LWE’s 40th podcast was an hour of Andy Vaz productions mixed by the Yore Records boss himself. Make sure to add it to your collection before it heads off to the archives this Friday, March 25th.

Years before he’d released a single record of his own, Andy Vaz had already left a conspicuous mark on electronic music as the man behind Background Records. When he finally started releasing music, he garnered a good deal of attention for the “clicks, cuts, and a 4/4″ sound exemplified by the cult Soundvariation series. In the last three or four years, though, both his music and his A&R focus have increasingly mined classic house influences. More a shift of priorities than an outright swap of musical templates, house has always been a part of Vaz’s program, and his morphing live sets retain much of the abstract and experimental qualities that characterized his first records. Yore Records, the label he runs with Alessandro Vaccaro, is the focus of another Little White Earbuds interview feature. Today, though, our exclusive podcast focuses on the sometimes silky, sometimes jazzy, and very often jacking music Vaz produces himself. Live sets, as discussed in the Q&A below, are where Vaz feels most comfortable, and this percolating mix certainly finds him in very fine form.

LWE Podcast 40: Andy Vaz (59:52)

Tracklist:

01. Andy Vaz live. All music written, produced, mixed and recorded by Andy Vaz. Courtesy of Yore Records, 2009

You’d been in the scene for a while before you finally started putting out your own records. What was it that finally got you making and sharing music of your own?

Andy Vaz: It takes time to develop a sound and define a language of your own. It’s a learning process, and I allowed myself enough time to be able to express what I had to say.

You’re doing a lot of live sets these days. Is there a particular attraction to this kind of music-making for you right now?

That’s what I do. I don’t DJ! I never have! I have five thousand records plus, but I don’t play them out in clubs. I only perform live. Currently stepping it up with the Akai APC 40 and a live 808 (Miami Acidlab 808 clone, a lovely hardware drum-computer). It makes things way more interactive. APC helps me not having to focus so much on the screen, and the 808 is just really putting it on top. Being able to change beats and patterns and program random beats on the fly really makes it much more of a real live performance, and it’s giving the audience a better understanding of what’s actually happening.

Your music has shifted toward house over the years. In this mix, I detect a lot of Chicago influences. What’s led to the change in your sound?

I got bored of making “minimal techno.” Done it when it was fun and when I thought I may have something to contribute, and now it will be house. Let’s see where it will shift to next (laughs). However, to me even my first and only longplayer, Repetitive Moments Last Forever, was house, rather than minimal techno, so it’s not that new to me to make house music really. That came out in 2006, and I made it in 2005.

There was a time when you weren’t interested in using samples in your music. What changed your attitude on that?

It simply suits house music. House has always, not entirely of course, been sample-based music. So it seemed logical to try things out. However, I have now shifted to working with real musicians and vocalists. Way more organic and fun! Makes it more human too, working with real people.

Who are you working with these days? I know you got Alton Miller to sing on a couple tracks this year, which we hear in your mix.

Yeah, Alton, Eva Soul, and stuff coming up with DJ Mix (Woman on Wax).

How does this work? How far along is a track before vocals enter the picture?

Track first, totally isolated from the vox. Then the vocalist goes wild on it. If they feel the track, it goes somewhere. If not, then that’s it.

You have more of a presence as an artist on Yore than you did on Background or A Touch of Class. Is Yore the primary outlet for your own music right now, or will you use the Vazbit platform again in the future?

Yore is my new home now!

Do you think you’ll ever revisit sounds along the lines of the Sound Variation series?

Haha, that’s the most frequently asked question. The answer is clearly NO. It makes me really happy though that so many people ask me about that, and seem disappointed this had come to and end and will not return. I think a set of eight records (plus two remix records) was just the right amount. I don’t like to repeat myself over and over. I get bored and then I cannot make it any longer.

Any favorite records from the past year, aside from the stuff you’ve put out on Yore?

Floating Points, “Love Me Like This.” And I really like the latest Scott Grooves doublepack “Riddum Collection!” Some deep as hell stuff there, and heaps of plain killer 808 drum patterns!

