Lex Records: 20 years on!

With the phenomenal Lex Records celebrating their twentieth birthday (and many more!), we dug out this article potentially from as far back as 2008 initially for another publication that saw Imran spend time with Lex founder, Tom Brown.  Conversation turned to Lex's inception, some key releases under the label's banner including Danger Mouse's 'The Grey Album' and the impact of the internet on independent record labels.  It's incredible to see Lex Records grow from strength to strength and continue to deliver on many of the noteworthy values synonymous with the label's legacy as outlined below.

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Looking back to when hip-hop was considered as nothing more than a passing musical trend in the early-80s, to look upon its rise to prominence in the 21st Century is nothing short of spectacular. Hip-hop’s fashion, music and artists have long made the leap, and firmly established themselves, as a part of popular culture, with the UK even now boasting its own home-grown crop of stars reaching an international platform.

A strong element of hip-hop’s appeal lies in its multi-faceted takes on it – for every rapper who rhymes about cash and partying, or sex and violence, there’s another more socially conscious artist, enthralled in politics and black history; and for every commercial-sounding or trend-hopping artist, there’s another keen to carve their own lane and push the boundaries of the genre’s perceptions. And it’s in these alternatives where Lex Records soar. Lex Records initially started off as an offshoot of iconic Sheffield-based label, Warp Records, and spearheaded by Warp employee, Tom Brown. Tom’s love for music and hip-hop had already started taking shape whilst studying at Sheffield, and was already making a name for himself by holding theme nights in bars and clubs, “We started off just getting DJs that we knew to DJ in bars for free during the week and then we got more ambitious and started getting hip-hop groups, trying to get lineups that were individual”. Brown further explained, “It wasn't like a money-making enterprise, it was being actively involved really. I think that level of involvement is kind of what makes the music industry work – smaller shows, making mixtapes, writing stuff on websites and stuff like that”.

Looking to spread his wings further while under the Warp umbrella, Brown was entrusted with managing a series of projects along with a compilation from America, which was to celebrate the opening of their New York office. The 15-track release was dubbed Routine, and consisted of work from their current roster, including Polygon Window, Tricky Disco, LFO, Plaid, Squarepusher and Autechre to name a few. The Milk Factory described the release as, “Encompassing the best of what Warp Records is all about, Routine is an essential addition to any record collection, either as an introduction to Warp, or as a complement to Warp 10 series.”

Lex found its identity started to grow through acts like Boom Bip and MF Doom, along with Danger Mouse (whose career had started to take off with ‘The Grey Album’ – his remix/mash-up LP of Jay-Z’s one-time swan song, ‘The Black Album’ with The Beattles’ ‘The White Album’ – which was soaring to critical and commercial praise). At the same time, Warp had just signed Maximo Park and found itself pushing a lot of resources into making that a success, so feeling the need to take a different approach to Warp, Brown felt it was time for Lex to stand on its own, “I suggested we get another company to buy it off them and they seemed open to that and then I thought about it for another month or so, and then said ‘what about if I bought it off you’, and they said ‘yeah, great’. It just made sense at the time for Lex to go a separate direction and it was all completely amicable”.

Lex’s independence has allowed its artists to flourish – under the guise of Dr Who Dat?, Jneiro Jarel entered the fold in 2006, and the MC/producer already has two critically acclaimed solo releases under his belt, along with his 2009 collaborative release with Goodie Mob’s very own Khujo Goodie, Willie Isz; Boom Bip, one of Lex’s longest-standing members, who actually started out during its Warp Records days, has seen several releases under the ‘Lex’ banner, including a joint project with Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals, Neon Neon; and then of course, there’s Danger Mouse, whose solo projects, along with collaborative efforts as a part of Danger Mouse & Jemini, and Danger Doom (with MF Doom), continue to solidify his legacy along with Lex’s.

Beyond these being tighten-your-wallet times, record labels’ continuing battle with the internet is still an ongoing war. While the music industry struggles to find a balance between the information highway being the proverbial gift and curse, like any record label, Lex finds itself having to adjust to the current climate: “Basically, someone was saying to me the other day,” explained Brown, “They explained it as we’re in Year Zero, so if you’ve got an artist who broke, someone who got to a sustainable level of sales and is making money, and their campaign’s a success, like MF Doom – that happened before the Year Zero, so his fans will still go out and buy his record, so if I get a new artist, and hooked them up with Doom, it would be a lot easier to get it off the ground than it would a new artist without that kind of support.”

