Features
SCENE SELECTION: BUTTERZ
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If it's a surprise to hear that some of the most ingenious and inventive dance music of the past 12 months has come from the realm of grime, then you probably aren't familiar with Butterz. Established in 2010, the label has dropped a steady stream of crucial cuts that have redefined grime and the boundaries of 140bpm based bass music in general.
The Butterz back catalogue boasts the warped mutant funk of Swindle's 'Mood Swings', the jaw dropping sub heavy assault of S-X's 'Woooo Riddim' and the hyper synth'n'slap bass meltdown created by D.O.K on 'Chemical Planet'. That's not to mention massive vocal hits from grime dons P Money and Trim, as well as productions from scene godfather Terror Danjah. Building on a classic grime template, Butterz artists make it their mission to mess with convention and put out tunes that explode with newfound electronic energy.
Started by Elijah and Skilliam, two east London based DJs with a passion for pushing the music they love, Butterz runs on the belief that grime can still offer a new and exciting dynamic to dance music. You can hear them in full flow on the latest mix CD from Rinse as well as during their weekly radio show on the celebrated underground station. Mixmag caught up with Elijah to talk all things Butterz, so check out our conversation below and grab an exclusive remix of one of the label's biggest tunes yet.
Grab an exclusive remix of Trim's 'I Am' by Arkane Soul below! You can hear and buy the original via Butterz right here.
Scene Selection: Butterz presents... Trim - I Am (Arkane Soul Remix) by Mixmag
For those who are uninitiated, how and why did Butterz begin?
It began out of frustration. Releases weren't coming out professionally, there weren't many events happening and we just wanted a challenge as DJs to bring together the best material and showcase it to the world. So it initially was a blog that started in 2007, then developed into us getting a show on Rinse FM in 2009 and then starting the label and events in 2010.
Butterz has been credited with kickstarting a bit of a grime renaissance in the last year or so. Why should people be listening to Butterz releases and grime in general right now?
For us grime has the perfect balance. It's got the energy of garage, hip hop and dancehall and still has some of the most unique producers in the UK. Without a doubt it also still produces the majority of MC talent that goes on to be future stars. A good reason to check out the Butterz label is because all the releases are totally different, but still complimentary. Perfect for DJs and listeners!
The label seems like a real entrepreneurial effort by two young guys looking to do their own thing. Do you have any tips for fellow DJs/producers/fans looking to start and sustain their own imprint?
Take your time with things. This has developed over the space for four years and I would find it impossible to repeat. So much has been down to life circumstances, what has been going on in music and the industry that has shaped our breakthrough and no label has the same story. Right now to sustain an imprint you are going to need a few more income streams then just record sales as generally the sales are going down, so even with popular releases it is hard to make money.
You guys have mixed the latest Rinse CD and have included a lot of Butterz related artists. The selection gives off a real family atmosphere. Was that the intention?
How did you go about recording the mix?
The producers we initially started out playing when we first joined Rinse, and went on to feature on the first few releases on the label, have continued to work with us and do shows together so we are always first to play their new material, fresh off their hard drives, so we have really been involved with a lot of music on there. Whether it has been hearing certain tracks from initial idea stages, to naming some of the beats, or being involved in making some of the collaborations happen. We are really hands on with a lot of stuff we play. A lot of fans of the Rinse compilation series will not know much about what we do, so it was important to document some of our best music on the label so far. It took about 30 attempts to mix it all in one go on Serato at Rinse HQ, and we mixed it back to back, 2 tracks each I think.
What's next for Butterz?
Our next record is a collaboration between Swindle and Silkie, 'Unlimited', which will be out early next year. Following that we have Terror Danjah back on the label for our tenth official release. We're really excited about that as it is covering ground we haven't before. In 2012 we will continue doing Butterz events, hopefully up and down the country as well as at our London residencies. As always we will be pushing new talent on the radio show too, so who knows what could happen in the coming months.
