Defected’s Ben Lovett examines the growing trend of reissues in a vinyl market that seems to be embracing its past more than ever before.
Electronic music is well enough established as a genre, scene and way of life today that talk of its history does actually mean something now. No longer is ‘history’ pseudo-phraseology for a past that barely exists, both in terms of timeline and cultural impact. Here now in 2014, we can appraise more completely than ever the legacy of certain artists and records. The sad passing of Frankie Knuckles in March (recognised by the American President no less) confirms that. We can reliably benchmark legacy, too, against the wider, mainstream music industry. Our electronic history is rich and don’t we know it? Dance music is returning directly to earlier endeavours in an attempt to fuel further expansion. It is literally re-issuing its heritage.
To be fair, the business of 12” reissues is nothing that new. The music industry has always revolved on cyclical trends and fashions, and so the re-introduction of older records (alongside new ones aping the old) serves a real purpose when particular sounds come back round. Nevertheless, today, such re-introduction has become wholly systematic. Why?
“Part of it is still down to that wheel of trends” DJ-producer and co-owner of Classic Music, Luke Solomon, suggests. “House music, particularly early American house, has found favour again and therefore several labels are showing a real desire to put that music back in front of people. If you then consider the current resurgence of vinyl, on which all that early music appeared, it’s easier to understand why re-issuing has become such an industry standard. House music is enjoying a coming of age, which makes reissues more relevant than ever.”
James Vorres, Label Manager and A&R for Juno Distribution, agrees and, like Solomon, correlates the rise of re-issue culture with a further factor – the website discogs.com . Portland-based Discogs launched in 2000 with the original mandate of building a comprehensive database of electronic music configured around artists, labels and releases. By 2007, however, it had grown to include useful pricing information for record buyers and sellers and, in turn, evolved a fully functioning marketplace for sonic trade. It is the rapid development of the Discogs marketplace, Vorres indicates, that has accelerated the impact of reissues.
“Discogs poses a number of interesting questions to which I’m not sure there are any concrete answers as yet” Vorres offers. “I mean that when an old record suddenly rises in price on Discogs, say to £50 or £60, record labels will immediately consider re-issuing it but what are their motives? It’s not always clear. Higher prices show that people are interested in a particular record, so maybe labels have an artistic take and want to share great music with a wider and often younger, newer audience. Maybe they also wish to prevent people being ripped off by expensive originals by offering a cheaper re-issue. On the other hand, there is the financial motive. For some, it’s probably an excuse to cash in. And is that wrong? Looking at it purely in terms of business, if you have demand for something, you seek to fulfil that demand – give the people what they want.”
As a fellow artist, Solomon can see the benefits of re-issuing for music-makers. “There are a lot of instances where this practice allows for artists to be re-discovered and for new audiences to be educated about important electronic lessons from the past” he explains. “That, as an artist makes me happy. I can think of a number of records by Mood II Swing, MK and Chez Damier where that has worked really, really positively.”
Solomon, too, has re-issued via Classic where he’s felt it appropriate, and will continue to do so. Sundowners’ underground Chicago gem Jungle Line, originally released in the early 1990s, is a shining example. “That house record was dear to me at the time and massive in Sheffield” Solomon stresses. “I’ve wanted to return it to the people for some time now, so I managed to get hold of Mystic Bill, the only surviving member of the group, and explained to him my plan.”
That plan included painstakingly re-mastering the original whilst adding respectful and worthwhile remixes by Eats Everything and Dungeon Meat (a meaty new house alias from Brawther and Tristan da Cunha). “Bill loved the remixes” Solomon confirms. “And he loved that we were doing this properly. We’ve been able to press this on one-sided vinyl, create great artwork and re-master with all of those modern tools at our disposal. We’re not screwing with the original record, but I think that if you’re looking at a like-for-like re-issue then new technology needs to be considered. There are many ways that the quality can be improved without sacrificing any of the spirit.”
Sound quality is an apt point, for many of those early house records came from low-budget set-ups with limited funds for top-dollar recording equipment and robust contractual paperwork. Much of the embryonic electronic scene, in fact, had little or no business sense. The hedonism of radical new creativity ruled, not talk of best brand and administrative practice. It follows, therefore, that many records targeted for reissue require significant ‘repair’ whilst lacking the legal frameworks to make any such amends and subsequent releasing truly hassle-free. Dance music’s early history is memorable, yes, but sometimes patchy – and that means major problems when re-packaging.
