British production wizards Dense & Pika have been putting out sonic magic for years, with labels like Drumcode and Hotflush Recordings on their musical resume.
Since 2014, the pair have also ran their own label, Kneaded Pains, where they have put out records from heavyweights like Boys Noize, Matt Sassari, Flug and Tiga.
Most recently they dropped a massive release from UK selector Eats Everything, and we sat down with the Kneaded Pains bosses to discuss the new EP, what’s to come on future releases and what they have planned for label showcases.
Hey Guys, thanks for catching up for our Label Mates series. Kneaded Pains – nearly on its 33rd release, the label has been going since 2014. What’s behind the name and the labels ethos?
The name is actually an anagram of Dense & Pika, it’s as lazy as that! The ethos is ‘out & out’ club tackle. Every track is played to death by us both on the road before it’s released on the imprint. A lot of it doesn’t make the cut, and the stuff that does is guaranteed to turn a club inside out! (from our end anyways).
The next EP ‘Space Raiders’ comes from the always fun Eats Everything, what can we expect? Can you hint on some other key releases to come this year?
The ‘Space Raiders’ track is the ultimate rave weapon. Nodding to 90’s hardcore, it’s uber powerful and full of character. Really glad to get him on the label this year.
We’ve got some amazing stuff lined up for the next few months. Some brilliant remixes of our tracks from Jay Clarke, Andres Campo, Ste Roberts and more.
As for full EP’s we’ll have more from label regulars including VONDA7, Billy Turner, Dysart and some new signings we’re happy to be bringing into the fold. Best not to give too much away!
Your last release on the label ‘From Nothing’ which was a collab with Melody’s Enemy, with a remix from Perc – what was the inspiration behind this track, and what did Perc bring to the label?
The opportunity to work with someone alongside the vocal talents of Melody’s Enemy was one that we’d been after for a while. When it fell in our lap upon signing them for Kneaded pains, it would have been criminal not to make it happen. Perc brought his trademark ‘end of the world’ vibe to it.
Besides the Eats release, who else is on the Kneaded Pains release calendar for the rest of the year? How do you go about choosing artists?
Apart from all the amazing things I listed before, when it comes to choosing artists, it tends to be friends and people we respect musically. It’s a fairly close-knit group in that respect, although we’re always open to discovering new talent!
How do you find running a label in general? Is it just you guys or do you have a team behind it?
Alex has run Hypercolour for over a decade so it’s all fairly natural. We have our label manager Jay Robinson who always does a great job.
You did a label showcase at fabric last year, when can we expect more and regularly? If so, where and when can we find them?
Yeah fabric last year was epic, and we have more coming up for the next few months now with a proper schedule. First up is at Ampere in Antwerp (one of our favourite clubs) on Nov 30th with Truncate, Vonda7, Billy Tuner and ourselves. Then two more mega venues coming up, one of those in the Netherlands and then the UK – but right now top secret, so we’ll be announcing soon. There’s plenty more in the pipeline!
Can you tell us one piece of advice that you wish someone had told you before you started a label?
“Look at it as a hobby & not a business.”
Buy Eats Everything – Space Raiders on Beatport, or stream it below.