On June 7, Bait and Comic Sans join forces for an evening at La Station - Gare Des Mines. Laksa and EMA will be honoring us with a visit to French-speaking territory, to explore the bass and dubstep lands already tamed by Christian Coiffure, Beatrice M., and Sleek Fata. Ahead of the event, we were delighted to chat with Sleek Fata, co-founder of the label Comic Sans. In this interview, we discuss his curiosity-based approach, the solidarity needed in this French scene, and revelation on his future creative projects!
mana: You're organizing a party with Bait at La Station - Gare des Mines in a week's time. Bait likes to plan cross-parties. Do you?
sleek fata: Yes, we do quite a few. Last year, we did a label tour, and it was pretty much all collabs. Since we represent niche music, it's always easier to get the right audiences by collaborating with other crews.
As a label, we also have fairly fragile economies, so it's easier to take risks together. And in the independent music scene we're involved in - music made out of passion and far removed from capitalism - we'll always prefer collaboration to competition. For us, music is all about sharing.
Collaboration seems to be an important part of your career choices: in terms of parties, b2b and label co-management with gboi, who now manages Bad Tips. What was it like working together at Comic Sans?
We still work together, he's my best friend. We set up the label together, we lost money together, he's my soss! But we have two very different ways of working. For example, I'm pretty obsessive about artistic direction, and I have a lot of existential questions about the aesthetic I want to approach. As for Gboi, he lives music in a more spontaneous way. When he likes something, he'll play it, release it straight away, no questions asked. I think he's 100% right, but I think I'm right too. Neither approach is better, but they're not necessarily always compatible. We have different energies, and instead of having headaches, it's better for both energies to be able to express themselves in their own way. So we came up with a compromise: I run Comic Sans and he's set up his own label, Bad Tips.
I have the impression that with Bad Tips, gboi releases a lot of premieres. What's your strategy for Comic Sans now?
I tend to rage quite a lot regarding premieres! I only work with a few premiere channels with whom I have regular contact and who respect what we do. But for the others, I'm more in a “fuck them” mood, because for a very long time none of them answered my e-mails. Today, I prefer to keep our bangers for our own soundcloud account and accumulate followers on our own accounts rather than give them to other channels who have never calculated us. Over time, we've gathered quite a following on our bandcamp and soundcloud, so when we release something, it usually turns out well. And I'd also advise labels that are just starting out to do the same. The first ones are great, and despite my big hater mood I respect their place in the ecosystem, but don't overdo it. It's better to build up followers yourself, it's a strategy that pays off in the long term.
How would you describe Comic Sans Records' artistic direction?
I think what all our releases have in common is the weirdo feel, with a well-polished, avant-garde sound design. Up until now, the label has had more of a post-club, bass-music connotation, but it's also known for its somewhat libertarian and evolutionary DA, so you never know what the next release is going to sound like. These days, I'd like to broaden the spectrum of artistic direction to include things other than club music, like trip-hop, rock and dub, for example. That's what I'm going to explore next. One of my biggest inspirations is the AD93 label, in the sense that they manage to release club music as well as crazy instrumental projects such as those by Moin, V/Z and Quade.
What interests me most in music is choosing projects that have their own, original identity and that are also avant-garde. I wouldn't presume to say that we're releasing things that nobody else has heard, because that's not true and I don't think it's possible. Just when you think you've come up with something new, 100 people have done it before. But in any case, I am curious, I have an appetite for sounds that are a little out of the ordinary, and I like to give them a space, whether it's on the label or on my Cremation of Care shows on Lyl radio.
And what's the process for the visuals?
The label has a pretty fun and tortured history when it comes to visual DA. In the early days, we used to release really visually explosive stuff, which was kind of the concept and the reason we were called Comic Sans Records. Then, little by little, I educated my eye to design and started to find the emoji and paint-style joke a little less funny. That's when we started collaborating with real graphic designers. A turning point came when Virgile Flores joined the project and added his own touch to the catalog. Today he's a big reusta, he's moved to New York and doesn't necessarily have the time to work on small projects like ours, but he's always in our hearts. So either we work with other designers/illustrators, or I do the artworks myself.
For Christian Coiffure, for example, I did the artwork myself. But for the next release, and in many cases, I ask the producers for a moodboard. With this moodboard, I try to find something in common with the contemporary side of the label, and then I find illustrators or graphic artists who can make this link.
It's great to have an eye on the overall evolution of the project. So, to run a label like yours, you have to know how to stay curious, find new talent, and be a bit of a curator in the end. What are the qualities required to launch a label, and what are the imperatives for it to last over time?
