Label Focus – Under My Feet.

Meet the London post-punk crew who combine DJ, live performances and art exhibitions

A label and experimental arts collective from London, Under My Feet. has been running post-punk DJ nights, live performances and art exhibitions – often combining them into all three – since 2015. 

Musically, they champion the work of today’s hottest neo-wave via electronic pushers, notably their affiliates Hiro Kone, Drew McDowell, Katatonic Silencio and Container. Their new label incarnation has naturally followed on, emerging in 2020, and recently stepping up the ante with an EP by label A&R and artist Ireen Amnes, together with breakbeat behemoth Kamikaze Space Programme. 

We caught up with UMF’s four strong team (Ireen, Hila Angelica, Jacopo and Carolaina) about their vision, the long-simmering buzz behind the label, and what’s next to come… 

WHAT’S THE NAME OF YOUR LABEL, AND WHO RUNS IT? 

Caro: The label is called Under My Feet. and we’re a collective of four people: Ireen, Hila Angelica, Jacopo and myself – Carolaina. 

We all come from different working backgrounds in the creative industry, and each of us brings their expertise to this project. It’s fair to say that we all complete each other and each of us have a specific role: Ireen being the A&R, Hila looking after our branding image, Jacopo working on marketing strategies and I, looking after budgets and other business-related matters.

WHEN & WHY DID THE LABEL START?  

Caro: The label is the result of years and years of dedication and passion. We’ve existed as a collective since 2015, and have been putting on events in London since then. We’ve also released a few limited edition live recordings on tape, but our first official release as a label only came out in early 2021.  

The idea of launching a label is something we’ve been working on for quite a while. Before the pandemic, we were focusing most of our energies on events, but with that whole world stopping we had a chance to shift our focus on the label and work on its launch.  

GIVE US A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU’VE RELEASED SINCE THEN…. 

Ireen: We’ve released two ‘Live on Tape’ limited-edition cassettes featuring live sets from Hiro Kone and Drew McDowall, and a collaborative EP from Kamikaze Space Programme and Ireen Amnes.  

WHAT QUALITIES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THE MUSIC YOU RELEASE?  

Ireen: Intensity, sonic quality and a particular timbre which is really hard for me to put into words right now. What’s important for us is not what style the music is but what the artist expresses with it. It’s about a feeling or a concept. In a nutshell, the music we choose is the culmination of who we are as people and what we believe in.  

WHAT KIND OF VISUAL IDENTITY DOES THE LABEL HAVE (ARTWORK, VIDEOS ETC) ?  

Hila: As a visual artist, I want to bring a strong aesthetic vision to the label, a vision that goes  beyond graphic design to encompass elements from architecture to tattoos, fine art to moving image and photography to DIY. I work a lot with collages, so I usually start by looking for strong imagery that resonates with the music on the release. I then proceed to scanning the images, creating the compositions by hand, and keeping most of the process analog. 

My artworks are always  guided by the sounds of each release; the music is always really diverse, so naturally the artwork also changes to reflect this. As a result, the visual identity I present ranges from dark and romantic to harsh DIY and punk, often resulting in strong, trippy and in-your-face artworks. 

I don’t want the  label to look like any other, so it’s really important for me to keep our visual identity strong and recognisable but also always diverse and exciting! 

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SELLING RELEASE TO DATE? TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT AND WHY YOU THINK IT WAS SO POPULAR.  

Caro: Well, I guess it’s still quite early to say, but our ‘Live on Tape’ series has definitely received quite a lot of attention. Both releases sold out within hours of publishing them. ‘Drew McDowall Live on Tape‘ has surely been our biggest achievement so far; obviously all the credits go to him for creating something so spectacular. We just had the vision to record it, so those who weren’t there could enjoy it too. 

NAME ONE RELEASE THAT YOU THINK DESERVED TO GET MORE ATTENTION THAN IT DID  

Ireen: I think the forthcoming ‘UMF002’ LP from Incendie deserves a lot of attention. Besides being his first release, I believe his work has this magic combination of harsh sounds, intricate melodies and polyrhythmic grooves that really speaks to me. 

IF YOU COULD SIGN ANY ARTIST, ALIVE OR DEAD, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?  

Easy one, we all agree on Genesis P-Orridge (of Throbbing Gristle). There’s just so much admiration for this  character. They forever changed the music and artistic scene! 

WHICH OTHER LABELS DO YOU ADMIRE AND WHY?  

Caro: There’s just so many! From the States we follow DAIS and Dark Entries, they’re both unique in their own way and release music from artists we really admire. DAIS obviously is a reference point for us and for all lovers of experimental music. Dark Entries has an amazing history of reissues, they find and release stuff from the 80s that would get lost otherwise.

Then there’s Warp, Avant! Records, Minimal Wave, Hospital Productions, and also smaller labels like Instruments of Discipline and Detriti records. Running a label isn’t just about releasing music, but also about being able to create imagery and stand out. We think all the above have somehow been able to do so. 

WHAT CAN WE LOOK TO FROM YOUR LABEL NEXT?  

Ireen: ‘UMF003’ will be an EP from Kashaiof, the project of Eyal Bitton & Itzik Avizohar, both central mainstays in Jerusalem’s electronic underground music scene. And since we’ve recently started doing live shows again, I can see another ‘Live on Tape’ coming out soon.