Three years ago revered house label Poker Flat celebrated its 10th anniversary and, at the height of its powers, label owner Steve Bug considered pulling the plug. Why on earth was that? Defected’s Ben Lovett investigates...
“I was so proud of what the label had achieved” Bug opens. “Those 10 years felt more like five; it was a crazy period. I looked back and saw this whole history of our music and, for a few days, kept thinking that maybe we shouldn't mess with that history. There was a complete body of work and, maybe, to continue would start to work against that; the ideas might deteriorate. It worried me.”
Bug sat down with his business partner and discussed the options. “Obviously we carried on, but in some senses we took a gamble” Bug explains. “The electronic music business gets faster and faster and there is an overwhelming emphasis on things that are new – new artists, new styles, new labels. Yes, Poker Flat was at a peak but we agreed that to follow the trend for shutting projects down and beginning new ones all the time could work against us in the long-run. We had this rich history with Poker Flat and a brand that people recognised and loved; if we continued to manage things well then there was no reason why we couldn’t carry on something special. We kept going.”
The decision proved to be a good one. Since those confused moments of 2009, Poker Flat has released a slew of impressive releases; some by label newcomers such as Daniel Dexter (No House For Old Men and this year’s acid-sax whirlwind Storm), Alex Niggerman (singles Lately and Don’t Wait; new deep, melodic 4-4 long-player Paranoid Funk), and TJ Kong & Modular K (recent tech-house album Dream Cargoes), and others by existing favourites Martin Landsky, Clé and, of course, Bug himself.
“It does feel like a good decision now that we have a few more things under our belt” Bug acknowledges. “To be honest, after the 10th anniversary we were getting all of these great demos in and it felt like carrying on was meant to be. All record labels have their peaks and troughs; it’s to be expected. Today, we’re back on the way up after what feels like a stretch of downtime.”
The casual outsider might struggle to identify where in the past few years Poker Flat has actually slowed down. The volume of new singles, EPs, compilations and albums released in each of the years since its 10th anniversary celebrations has been sheer and ruthlessly consistent. Most electronic labels would be lucky to get anywhere near the same level of productivity from its roster of artists.
Poker Flat, with a general leaning towards the tougher, more minimal strains of house music, has thrived despite clubland’s gradual shift towards softer, vocal and more soulful sounds; the sounds it is currently enthralled by. Unsurprisingly Bug is relaxed about such developments.
“I’m mindful of change, we all have to be in this business” he answers. “But the progression of my labels and, indeed, my career is a long-term one; I ignore the short-term variables. As I say, labels will have ups and downs depending on a number of immediate factors, that’s inevitable. A shift towards vocal music is neither here or there for me, I do my own thing.”
And that involves far more than just minimal tech. “Look at my recent DJ sets” Bug asks. “I’ve been playing a lot of the music people best know me and Poker Flat for but there’s also been a lot of soul; I’ve been really enjoying the vocal b-line stuff that’s coming through. That breadth of music is also reflected, I think, on Poker Flat. There might be more focus on the tougher grooves, and things like that, but then we’re regularly commissioning remixes and compilations that give us an additional chance to connect with other styles and ideas that are relevant to what we do. We’ve never followed the hype; we’ve never gone with hype artists because they’re the sort of people that cost the earth and then drop you at a moment’s notice. We are a family, playing the long game.”
If Bug wrestled with the idea of playing a long game three years ago, then he also questioned whether or not electronic music was right for him as a youngster. Even at that early stage, cool, calm and collected reasoning was required – and demonstrated.
“I tried for three years to avoid being a DJ” he admits. “I started out as a dancer; not a professional one, just someone enjoying dancing to electronic music. I was really connected to it and my friends kept pushing me to DJ myself and eventually I gave in.”
Why then the initial reluctance? “Ultimately, I was so happy on the dancefloor. I knew, even then, that if I became a DJ that I’d have to start concentrating more and that I’d lose some of the lightness... the freedom of just dancing to, and enjoying house music. Being an artist you listen to music with a different ear; it’s not like when you’re a fan, this is a business and a living. But, look, I’ve found the balance. I seriously love what I do and whilst there’s always that element of professionalism involved, I have a lot of fun. As long as you genuinely love the music then you can handle the rest, and that was my conclusion all those years ago.”