Lex’s commitment to its artists is one of its most endearing qualities as a record label, and it’s this type of attention and care that I believe will see them safely through as they enter into the ‘Year Zero’ phase of the industry. Tom Brown concluded, “We always wanted to, at Lex, to keep the number of releases really low so we could be really hands on with everything, and not necessarily to grow the company in terms of number of people, but to work on growing individual artists, and that's still the case now – we’ve still got a really small roster and we've never dropped a signed artist, it's about investing in new artists from really early on in their career, and working on the production side, and investing in them for a long term deal.”

'Change' by Leona Berlin

'Change' is the new sophomore album release from singer, songwriter and producer, Leona Berlin.

With Berlin's self-titled debut album having been released in 2018, the incredibly talented Berlin-based artist introduced listeners to her distinctive blend of contemporary R&B that drew upon a wide range of influences from neo-soul to hip-hop and jazz.  

Also serving as the project's predominate producer, Berlin navigated a bold course over the album's thirteen tracks which saw her execute her singular vision to glowing results.  The album was further bolstered by some incredible collaborators throughout - Olivier St Louis contributed his penmanship to several of the album's tracks; eclectic jazz-fusion hero, saxophonist Casey Benjamin and then throughout the album, Berlin is aided by US pianist Ray Angry and the incredibly versatile drummer, Magro.  With highlights including 'Thinking About You', 'Cruel' and 'Little Bit', Berlin also bravely tackled the seminal classic written by Prince and popularised by Sinead O'Connor, 'Nothing Compares 2 U'.  

And brave is certainly the adjective to employ here - the decision to tackle such a well-known and revered song, and to still be able to inject enough of her own perspectives and imagination, is in part what makes Berlin such a revered artist in her own right and endears her to fans the world over.  Far from an artist that plays it safe or sticks to traditional formulas, Berlin is constantly seeking to express varying facets of her music and character.  Take 'Feminine Energy' as the next example.  The pre-cursor to 'Change' was released in 2020 and delivers an anthemic ode to feminine energy inspired by beauty and confidence ("She's the Mother, the Queen; The Pleasure, the Thrill; The Darkness, the Dream").

The time in between 2018's debut to today's 'Change' was certainly productive as a clutch of singles were subsequently unveiled within that time - 'Cage', 'Wrong Lane', 'Rest in My Arms' and most recently 'High Life' (featuring US vocalist Sedric Perry) continued to set expectations high for the eventual follow-up which has absolutely been worth the wait.

With production that is really brought to life through warm keyboards and infectious grooves, songs like 'Too Good', 'Who You Are' and 'Homeboy' really soar and help to emphasise Berlin's over-arching aesthetic for the album which could be interpreted as ascending to a higher spiritual plane, perhaps best demonstrated through the Stimulus-assisted 'Clouds'.

'Change' is very much indicative of Berlin's continual evolution as an artist.  An album that seems to provide a snapshot of herself in this moment - embracing concepts of hope and optimism over some brilliantly-produced pieces of music. 

'Music 4 Alternative Souls' [2xCD Extended Edition] by DJ Simon S

'Music 4 Alternative Souls', the 2018 album release from DJ Simon S, finds itself the subject of Futuristica Music's year-long celebrations and revisiting of classic records from the labels hallowed walls with the release of the album on 2-disc hardcopy for the first time.  As part of the Blue-in-Green:PODCAST, we had the opportunity to discuss the album, along with the other projects that constituted Futuristica Music's 15-year celebrations so you can catch the episode in full below...

Blue-in-Green Sessions · Blue-in-Green:PODCAST_#102_Simon S

The name *Simon S* is synonymous with so many varying music-making facets - as the founder of Futuristica Music, as a revered producer and remixer, world class DJ, and as an artist releasing music under a variety of guises and an artist with an incredible catalogue as a contributor to various musical collectives.  Dating all the way back to those early days as one-third of the low-fi, hip-hop inspired, Break Reform, Simon has consistently relished the opportunity through subsequent collectives to tap into different aspects of his own musical inspirations - Alexis Davis (alongside rapper Replife and producers Mecca:83 and Spinnerty) showcased a prevalent hip-hop aesthetic throughout their releases while Sun Circle - Simon's union with vocalist and Futuristica's First Lady Deborah Jordan - found itself comfortably at home within more nu-soul inspired soundscapes.

And outside of those collectives, Simon's pertinent alter ego of Jazz Chronicles - over the course of three full-length releases - has successfully sought to intertwine his affections for hip-hop-styled production with jazz samples in line with the golden era greats like DJ Premier, Q-Tip and Pete Rock.  The jazz-meets-hip-hop aesthetic would then embrace the next step in its evolving explorations through the Peter Franks Group which saw Simon embrace more live instrumentation into the compositions, again, providing a further avenue for his musical adventures.