First of all, it depends on why you want to launch your label. There are lots of different ways of having a label and for lots of different reasons. So, I don't think there are any truths about how to run a label. But if you have a label for the same reasons as we have for Comic Sans, I think that above all you have to be super curious, interested in everything. You have to know how to keep abreast of what's going on, how to keep up with the times. It's important to distinguish between what has already been explored too much and what really deserves to be explored.
For me, having a label is a bit like a sport. Asking for EPs from artists who have already been released elsewhere is super-easy, and anyone can do it. On the other hand, seeking out projects that have never had any visibility, and wanting to bring them to the top, is taking more risks and is more interesting in my opinion.
Otherwise, in terms of advice, it's important to go one step at a time and not burn your wings straight away. Typically, wanting to use your entire budget to make vinyl from the very first release is not necessarily a good idea. It can be very demotivating to launch your project and lose money right from the start. It's better to build up a small war chest before taking these kinds of risks. And a final word of advice: don't be afraid to start your own label, even if you feel your vision isn't 100% complete. It's something you learn little by little and refine over time. People never remember the mistakes you made when you first started out, but they respect you for where you are today. So don't be afraid to make mistakes; you'll correct them later.
Do you think there have been any barriers to exporting French talent abroad?
First, we don't necessarily have any big festivals with international reach. We don't have many media that are read internationally either, like Resident Advisor, for example, or big podcast channels. Our audiences aren't always international, so it doesn't help to hatch a scene and shine a light on it. There aren't many labels that have a presence outside France either. In terms of artists, too, there aren't many who export abroad! In the bass scene, we can mention Toma Kami, Simo Cell, Amor Satyr, Mika Oki or recently Beatrice M...
Speaking of Beatrice M., I think there's a real sense of solidarity here. Thanks to her rise, Beatrice is lifting others up too, whether in France or across the Channel.
Indeed, I think Beatrice M. has a central place in French bass music today. A lot of people are counting on them to move things forward, both in terms of the place of dubstep and the representation of FLINTA people. And their initiatives are brilliant: typically, launching parity dubstep evenings, only vinyl, that's unheard of. Movements come into the making thanks to people like them, and I'm very inspired by their energy.
How did the collab with Bait come about?
Beatrice M. and I have been exchanging music for over two years now, saying “oh listen to this banger”, inviting each other over and supporting each other's projects. It was pretty obvious to collaborate. We also share an appetite for deep bass music, so musically, we easily find points of agreement. What's more, it makes for a nice team: the veteran label combined with the young, energetic label, it makes sense and it's cool!
Can you tell me a little more about the artists who will be playing that night?
Laksa is one of my favorite producers on the current bass scene. He carries this UK Bass heritage in the continuum of hardcore, but with a very avant-garde approach. He's at the cutting edge of adventurous club music, and we hear he takes the same approach to DJ sets. We're looking forward to welcoming him.
Then there's Ema, who for me is the Irish equivalent of Beatrice M. in France. She heads up the Woozy label, which has a huge following. Likewise, I haven't had the chance to see her play live, but I'm told that his set at a famous Berlin club, now being boycotted, was one of the best of last year..
Finally, there will be Christian Coiffure, who is a very good friend and one of the figures behind the Comic Sans label. For me, he's an artist who really has his own style. He's part of the deep, minimalist and psychedelic side of club music, but I think he's moving away from current trends and making his own sound. For me, he has a very precise and meticulous vision of what he produces and what he plays. We've commissioned a live album from him and he's been working on it for months, so I can't wait to hear it!
Sleek Fata, myself, will be joined by Beatrice M., for warm-up duties. Expect a vinyl-onlw dubstep set!
And let's not forget Dylan Cote, a French VJ we discovered recently, who's doing an amazing job and will be in charge of the evening's visual projection!
Is vinyl mixing something you do regularly, or is it a bit of a challenge?
When I started mixing, it was mainly on vinyl. It's something I gave up when I opened up to other horizons like contemporary club music, which is rarely pressed on vinyl. In recent years, I've left the record shops for Bandcamp, which is my favorite playground, so it's something I haven't done for a long time. But a few months ago, Beatrice M. asked me “Are you up for playing only vinyl with me?” for a party he was organizing at Meta in Marseille. Challenge accepted, and for the occasion I started a dubstep collection. It's a different approach to mixing like this, and it's fun: you've just got your bin of skeletons and nothing else.
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Interview by Adélaïde de Cerjat.
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