Steve Bug, real name Stefan Brugesch, was born in Nienburg, Germany (just south of Bremen, where he lives now) in 1969. He first discovered house following repeat visits to Hamburg club FRONT (a regular gig for Boris Dlugosch) during the late Eighties and eventually secured DJ spots of his own in local Hamburg and Bremen clubs. Bug’s early forays into production, during the mid-Nineties (Superstition releases Tritop, Bride & Bridegroom), avoided a skew towards then topical trance and hard dance in their sleek, deep tech simplicity. They would fuel his desire for a meaningful, full-blown music career.
Bug launched his first label, Raw Elements, in 1995, and with it his stock rocketed. A stylishly minimal debut album Volksworld earned him specific praise, so too the nurtured output of label signings Vincenzo and Martini Bros. Raw Elements relentlessly challenged the traditions of harder dance music but, in turn, Poker Flat would launch, pushing a darker, even rawer agenda.
Poker Flat’s intentions were best signalled by its first release, classic Bug track Loverboy. The track’s crazy, quirky, funky vocal minimalism paved the way for other stripped-back and idiosyncratic tech-house gems from Bug and fellow Poker players Landsky, Clé, Trentemoller, Hakan Lidbo and Guido Schneider. There was time, too, for Bug to record follow-up studio albums, The Other Day (2000), Sensual (2002) and Collaboratory (2009) – all pivoting on a widely-enjoyed fusion of blistering peak-time tech, mellow early morning dubs and, in the case of Collaboratory in particular, experimentation with classical, neo-soul and dubstep.
A new album, Noir, is due this September and, according to Bug, promises even greater boundary-pushing; it is ‘teased’ by this month’s excellent tempo-changing Those Grooves EP. “This is my most complete album yet” he enthuses. “I’ve spent nearly a year on it and only finished the final mixdown last month. It has the trademark dancefloor tracks, as well as some interesting downbeat ideas and even guitars. I’m hugely excited about it.”
Bug is also gearing up to release an album by Daniel Dexter (“he’s new and super talented”), as well as new EPs and remixes by Simon Garcia and Alex Niggerman. That isn’t to forget his cult deep house offshoot Dessous, with new product expected soon from Jamie Anderson; but what of third, leftfield label Audiomatique?: “We haven’t found the grooves we’d want to release on it, so it’s dormant for now. It’s difficult because we’ve currently got around 10,000 demos that have been sent to us. It’s too much to sift for what, like 10 decent tracks? Right now, it’s better to work with people we know and trust.”
For all Bug’s label and studio commitments, he is still a prominent fixture on the global club and festival circuit. He can’t easily pick a highlight gig this year, even from the past three months – “there’s been so many great parties... our off Sonar thing with 2020 [Vision] this month was really cool” – but is totally focused on Poker Flat’s ‘warehouse’ showcase in London this weekend; the label’s second in the city this year.
“I’ll be playing, Niggerman, Heidi, H.O.S.H, Jamie Anderson.... We have the warehouse and a daytime terrace so some of the acts will be doing two sets” he says. “Like dance music itself, the club landscape is crowded and getting so competitive; we wanted to standout by doing something fresh. Sure, others are doing warehouse events too, but we really made the last showcase our own and this weekend will be no different. There are a lot of good clubs but I think labels and promoters are using different spaces more and more because it allows them to focus on the music and the people; no fancy dancers or dressing, only the music for the people.
“I’m really looking forward to this weekend. The laws are a lot stricter in Germany today, so warehouse parties aren’t really feasible. I remember the crazy parties in the Nineties, which the authorities clamped down on hard. German promoters won’t risk putting on something with a big global DJ and then having to pay the cancellation fee; the police are always closing these things down now. It’s why London will be amazing.”
What does Bug prefer – wild DJ booth abandon or ecstatic studio epiphany? “I’m probably not the first artist to say it but the DJing and producing are, for me, just different pieces of the same puzzle. They support one another, making it what it is... a lot of fun.”
But also outrageously tiring; for if today’s mass-market clubland requires sharp business acumen, smart branding and creative cut-through then it also requires near Herculean stamina. Any 2012 Olympian would be impressed. “This life does feel like an Olympic event sometimes, it is gruelling,” Bug ponders. “I get stressed by back problems from time to time, so I know I need to up my physical training. Our business has evolved so much; it’s still great fun but you need to discipline yourself like never before if you really want to succeed.”
Words: Ben Lovett
Poker Flat’s ‘Warehouse’ Party, at a secret East London venue, is on June 30, 2pm to 6am. Check www.pokerflat-recordings.com for further info.