I love that Scott Grooves record. As for Yore, you guys finished 2009 with a second record from Kez YM, and you’re opening the new year with your own “Shadow City” record. What else is in the pipeline for 2010?

We have the latest split EP between myself and Patrice Scott coming up next, and we’ve just launched our own webshop for both digital and vinyl and for all the labels under my belt — Background, A Touch of Class, Vazbit, Sound Variation, Deep Night Essentials (anybody remember this? Haha), and of course Yore. We offer 98% of everything digitally. However, we are missing audio masters of a few releases. Besides that, it will all be there, plus some special items, exclusive unreleased stuff, and Yore releases available a month prior to hitting other stores.

Is Yore’s web store operated in-house?

I personally will be in charge of it, and I have another person helping with the mailouts of the orders and such, and who will run it when I am on tour or producing. Getting it all together sure has been a hell of a mission. Me and my crew worked on it for three months straight and of course it massively kept me away from making music. So now since it’s done, I am happy I can get back to work and do something for myself in the studio again.

I recall that last year around this time, Kompakt closed its mp3 store, saying that it took a lot of time and distracted them from the music.

Since we will only handle our own label catalog, I don’t expect the maintenance on the site to take away from whats most important: the labels and the studio.

I’ve got a couple of random questions to cap this. I understand that hip-hop was your first love. Do you listen to much of it these days?

Yes! All day long! For real!

Greatest MC of all time?

KRS-One in his early days!

“Days of yore,” indeed! Okay, last question. You’ve got ties to both Düsseldorf and Cologne, so I’ve got to ask: kölsch or altbier?

Kölsch all the way and also all day long!!

LWE Podcast 40: Andy Vaz (59:52)

Welcome to the latest edition of our series of interviews and mixes affectionately titled Talking Shopcasts. The majority of media and fan attention gets showered on the artists who create the music we love to listen to/DJ with/dance to, and for good reason. But without the hard work, keen ears and business savvy of label staff, we’d be stuck only streaming tracks on their websites. For today’s installment, we focus on Yore Records of Cologne. If deep house has been one of the big stories in recent dance music, Yore has surely curated some of its finest and most lasting moments, doing so with an eclectic range that defies narrow definitions of “deep.” Spearheaded by Andy Vaz — the man behind the Background and A Touch Of Class labels, and a formidable producer in his own right — Yore aims for timeless sounds. Putting out records from all-time greats like Rick Wade has been a big part of the program, but so has Vaz’s keen ear for new talent. Tracks like Kez YM’s “Washing My Soul” and Trackleton’s “Traditional Folk Song” could masquerade as beloved classics twenty years deep, but their fresh approaches and distinct voices transcend imitation or even homage. In the interview below, Vaz discusses Yore’s goals and values, minimal and deep, and the potential value of adding friends on MySpace. To “deepen” your understanding of the label, we’re extremely pleased to host an exclusive mix from Kez YM, featuring music from Yore comrades, influences, and contemporaries. Want more Yore? Be sure to turn back to LWE’s very first podcast, an exclusive mix from Terrence Dixon, and check back soon for further spoils of our talk with Vaz.

Yore isn’t your first record label. As I understand it, you launched Background partly as a response to a problem: Terrence Dixon suddenly didn’t have a label to release his music. What inspired you to found Yore?

I was getting bored of the so-called “minimal” sound — precisely what the bastard people had turned “minimal techno,” which I was interested in, into. It got pimped and killed, little by little, until it was dead and empty-hearted. The minimal of the past few years had little do to with what we intended with Background, which was a mixture of the deep, the radical, the repetitive, the musical, etc. — all of that. Yore’s approach was to try and bring the soul back into the music — electronic music really being music, rather than just percussive loop-sounding stuff — a druggy sound — but something with a musical message. I also wanted to focus on the “timeless” factor. A good record with soul and musical ideas will hold up and stay in your shelves or DJ bags for years. Yore goes against the trend of silly “beaatch” type DJ Tools, one-hit wonders or any form of whatever the hype of the minute is. Yore will provide like-minded heads with unique deep sounds — not more, not less. The feedback the label gets from people around the globe proves that we seem to be accomplishing our goals. Through the messages we receive, we know we aren’t alone!

