Presentations Vol.2: Antartek Records
In our „Presentations” series we ask the same few basic questions to the most interesting (in our humble opinion) global bass labels, blogs, magazines, producers and promoters, in order to build sort of a panoramic view of the movement. It is less focused on artists (whom we present most of the time), more on people whose work as organizers and promoters makes the whole phenomenon possible.
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Our second guest is Erasmo Parra Vera from Antartek Records, home for Matanza, The Peronist, Green Papper Boy, Makina and more.
IG: How has it all started for you?
Erasmo Parra Vera: I Grew up in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, my neighborhood was a weird place called Kattenburg or Catsbrough, Famous footbal players lived there and other famous, world wide known artists as well. When I was a kid I had a Surinamese neighbors on one side and on the other side – Turkish neighbors. On the one side it was all day “”boom ka boom ka boom”" (Bubbling music) and the other side was, “”tuk tak tak tuk tak”" (Darbukas and cheap Yamaha keyboards), while my mother used to play lots of Ruben Blades, Brazilian music and classical music and my brother was producing for underground record labels, making at that moment mostly 2step and Breakbeat.
I guess it all stayed somewhere in the back of my head. I first started making music myself over 10 years ago. Back then, I was a big fan of Uk Garage, 90′s Timbaland productions, Neptunes, all types of UK Bass Music and Futuristic Beats, but the music diversity I was surrounded by as a kid just had to come out. Global Bass was the name it was given later, I was doing that kind of combination long before it has been baptized. Back in 2004 I made a track called“Metatarso”and it was a kind of Moombahton track, I was making it with the idea of combining house sounds with a Reaggeaton tempo and dembow, this track was later used in a cartoon for kids.
When I started using Facebook and when Soundcloud was created I switched over from the already dying Myspace to these platforms, I remember when I was spinning at a Hostel in Amsterdam and a guy asked me if I knew Munchi and if I had some of his music. He was all exited about the music I was playing and telling me to check that kid out, after finishing my set, back at home I searched for his name and came across all this fresh new music and I started to dig it. Later after releasing the first EP of Daniel Klauser I was added to a Facebook group called The Underground Network from here I started to know more and more people. I was very happy to discover that there actually are other people like me and that together we are all can make the Global Bass movement to get more exposure and diversity.
IG: What is global bass to you? How would you define it? How is it different from ethno music that’s been around forever?
E.P.V: „ Global Bass” is a movement that had to arrive at a some point. It’s a natural thing that was going to happen as a result of the rapidly increasing access to World Wide Web. Just 5/6 years ago, people in the southern hemispheres (so called 3d world countries) didn’t have the access to current trends in global culture. Before the expansion of the Internet, most of the producers in those countries never heard about new club genres like, let say, Dubstep. They where stuck with the same old 80′s/90′s music and the music released by the big muscles (Universal, SonyBMG, WMG, etc.) and of course – their local traditions.
Global Bass is the connection and the union of all the revolutionizing elements, young producers exploring new sounds combining it with the folk sounds of their countries and also evolving those new sounds into other genres or accidentally transmute existing genres into new ones. For me “”Global Bass”" is a movement and under this movement I think I can put genres like; B-Funk, Barefoot, New Andina, Nu Cumbia, Uk Funky, Tropical Bass, Moombahton/core/soul, Footwork, 3ball, Kuduro, Future Bubbling, Devilton, etc. There are probably many more to come and many more I didn’t named!
There’s also a Philosophy behind it. It is part of the big social change we are living now, and at this moment to be exact; it’s part of the global revolution. The fact that we share our music for free, exchanging articles on blog’s and the creation of an independent global underground network is simply the future. We are doing something that will be the mental liberation of the young kids of the future. Global Bass opens minds and borders!
IG: Tell us more about Antartek. Where is your headquarter?
EPV: We have two headquarters, one is in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, where artists like ‘Makina’, ‘El Buho’, ‘Blue Banana Boy’ and ‘Cosmo V’ operate, and the other one is in Valencia, Spain, where Kitusha, Green Pepper Boy & Gabriel Nazca operate. In Valencia we have the A/V studio where we make all the Graphics and Videos for the upcoming projects.
IG: Describe your sound. What genre is it? What’s unique about it? Where you source the inspiration from?
EPV: The sound of the label was firstly focused on a genre people are now calling “”New Andina”", but the boys, Daniel Klauser, Matanza, where just calling it Street House or Ghetto House. It’s the combination of Andean aboriginal/Afro music/sounds (from the Andes) with Chicago’s old flavored House. But we’re broadening now. Our current focus is pretty much anything new that has a global vibe to it, futuristic, groundbreaking, booty shaking, inspiring styles. Sounds of the Apocalypse… LoL!
IG: Present briefly the artists signed up to your label.
EPV: I’ll start with the new artist’s signed to the label.
“El Buho” is from Glasgow, His EP will come out at the beginning of 2012, but you can listen a cool mix he made for Antartek Records under this link.
“Makina” who has recently released his debut EP on Antartek, is an Argentinian producer based in Amsterdam.
“Matanza“ from Santiago de Chile was actually the reason why we started Antartek records 3 years ago and is probably the most known artist from our stable.
“Daniel Klauser” also from Santiago de Chile. We inaugurated the label in conjunction with his debut EP “”Riberalta”. Green Pepper Boy and Blue Banana Boy will release their debut EP on the 21′st of December 2011 at the anniversary of Antartek Records. They say they have a new formula called “”Devilton”" the counter part of “”Moombahton”
Plans for 2012?
First of all – Antartek is about to evolve a little bit, it will be sort of an organization/collective, but I can’t tell much more about this at the moment. We are also planning a new European summer tour as well and India tour this summer, hopefully for all the artists of the label. For the European part of it we’re just hoping to hop on a bus all together – that’d be a mad fun!
There are few releases coming up of course as well – Gpb & Bbb – „Get Ready For Devilton” and El Buho – „El Tecolote Canta!”
Thanks !
ALMOST ALL OF ANTARTEK RELEASES ARE UP FOR FREE DOWNLOAD; here and here . Enjoy!