Perhaps the most notable point about 'Music 4 Alternative Souls', however, is the fact that after having made music for well-over twenty years, this album serves as the first full-length project bearing the name *Simon S* officially as a solo artist in his own right.  Initially released in 2018, 'Music 4 Alternative Souls' is a glaring culmination of everything that came before it - an eclectic and joyous mish-mash of styles and genres brought to life through a thrilling guest list of Futuristica label mates and long-term affiliates all gracing productions that genuinely rank among Simon's best ever work.

The mesmeric 'Beautiful' kicks the project off in exquisite fashion featuring vocals from Electric Conversation's Oz who lends his vocal talents to a further two tracks on the album; the phenomenal 'Lately' with a great vocal from Nicola Kramer is a certified show-stealer and one of those aforementioned flawless productions that the album boasts so much of, and then of course we have the official introduction to the immeasurable talents of Georgie Sweet.  With Sweet's own 'Misunderstood' album still two years away at this time, her contributions to the tracks 'Half Human' (which would ultimately find a home on 'Misunderstood' as well) and 'Sunshine Through The Trees' certainly whet appetites for the gems that everyone had realised to expect from this fantastic artist.

What Bandcamp - and this reissue - have thankfully done is to present the album in its original iteration alongside all of the remixes that were unveiled in support of the project at the time.  Re-imaginings from Futuristica stalwarts including K15, Mecca:83 and aCatCalledFritz provide exciting new dimensions to the originals of 'For You', 'Beautiful' and 'Looking' respectively.  Once again though, it's 'Lately' that stands tall amongst the pack, this time, thanks to Marc Rapson's luxurious transformation of the hip-hop-heavy number into a nu-soul treasure.

While, to date, 'Music 4 Alternative Souls' remains the one-and-only album release attributed to Simon S, 'What Goes Around' featuring LaNote - a fantastic track housed on the 'Futuristica 15' compilation - teases that a further release could be on the way which we'll await with high expectations.  But from whatever name he chooses to unveil new releases by, music from Simon S, Jazz Chronicles or Peter Franks is always lovingly presented and striving to explore new ideas and concepts from a tirelessly prolific and brilliant vision.

Over the course of Futuristica's fifteen year celebrations this year, we've been fortunate enough to revisit their past projects like 'Messages' by Rise and 'Dark vs Light' by Marc Rapson.  With Futuristica Music continually finding its way to new listeners, 'Music 4 Alternative Souls' really can't be an album from the label's catalogue that passes you by so make the most of this rare opportunity to secure a hardcopy of this classic release.

Blue-in-Green:PODCAST #100: Leona Berlin

Welcome to Episode #100 of the Blue-in-Green:PODCAST which sees Imran secure time with singer, songwriter and producer, Leona Berlin.

With her self-titled debut album initially released in 2018, Leona Berlin's neo-soul rooted take on contemporary R&B was spearheaded by some fantastic tracks including 'Thinking About You' (featuring Casey Benjamin), 'Walking', 'Cruel' and an excellent cover of Prince's 'Nothing Compares To You'.  A real pleasure of a release but one that may very well be bettered by Berlin herself if the run-up of singles gearing towards her sophomore album 'Change' are anything to go by.  Currently boasting the singles 'Feminine Energy', 'Too Good' and 'Who You Are', Leona's music has always demonstrated her charm and distinct personality, representative of an ever-evolving artist.

During this episode, we talk to Leona about the new album 'Change', the singles leading up to the release, the lost art of the album, past collaborators and a look back to Leona's debut album of three years ago.

Blue-in-Green Sessions · Blue-in-Green:PODCAST_#100_Leona Berlin

'Shapes and Stories' by Milena Jancuric

'Shapes and Stories' is the new album release from flautist Milena Jancuric available through Italy's A.MA Records.

Born in Novi Sad, Serbia, Jancuric's adventures in music have taken her to all corners of the globe - from having studied at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade and the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Jancuric has graced stages within the US, Panama, France, Italy, Israel, Germany, Serbia and Croatia amongst several others.  Initially drawn to performance through her affection for classical music compositions, an appreciation for jazz would soon follow affording Jancuric the opportunity to assume more creative control of her music through concepts like free improvisation and varying arrangements and ensembles.