The name of your label suggests a reverence or maybe nostalgia for the past. How did you settle on the name “Yore”?

My girlfriend, who is a native English speaker, came up with it when I started thinking out loud about the name for the new imprint. I am so thankful for that. I think the name fits perfectly. Oldschool, Timeless, Classic. In days of yore…. Yeah.

Yore is a joint venture with Alessandro Vaccaro. How are duties shared and decisions made around Yore headquarters?

Very simple, I am A&R’ing Yore and handling the promotion while Alessandro handles the administrative side of things. We are just about to launch a new label together called Self Defence, where it will be the opposite model. Alessandro will be the upfront person and A&R for SDF, while I will mainly keep running Yore.

What kind of music will Self Defence specialize in?

Deep techno.

You’ve emphasized a “timeless” sound for Yore, as opposed to just an “old school” one. What separates these, in your opinion?

Well, I did grew up on Detroit and Chicago sounds. Started listening to it when I was 15 — I am 33 now. I think the music had such an impact in its early days! It was so strong, so raw and sexy and, yes, minimal — true minimal! I will always love that sound and I still am a heavy collector of US-flavored house music. However, Yore’s approach is not to sound old — it’s not about that. We cannot ignore that we live in the now and make use of what’s possible now. However, like I said before, I care less about these hundred new “all sound the same,” empty-headed records released each week. We want to put out quality music that will stand the test and be with you for years, just as my record collection will stay with me forever! I am serious! I play my 12″s every day! We want to make records for the lovers, the collectors and the tasty peeps out there — music from heads for heads. And we don’t want to put out a record just to be played for a month and then forgotten. Not an easy task at all, but we are working on it constantly. I have been running labels for eleven years now, and I think I can spot a hot artist or release by now.

Are you at all interested in reissuing older records?

No, that’s not my intention at all. Yore will hit you off with the new. If you want nostalgia, Discogs will be your partner. And that’s the best option. I dig Chi-house classics there on the daily. If you want the old and rare, there will be a price tag on it. I don’t see anything wrong with that. If you love an old record, go get it.

Over the last couple years, you’ve been a vocal critic of “soulless” or “arbitrary” music riding the minimal wave. Do you see similar problems in today’s resurgence of deep house?

Yes, it’s happening already. House gets pimped like they did with minimal, and they will be able to destroy it, no doubt! Now every week there’s tons of plain percussive wannabe house records adding one deepish sounding tone over tons of percussion, and people call it deep house — while it’s basically the same minimal techno with just a hint of a “deep.” Deep, however, is not a genre, it’s a feeling — an emotional energy.

Maybe this is a tricky question, but how would you define that feeling?

That’s the point — you can’t define it. You feel it or you don’t!

Speaking of people who do feel it, I have a couple questions about the Yore family. You’ve known Terrence Dixon for a while. How did you guys first meet?

Oh yeah, we go way back. I met him around 1997 or 1996. He used to stay with me numerous times each year, and I made quite regular visits to Detroit and stayed with him back then.

Yore has hosted a couple big returns — .xtrak and Memory Foundation each broke long silences, and chose Yore as the place to do it. Were those records that you pursued?

Oh yes. I have also known Todd since 1996, so that was an easy one. I’ve always been a fan of his early .xtrak stuff, and he came to mind first when I planned the launch of Yore. He fits right in! I had also admired Memory Foundation’s M-Plant stuff back when it was released. Feels like ages ago and that stuff still sounds fresh. Which proves my point — timeless stuff last forever! So I searched them down and talked them into getting involved again. I also see that as a strength of Yore. Reactivating talent that should not R.I.P yet, and making a new generation aware of some talent that they would have never stumbled across. I think that’s a very valid aim of a record label, rather then signing the latest hype of the month and sharing the “artist” with fifty other labels until the hype is over. That’s not what we stand for.

