Ed Banger is a very sexy record label. Founded in 2002 by Pedro Winter (aka Busy P), it's young, it's Parisian, and its artists cavort like the apparently hedonistic nymphs and rakes which grace the pages of Vice magazine. That's without even mentioning the funk-cut electro which defines the label's sound, or the achingly cool branding aesthetic coordinated by French designer So Me.
With an impressive harem of artists, including Justice, SebastiAn, Uffie, DJ Mehdi, Feadz, Krazy Baldhead and Mr Oizo, Ed Banger have helped to create an alternative to the alternative scene, populating the gulf between indie and dance music.
This clouding of genres was championed in the early to mid noughties by bands like The Rapture, Bloc Party and LCD Soundsystem, (real guitar bands, with real instruments and everything) who made synth and syncopation the new clarion call for indie kids. Then the meteoric renaissance of ‘rave' in 2005/6 saw bands like The Klaxons and Hadouken producing guitar-lead dance music.
The unshackling of indie scenesters, (as well as the quasi-coital bass-lines which permeate the label's music), helped to burgeon Ed Banger's popularity. We asked label boss Busy P why he thinks its distinctive electronic sound is so accessible to indie fans. ‘Probably because we've created Ed Banger more like an indie imprint than another electro label. I've got a lot of respect for other French labels, but I feel more like a little brother of XL, Domino, Stones Throw or even Warp. It shows we are influenced by a wide genre of music. People think we are just an electro label, but give us some time to prove we can also make love songs or heavy metal'. He also thanks technology for Ed Banger's success and accessibility. 'We are very lucky to be in 2009, I mean we are living in a crazy era, everything is so fast nowadays. Thanks to the internet and new media, Ed Banger got connected to a lot of kids all around the world pretty fast'.
But what about the resulting hype? In London it seems like the most hyped clubs are those which successfully pinpoint contemporary zeitgeists, and playing into these can both negatively and positively affect a label. Artists placed too quickly on an affected pedestal will inevitably fall, as The Klaxons suffered under the limiting yoke of nu-rave. Busy responds: 'you're right to say that trendy clubs are always trying to bring the newest sound. It's part of the deal. Being hyped can be a bad thing, but I prefer to take it on the right side. If a hyped night draws a curious crowd, then I'm up to DJ in those clubs. If hype is about showing off or pretending you're too cool for school, then we don't have time to waste there'.
So is the Parisian club scene equally influenced by youth trends and fashion? 'France and the UK have a different club culture of course. The Parisian club scene is nice at the moment. We have small clubs, like 300 to 600 capacities. Social Club is my favourite. Packed with kids sweating.'
And sexually charged sweating kids are integral to the aesthetic of the brand. Uffie's promotional material shows her coquettish, half dressed and nonchalant, slouching in baths and bearing her lamé-pantied crotch to camera. We want to know about the kind of lifestyle Ed Banger's output promotes, and the conversation turns to marketing. 'I like people thinking we are marketing geniuses. To be honest with you, I don't really plan things. Justice being the Black Sabbath of electro, Uffie being a sexy panda and DJ Mehdi being the Thierry Henry of turntables are not my choices! This is how we are and I feel pretty lucky to be surrounded by these artists'.
His communal spirit is rather touching. But as both Pedro Winter, the boss of Ed Banger Records, and Busy P, a DJ signed to it, don't his personal vision and music taste inevitably dictate the direction of the label? Busy insists on his respect for the creative processes of his fellow label mates: 'I give total freedom to my artists, I'm here to make their life easier and make things happen'. But he admits, 'of course, I run my label for a super selfish reason, I want to enjoy life. It's been 6 years now, and let me tell you I've got lots of fun so far. Being happy and making it the way I want seems to work. Kids can see and feel I'm enjoying it and it seems they are following me'.
Indeed it seems they are. This Frenchman's slightly awkward English idiom is as endearing as his label's music is danceable. From Justice's high octane metal-infused electro funk and apocalyptic crescendos, to Uffie's come-hither Lolitan electro-pop, Ed Banger has helped to introduce a new spectrum of dance music, and galvanise a generation of music fans.
Ed Banger Records 6(1/2) Birthday is at the Coronet this Friday 11th.
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