Label Focus – On the Corner
Pete Buckenham talks us through what makes his On the Corner label tick
WHAT’S THE NAME OF YOUR LABEL, AND WHO RUNS IT?
On the Corner and me, Pete Buckenham.
WHEN & WHY DID THE LABEL START?
The label got going in 2013. I’d resisted the pull of music for years and finally its presence became the driving force. My musical adventures expanded with my horizons. Some of the label’s roots took hold on my travels across Africa after working for migration and human rights organisations. I joined the paths of several previous adventures by taking off for a year and diving into music culture and scenes along the way.
While running a bar on the paradise island of Zanzibar, my playlists were getting high praise and eventually I was asked to DJ. I’d play everything from post-dubstep to unearthed gems from across the heydays of various African countries. Back in London I started a Monday evening session called On The Corner where, in the spirit of Miles and his LP of the same name, ‘call it what you want’ was the mantra. Producer Emanative was DJing with me at that time, and when asking a friend at label Sounds of the Universe where all of Emanative’s unreleased material could go, I was encouraged to start a label.
It’s been superb to see On the Corner being recognised as not only changing the game in electronic music and jazz, but also giving a platform and presenting the figureheads of the pan African and ‘future-dance’ sound, with artists like Guedra Guedra, Tenesha The Wordsmith, Collocutor, Khaleb, Dengue Dengue Dengue. Helping singular artistic talents like Siti Muharam, Tamar Collocutor, Asher Gamedze, Uffe, Hieroglyphic Being, The Diabolical Liberties and Planet Battagon’s Tugg, flourish is a growing legacy.
GIVE US A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU’VE RELEASED SINCE THEN….
Some of my favourites, a few unknowns and an eclectic array of cross border backroom heat.
WHAT QUALITIES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THE MUSIC YOU RELEASE?
That New Thing! That adaptation in form. Music that asks questions or commands attention or carries a message. ‘What the fuq is that?’ is the sure shot!
WHAT KIND OF VISUAL IDENTITY DOES THE LABEL HAVE (ARTWORK, VIDEOS ETC) ?
Very much driven by our glorious art director Victoria Topping who has recently been joined by graphic designer Oli Green.
WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SELLING RELEASE TO DATE? TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT AND WHY YOU THINK IT WAS SO POPULAR.
That’s a tough call, I think Siti Muharam’s Siti of Unguja has just edged it over Asher Gamedze’s debut LP Dialectic Soul
I think both are deep, deep works. Asher’s musicality, vision and academic strengths make him a force for the future. The connection between the two is the recounting and interpretation of history. Muharam’s is more personal and really brought the legacy of a cultural archetype to life with some heavy jazz characteristics.
NAME ONE RELEASE THAT YOU THINK DESERVED TO GET MORE ATTENTION THAN IT DID
Again, you’re not just getting one. Tenesha’s The Wordsmith LP is brilliant as is Hieroglyphic Being’s LP for the label. The Door to The Cosmos triple vinyl comp traversing the label’s adventure from last year fared fairly well but could really have gone bang!
IF YOU COULD SIGN ANY ARTIST, ALIVE OR DEAD, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
Where do you start with that? Miles, Fela, Mercury, Simone… I think it would need to be someone attainable for this outsider art project so either Muslim Gauze, Steve Reid or Mark E Smith would be a good start. Not sure how they’d feel about being rattled from eternal peace to come hang out for coffee in a backroom studio.
Living; Thom Yorke, Roisin Murphy, Mike Dunn, Christian Scott, Saul Williams – that would be quite the stable. I’d take that. Imagine that live and dead session!
WHICH OTHER LABELS DO YOU ADMIRE AND WHY?
Byrd Out because the integrity in the artistry is unparalleled.
WHAT CAN WE LOOK TO FROM YOUR LABEL NEXT?
We’ve a debut from Alai K on it’s way, a fierce droid-breaks and cosmic psych LP from Edrix Puzzle (think BadBadNotGood meets Heliocentrics on HyperDrive) Uffe’s LP Words and Endings which is a deep adventure through bass culture.
Some more deliciousness from Julie Pavon and a whole lot more of that New Thing! Energy On the Corner.