At the end of April, we’ve got avant-garde grime label Coyote Records doing a showcase in the basement. With a tight nit in-group of artists, a mysterious aesthetic and a whole bunch of strange sounds emanating from their records, we wanted to find out more. Here’s our convo with label head and ex Leeds resident Tomas Fraser:
With nearly four years in existence, how do you reflect on your time with the label? What were the label’s aims before the first release in 2012?
Tomas: It’s arguably been the best decision I ever made to be honest. Day-to-day stresses aside, the friends I’ve made, experiences I’ve had and overriding sense of achievement at seeing it all grow is something I’d never have experienced doing anything else. It’s a pretty unique perspective to look at music from too, so sometimes it can be quite a lonely place, but it’s all part and parcel of making a success of it.
The aims initially were just to take it record-by-record and see how it went, but I quickly realised that Coyote could be an important outpost for new producers and people trying to get into the music. That said, I didn’t really have a clue what I was doing for the first year or so – you have to be prepared to take a few hits before you start understanding what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.
Aesthetically, your label is distinct from other grime labels and artists. Your approach to artwork is more minimal and more refined. Was that a conscious decision?
T: I owe most of that to our designer from day one, Elliot Holbrow, who I kinda give free creative license to. The first few EP covers he came up with were geometrical and I really liked the colour palettes he was using, so it seemed natural to continue that. As we’ve grown, he’s got better too – each piece of art seems to be better than the last, which is not only great for him as an artist in his own right, but like you say, it gives us a strong sense of visual identity, which I think is really important at a time when there are so many talented illustrators and designers out there.
Is grime the correct word to describe the music you release? How else would you name it?
T: Some of it is, some of it isn’t – the important thing to acknowledge is that the majority of it references grime in one way or another. That said, when we first started, grime was in a very different place to where it is now – both instrumentally and vocally – so I think there were was more of a need to find our place back then. Now, we kinda operate as our own little entity.
What is the musical agenda of the label? What does a ‘Coyote song’ use or omit that separates it from other labels?
T: There’s no real agenda as such, it’s just whatever fits! I’m really fortunate to be working with a core group of artists who all share similar ideas, both in and out of music, which really helps cultivate a sound and an identity, which is something we’ve really tried to foster over the last two years especially. I guess if you were to try pin-point the sound, there’s definitely an icy quality to music from guys like Last Japan, Letta, Tom E. Vercetti and Chemist but also lighter, floatier material from Spokes, E.M.M.A and co, where as OH91 brings his own, upfront style to the table. It’s a really fluid mix.
What sort of music from your upbringing influenced what you do with the label? Were yo born in South London?
T: I was actually born in Manchester, but have lived in London since I was 7, so the city feels like home. Most of my teenage years were spent listening to garage – Heartless Crew, Pay As U Go, Sticky, Masterstepz etc via tape packs and CDS – and then early grime stuff, mainly via Limewire. Pre-internet radio, you couldn’t access the stations playing grime in East when you lived in South, so I relied on downloading radio rips and things like that. There was Delight 103 that used to broadcast out of South and Nikki S & Nyke were regulars on there, so that gave me a bit of an in if you like. I still listened to all sorts though – lots of Manchester guitar music naturally – but I was passionate about grime. To this day, I’ve still no idea why it resonated so strongly with me back then.
A lot of music you release is quite abstract and experimental, and not necessarily for the dance floor. How does it adapt for a club? And what sort of vibe are you going for on the night?
T: It tends to work quite well because even our more abstract material can still give the club a workout – see Letta’s ‘The Recluse’ or even Spokes’ ‘Lo Pan Strikes’ as two of the best examples. The main focus for the night is the vibe – whether there’s 50 people or 250 people on the floor, it’s the vibe that’ll keep people coming back and saying good things about what we do and what we’re about.
What have your previous Leeds experiences been like?
T: I spent four years at Leeds University between 2006-10, so I got most of my early clubbing education in the city and there we a lot of great nights back then – big up to Bigger Than Barry and Tropical in particular. It’s been a big aim of mine to get back with the label, especially because I put on a couple of ill-fated parties at Wire back in 2010 – which is still my favourite club in the country – so I can’t wait to get back.
Do you think that grime translates to a northern audience? Or would you say that the genre is part of a national zeitgeist?
T: I think, like most things, the rise in influence of the internet and they way people consume music in particular, transcend the locational factor these days. Obviously you had to be in London to enjoy it back in 2004, but that’s not the case in 2016 – if you’re into it, you can access it no matter where you’re from.
Can you tell us a bit about who you’ve got playing on the night at Wire?
T: Sure! We’ve just announced Last Japan’s new single, ‘Ascend’ ft. AJ Tracey, so he was a natural fit to bring up to Leeds. More than anything, he’s a really good selector – especially if you’re into early grime material, which he’ll often sling into mixes from out of nowhere.
Tom E. Vercetti released his debut EP, ‘Future Perfect’, with us in January and is one third of Silk Road Assassins, the production trio signed to Planet Mu and Iglew is a brilliant producer signed to Mr Mitch’s Gobstopper label – his EP was one of my favourites of 2015 so chuffed he wanted to be involved. We’ve also got Sacha Kella, who runs Clarks and was also at Leeds back in 2010 – I’d see him quite a lot at various nights back then so it’ll be pretty crazy to see him again six years later.
As a special guest, Oil Gang is as good as they come – I’ve wanted him to play with Coyote for ages and he doesn’t play outside of London very often, so it should be a memorable one. He’s told me he’s preparing a few dubs, which is always an ominous (but good) sign.
The full event page with ticket links is HERE.
Oliver Walkden