As a producer, Alan Fitzpatrick has graced the likes of Drumcode, FFRR, and Rekids with his musical talents, while his work as a label boss has seen him giveway to names such as Anfisa Letyago, Linus Quick and Rebuke.
He’s also become one of the most in-demand bookings amongst British techno DJs, and continues to push boundaries via his own We Are The Brave label events.
The next release to come on the imprint finds him collaborate with his own son, for Take Control, a lean and robust club cut that has all the ingredients one might expect from a Fitzpatrick pairing.
We welcome Alan to Inflyte for this months edition of our Label Mates, where we talk about the new track, the early days of We Are The Brave, and where things might be heading in the near future.
You first launched We Are The Brave back in 2016, why was it the right time to launch your own label?
It felt like the right time to follow my own path and carve out my own legacy. I wanted a new home for my music and to be able to have total control and artistic direction when it came to my output and pushing new talent. I’m glad I launched WATB when I did, everything’s has just fell into place for us, we keep getting stronger and stronger every year.
And how have things played out compared to your initial expectations?
I’ve run labels before so I was aware of the difficulties and potential set backs. I’m genuinely blown away by the success of WATB. I couldn’t be happier, I think the quality of the label’s output speaks for itself. In just over four years we’ve made a name for ourselves in the scene and continue to push boundaries, signing exciting music and talent and curating amazing line ups at world renowned venues.
The label has released music from Gary Beck, Anfisa Letyago, and Rebuke, what’s your typical process when it comes to signing an EP?
We don’t have one at We Are The Brave, I try to adopt a no boundaries approach to signing music. If the music’s good then I release it, there’s nothing else to it. When I’m listening to demos there will be something about a track which stands out to me, my ears perk up. I want to push a more diverse spectrum of music on the label now and continue to be brave with my choices. We’re over 70 releases deep now so it’s important to keep the sound fresh and exciting.
Who else might we expect to see debut on We Are The Brave in 2021?
I’ve got some big releases coming from Dok & Martin, a follow up EP from Modeā and a debut release from Jakarta artist Ecilo and obviously some more tracks from yours truly.
Your next release comes from yourself, and features vocals from Mylo Fitzpatrick, what’s the relation? And how did the collaboration come together?
Mylo is my son, he turned 11 last week. The vocals aren’t his but we did work on the track together. Long story short we tried to keep his school lessons exciting, remote learning was getting a bit tedious for everyone. He came up with a catchy hook on his iPad that he called ‘I Sound Like My Dad’, so I exported it and worked on it in the studio. The vocal is from one of my sample packs, we thought it worked best.
Nice little back story and great to get to make music with my nipper, I feel so proud that he’s taking an interest in my work and developing a passion for music. He’s buzzing to have his own spotty profile too ha, he’s been telling all his friends.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from running your own label?
Probably the realisation that I need the support of the We Are The Brave team behind me to be successful and take things to that next level, it’s definitely a collective effort. We’re a close-knit team and get along very well inside work and out.
And any advice you would give to someone that’s considering launching an imprint of their own?
If it’s something you’ve wanted to do then go for it, don’t keep putting it off waiting for the perfect moment as there’s no time like the present. My advice would be to be brave, carve out your own niche in the scene, take risks and make the biggest statement you can. Don’t just copy what everyone else is doing, that’s boring.
Excluding We Are The Brave, what’s your favourite label?
XL Recordings, Ninja Tune, Mute, Warp, R&S, ARTS Collective.
Alan Fitzpatrick’s Take Control EP arrives March 19th on We Are The Brave.