Last year Ian Dewhirst’s Harmless Records released Traxbox, thereby completing the most important and comprehensive reissue sweep of legendary Chicago house label Trax ever. But most fans and industry folk are familiar with Trax’s ‘loose’ business operation, elements of which many other labels of the time shared. “There was never any paperwork” Chi-town dance pioneer Jesse Saunders, a Trax regular, commented a few years back. “You gotta remember, back in those days he [co-owner Larry Sherman] owned the pressing plant, I made the music. It was easy for us to make something and put it out, and it didn’t really matter. So there was no paperwork or any of that stuff, we just did it, made the money and moved on.”
Solomon underlines the effort that is usually required, today, to re-issue anything from house music’s golden past. “You’ve got to do your research and love being a detective – thankfully I do,” he says. “It’s not just the incomplete paperwork or contracts but the fact some of these artists are dead now and it’s hard to know who to turn to about old releases. That’s where complications can set in. You can’t cut corners.”
Solomon would know. Releases on Classic by close friend Spencer ‘Gemini’ Kincy have been re-issued in recent times by other labels and publishers. Solomon won’t, understandably, go into detail but feels his friend’s well-documented mental sickness has been unfairly taken advantage of. The parties in question claim they had Kincy’s approval to proceed but Solomon remains unsure of his friend’s ability to make any calculated business decisions. “It’s all very well saying that Spencer will get paid. It’s all very well having the best intentions – stating that money can be used to help him pay to deal with his sickness and a place for him to live, but he deserves so much more then this” a Solomon blog post read at the time. “Sadly...Spencer has no control of his legacy. It is in the hands of others.”
Chez Damier has had similar re-issue issues. Several key re-releases on labels including French imprint P&D and Kevin Saunderson’s KMS helped buoy Damier’s 21st century renaissance but his relationship with KMS became particularly difficult along the way. Damier explained to Resident Advisor in 2010: “I don’t know what Kevin’s motive was. I don’t have a problem...if the motive is to launch KMS back up...But when you do it as a rehash, so it seems that my career is treading water, then I have a problem with it...I find it very disturbing.
Of course, Damier also acknowledged reissuing as a form of promotion that he could make work for him. Solomon, again treading carefully where friends are concerned, appreciates the dilemma that reissues are still sparking four years later. “I’m at odds with myself” he confesses. “I like reissues when they’re done well and with consent. I’m really uneasy when they’re poorly executed and illegit, but then looking at Chez I can clearly see he’s more in-demand than ever, and inspiring new people which is fantastic. It’s such a grey area.”
And reissues show no sign of abating. “The New Jersey house stuff, and those early Strictly Rhythm and Dance Mania tracks are doing really well for us [as reissues]” Vorres states. “But the spectrum is widening; we’re seeing more and more disco reissues and there’s a trend towards techno and acid house too. Record Store Day is also fuelling more activity from the majors. You have to remember that one, even two generations have come along since those original releases, and all of this music is exciting to them when it’s brought back.”
And what does Vorres himself think? “I think the re-issue thing is good as long as the market doesn’t get bogged down. If the majors end up dominating then it could all fall flat; they’re already much more involved in World Record Day, for example, and that’s starting to harm the independents. But reissues are driving new interest in vinyl which is great. Vinyl, too, has driven reissues and from our perspective, as a retailer primarily, that cycle is helping the music reach bigger audiences.”
Solomon shares the sentiment. “I don’t get people wanting to keep secrets. Fundamentally, we need to share our music...our legacy and, in turn, find new secret weapons - that is evolution” he argues. “Where I’ve re-issued there has always been context, whether it’s sharing the magic of those Bar Rumba nights 20 years ago or my studio sessions with Kenny Hawkes [the late DJ-producer, another close friend]. It means something. These things just need handling thoughtfully. It is still a really complicated issue with plenty of different arguments for and against but reissues do work in the right circumstances. Our industry needs to keep working towards agreeing what those circumstances are.”
Words: Ben Lovett
Luke Solomon’s Unfinished Business Volume 1 is out 08 June (vinyl sampler and digital) on Classic Music Company - order the vinyl from Juno and the album from iTunes
