Niagara launch Ascender label

We quiz the Portuguese trio about their new venture and premiere a track from the debut 12″. 

Portuguese trio Niagara, aka Sara Eckerson and brotherly pair António and Alberto Arruda, have made quite the impression on us at Juno Plus this year with records for Lisbon’s Príncipe and London’s From The Depths as well as a cassette for videogamemusic. They also supplied us with a podcast consisting entirely of their own unreleased material back in June which summed up nicely the unpredictable nature of Niagara’s music. Whilst filling a mix with your own material is generally only a ploy the greats can get away with, Niagara’s motivations were clearly less out of a heightened opinion of their own worth and more a reflection of the sheer amount of music they make together.

With this in mind it comes as no surprise to discover Eckerson and the Arrudas have elected to launch their own label, Ascender, as a platform through which this vast archive of Niagara material can get a physical release. The debut release on the label takes shape as a four-track 12″, also called Ascender, and is due for release sometime in November, and to herald the label’s ascension (sorry) we are premièring the heat-treated lead track “SEE”. You can stream that below whilst Niagara have also answered some questions to better outline what to expect from their new endeavour.

How long have you been planning to launch this label?

To be honest, we don´t quite know. But for a long time we have had the desire to put out more of our own music.

What was the inspiration to start a label of your own.

Mainly the music. The fact that there were some tracks we really like, and thought others would enjoy too. Also, it is a different experience to be your own editor, instead of having others doing it for you. Both are fun though. To sum it up, it was strict necessity.

How did you come up with the name Ascender?

Ascender means ‘to ascend’ in Portuguese. By that we mean simply the joy we have in making our music and sharing it with others. Maybe this is way too simplistic; but it references the simple fact that doing music makes our lives better.

How would you describe the sound of Ascender?

It will simply be the sound of whatever tracks we are enjoying at a present moment. But we do not think too much in terms of sound, as long as the music sounds right.

Will it only be your own music that you will release on the label?

Yes! It will be strictly for our own output, whenever we have something we feel like sharing. The artwork will also be by us, and for this edition all records will be hand-stamped by us. We will also release some CD-R’s in very limited editions, so if you like this stuff be on the look out. Any questions regarding the record please write to antonio.a.arruda@gmail.com

Ascender will release Ascender by Niagara in mid-November.

Tracklisting:

A1. SEE
A2. Beto
B1. Hexe
B2. Ara

Niagara on Juno