Photo: Marie Staggat
Michigan-based DJ, producer, and label boss Myles Sergé has made quite the impression with releases coming via Ilian Tape, Kneaded Pains, and Another Earth in the past.
His own imprints have also seen their share of success, and later this month the American artist brings music from Gonzalo MD, Philippe Petit, Mike Derer, and himself – for their brand new four-track ‘The Replacements’ VA.
We spoke to Myles about the new tracks, his experience in working with other record labels, and what else he has planned for the near future. Read the full interview below.
How are things in the life of Myles Sergé right now?
The life of Myles Sergé is kind of crazy right now, but in a good way. I’m currently in the process of reinventing myself as an artist, DJ, label owner, and distributor. All this on top of working 50+ hours a week building cars at a leading US auto manufacturer. Life is great!
You’re about to release a new four-track VA titled ‘The Replacements’ – how did you go about selecting the tracks for this one?
I wanted to release a new 12” on the label since the last one, MS06 ‘Everything in Darkness Comes to Light Pt. 1’ and that was back in 2015. The (MS) label was created to showcase my own projects, with the exception of a few remixes from friends like Lee Holman and Rennie Foster, it has only been my music. With this new release I wanted to reintroduce the label and a VA is a good way to reach a new audience and hopefully expand the soundscape.
I usually only work with friends, so I reached out to the guys and they all sent tracks. I didn’t know what I was going to get back but they all fit the concept that I had in my mind. All good and varied in style, that will appeal to different tastes. I also wanted to do something special for the artwork, so I reached out to my friend Alan Oldham, also known as DJ T-1000, and he came up with the amazing hand drawings that were used for the label art.
Will we see any remixes for any of the tracks included?
I haven’t thought about that approach to be honest, but that would be a cool ideal for sure! I would love to get a remix from Claude Young, who is one of my favourite artists.
And who else might we see releasing on (MS) in the coming months?
Basically, it’s just my own music usually, but I do have a few upcoming releases to mention. The first is a 17-track digital VA titled ‘Frequency of GODS’, which features tracks from Owen NI, Decoder, D-Knox, and Rebar to name a few, and I hope to release this in July on my birthday. The second release coming sometime in September will be my ‘FANPRO’ EP with remixes from Toxido Mask, Myk Derill, and Ackermann.
Your own music has come via labels like Ilian Tape, Kneaded Pains, and Another Earth, what have other labels taught you about running your own?
Not too much really. Most of what I have learned about running labels (I have had like six through the years), has been through trial and error, and to be honest, it has not all been great, but I have learned from the shortcomings. Hopefully this time around things will be different.
And which other labels might we see you on in the near future?
I have a few remixes coming out on labels such as Philippe Petit’s Knotweed Records and Mike Derer’s Northern Parallels sometime this year. I’m also starting a cool collaboration project with D-Knox that I think will be released on his Sonic Mind imprint.
Is there anything else you want to mention before we go?
Thank you for chatting and catching up on things, the new VA with Gonzalo MD, Philippe Petit, and Mike Derer will be out May 24th on vinyl and digital, so I hope people enjoy giving those a spin. Gig wise, I will be playing in Detroit on its release day, at the ‘Meta Ta Physika’ Movement 2024 pre-party, alongside great artists like Dustin Zahn, Kangding Ray, Mary Yuzovskya, Rene Wise, and others.
The Replacements VA is out May 24th on (MS).