'Shapes and Stories' is an album demonstrative of Jancuric's immeasurable talent - from her world class ability as a performer to also serving as the project's producer and composer - the flautist masterfully uses the opportunity to solidify herself as an accomplished and, frankly, brilliant artist.

A.MA Records' ability to continually unveil extraordinary talent never ceases to amaze.  In fact, it was Jancuric's star turn on another A.MA Records release - the exquisite 'Ascension' by the phenomenal saxophonist and vocalist Sanja Markovic - that brought Jancuric to the label's attention.  Boasting a real passion for collaboration, Milena is able to realise her project's musical vision for 'Shapes and Stories' with the assistance of some fantastic players including pianist Aleksandar Dujin, drummer Petar Radmilovic, bassist Ervin Malina, saxophonist Milan Jancuric, Lazar Novkov on accordion and vocalist Aleksandra Denda.  

The music across the album's seven tracks are meticulous and multi-layered.  While highlights include the sublime 'Dreams in You' and the stirring 'Don't Fall Me Fall', the stunning performances on the opening number 'Purple Shoes Steps' may very well be the star that shines brightest as it beautifully traverses numerous twists and turns throughout its near ten glorious minutes.

Kurt Vonnegut once described his greatest gift to the literary world as his assessment of shapes within stories.  To surmise Vonnegut's more scientific and detailed assessment, the American writer had analysed the ebbs and flows and the tumultuous journey of each narrative delivering something of a visual representation to Joseph Campbell's depiction of the hero's journey, if you will.

Milena Jancuric has created a project very much respectful towards this methodology, however, 'Shapes and Stories' is a project that is significantly less scientific and more representative of a serendipitous piece of art.  If Vonnegut had any specific shapes in his mind that all stories would fall into then Jancuric's role is to completely reinvent those templates while taking listeners on this incredible journey of soaring highs, poignant moments of reflection and treasured intimacy delivering something wholly distinctive and unique.

Not only is the debut album by Milena Jancuric a stunning and ambitious piece of work... it also tells a magnificent story!

'Live From The Church' by Julia Biel

In February 2020 - mere weeks before the world would subsequently be turned upside down - Julia Biel released 'Black and White' (Volume 1), her fourth album which saw her music presented within a more stripped down and intimate setting pairing her unmistakable vocal with the black and white keys of a piano over the course of eleven songs.

Although 'Black and White' was clearly the first of a planned series of acoustic-based releases, what Biel herself may not have realised at the time was just how much this stripped-down arrangement would become a staple of her music going forward.

Since March 2020, the world has had to evolve and adapt to these new and extraordinary circumstances where face masks, social distancing, excessive amounts of hand sanitizer, home schooling and Zoom-based interactions have become our new "normal".  And while the past year has certainly impacted everyone, the impact on the music industry and independent artists and musicians has been particularly difficult to see unfolding.  Conversely, this can also be seen as a challenge that many have risen to - the need to continually create, even in less-than-inspirational circumstances, has led to some wonderful and inspired ideas and projects... and frankly these are circumstances that Julia Biel has excelled within.

The subsequent extension of 'Black and White' could be regarded as a near two-year project which saw Biel - with piano keys at the ready - maintain her relationship with devoted listeners through her Hang-Time-At-Home series.  With weekly live performances carried out through Facebook, Julia's wonderful setlists comprised a exciting array of songs from her own catalogue along with some beautiful renditions of classic tracks including a heartrending, yet heavenly, take on 'Mad World' by Tears For Fears.

'Live From The Church', recorded in Brighton's Unitarian Church this year, boasts six beautifully-performed songs plucked mostly from Biel's impeccable catalogue including 'Shhh...' ('Not Alone', 2005) along with 'The Wilderness' and 'Something Beautiful' ('Julia Biel', 2018).  An inspired rendition of 'The Creator Has A Master Plan' by the revered Pharoah Sanders kicks the project off perfectly: "The creator has a working plan; Peace and happiness for every man" - certainly poignant words in light of global events that have unfolded over the last two years.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Emre Ramazanoglu, 'Live From The Church' is envisioned as a complete audio-visual experience with an accompanying video of the complete performance also available to stream and download, reverently put together by Lisa Wormsley.

New music from Julia Biel always has a way of rendering words somewhat useless.  Other than to pass on the news that another of her exquisite projects is currently awaiting your attention, there's very little that I, or anyone for that matter, could come up with to capture the beauty that gleams from her voice when she sings or when her fingers grace the piano keys.  While quarantine life has led to some life-changing and desolate moments for many, there is still joy to be found in these little moments of creativity and art and we're forever grateful for that.