Of course, some fresh faces in the Yore roster have enjoyed some buzz this year. How did Trackleton and Kez YM first come to your attention?

Kez YM was a total coincidence. He added Yore as a friend on MySpace, and I clicked on the profile and got blown away with the deepest of the deep. He had to be signed. In fact, I believe in his talent so much that it’s the first exclusive signing to the label. We have a three-year exclusive recording deal, and I’m putting a lot of effort into making people aware of his music. It needs to be heard, and the first release did really well for us. Next one is currently being pressed. Warning! It’s so deep, it might change your world as you knew it when you hear it, so get your head right first!

I understand you were fairly hands-on in picking the tracks for Rick Wade’s The Good, The Bad And The Deep record. Do you often select the tracks that end up on a record, or do artists come to you with a package in mind?

I hand pick the tracks — always! If I don’t feel it a hundred percent, I will not put it out, regardless of who made the music. The label reflects my personal taste — just how it should be.

My assumption is that Yore depends more on vinyl sales than, say, Background did. Has the business model changed much from one label to another?

Yes, its definitely focused on vinyl. That’s also because I am such a vinyl addict. I’d eat vinyl, if it had to be. And Yore has already managed to become a collector’s imprint. Again, we make music from heads for like-minded heads. The true heads collect records, play records, love records — just as I do.

What role do digital sales play in Yore?

It’s slowly picking up, but its still kindergarten stuff, sales-wise. Enough for me and the artists to get some fresh sneakers once in a while. But I see tendencies for it to increase. I wish people in rich countries would stop downloading our music for free off the internet — that shit ain’t fair. Speaking of digital sales, though, in about three weeks we’ll open our own digital and vinyl shop!

Do you have a particular favorite release on Yore?

Tough one. Terrence Dixon, Train of Thought? Kez YM? Probably those, but they all sound sweet to me.

I see there’s a new Derrick Thompson record on the way. What else can we expect from Yore in the next year or so?

There’ll be “A Work in Progress,” a new Detroit-based talent co-produced by Chez Damier, and an Above Smoke EP, both on the way. Then the new Kez YM 12″, and my next EP right after. Thanks to everyone for reading and all the positive feedback we get! It’s you who is giving us the motivation to do what we do!

Talking Shopcast 06: Kez YM (60:00)

Tracklist:

01. Rondenion, “Storm” [Rush Hour Recordings]
02. Kai Alcé, “Feeding” [NDATL Muzik]
03. Loco Dice, “Black Truffles In The Snow” (Mike Huckaby’s The Jazzed Out S Y N T H Remix) [Desolat]
04. Lerosa, “Sketch” (Sad Mix) [Uzuri]
05. Vakula “Change The World” [*]
06. A Made Up Sound, “Late Drive” [Philpot]
07. Black Art Music, “Keepin’ The Groove” [Third Ear Recordings]
08. KiNK & Neville Watson, “Inside Out” [Hour House Is Your Rush Records]
09. Chez Damier, “Teach Me, Keep Me” [Mojuba]
10. Rick Wade, “Shamballa” [Yore Records]
11a. Ray Valioso, “You’ll Never Be Mine” [Deep Vibes Recordings]
11b. Patrice Scott, “Nuonce” [Minuendo Recordings]
12. Gherkin Jerks, “Acid Indigestion” [Gherkin Records]
13. Kez YM, “Butterfly” [Yore Records]
14. 2nd Avenew, “It’s The New” (Dub Mix) [Alleviated Records]
15. Kai Alcé, “Decay” [NDATL Muzik]
16. M. Pittman “Obession (Datsallivdatsalliv~`^*!!)” [FXHE Records]
17. DJ Qu & David S., “Nite Ride” [Strength Music]
18. Kez YM, “Natural” [*]
19. The Kings Of Late Night, “Fly Away” (West End Lounge Mix)
[West End Blue]
* denotes unreleased tracks