!) download card with a code to retrieve the album and exclusive remixes from Lazer Sword, The Chap, Hecuba, Round Table Knights, Otic Angst and more……Highly Recommended
“You Got Nothing (Lazer Sword Remix)”
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