NEWS

Mysteriously teased on their socials today with a date and pink/yellow version of their logo, we can confirm that Hybrid Minds are set to launch their own label – Hybrid Music – next month.

The debut release – Touch, featuring Tiffani Juno – was premiered by Friction last night on his BBC Radio 1 show, it’s complemented by a stunning remix from Tokyo Prose and set for release on June 10.

Touch will land on UKF Drum & Bass next week and, we’ve learnt, it’s part of their eagerly anticipated second album. Here’s what else we know about Touch, Hybrid Music and the possibility of a new Hybrid Minds album….

We met with the council of the D&B elders for a ritual ceremony recently and we were told that there was a big conspiracy to put Andy C in place of David Cameron

Sup?

Just busy working on a bunch of music at the moment and getting everything together for our first release. It’s taken a lot of our attention lately but we’re really excited to show everyone what we’ve been up to behind the scenes.

Hybrid Music…. How long have you been plotting this and what inspired it?

It’s been under consideration for a good few years now. It was about finding the right time and having the energy and confidence to put it all together. It goes without saying having your own label has many advantages and these were no doubt what inspired us to go this route, we’ve definitely had the majority of the driving seat when it comes to past releases & we’re looking forward to having total control in the future!

I thought you guys were signed to Spearhead but I think that was an assumption as the bulk of your work has come out on BCee’s label…. I imagine BCee and Spearhead have been supportive and helpful in this mission?

We have never exclusively signed to anyone. Spearhead gave us full control over what we released which made it very easy for us to work together. I think it is our closest musical match label-wise so there wasn’t any need for us to release with anyone else. BCee has been very supportive of all our decisions and that is why it’s a label that everyone enjoys working with. It’s not the kind of label that tries to lock people down and hide them in a dark room.

Will you still be releasing occasional things with them or other labels you’ve worked with? Like bigger projects… Maybe albums?

At the moment all our focus is on Hybrid Music. We don’t really want to think too far ahead but we will be up for working with other labels like Spearhead and Liquicity for releases here and there. It will all just boil down to how much music we make, what we’re happy with & what we plan to release ourselves.

A Mountains follow-up must surely be on the cards at some point, though, right?

It sure is. The first single on Hybrid Music is from an album that we are in the middle of making. It’s all pretty exciting for us to get stuck in to a large project again. We can’t give any album dates or anything as it’s still a work in progress. We tend to be particularly slow at getting tracks to a point that we are happy with, we blame our OCD.

So everything starts with the delightfully soulful Touch… Tell us about it.

The track was built around a guitar session we recorded from our friend Mike, he gave us some really nice stems to work and play around with. Once we had the backbone down the rest fell into place. We have been working with some new vocalists who we are really happy with and excited about. Touch also features Tiffani Juno. The first time we heard her on Somebody New by Jakwob she has been in our crosshairs. We sent the rough idea over to her and she nailed it first time. The track has been getting a fair amount of love at shows so it naturally was our first release.

How about future Hybrid Music releases? And will there be other artists on the label?

We plan to drop a string of singles in the lead up to the album. These will include a remix on the flip. Kicking things off with our buddy Tokyo Prose. It’s good to finally get a remix from him as he is one of our favourite artists and we have been playing his stuff frequently for a long time now. We don’t have any plans to sign anyone or anything just yet but who knows what will happen down the line. Never say never.

What else do we need to know about Hybrid Music at this juncture?

At the moment it’s an outlet for our music, plain and simple. We will also be giving our releases away with the brand new merchandise which everyone will get to see soon, it’s a nice little perk. We have been working with our good friends at Dephect clothing on a t-shirt collaboration which we are hyped about dropping with the first release, it looks really great.

Finally, it seems to be the year of new artist-driven labels: SpectraSoul, The Prototypes and you guys have all launched new labels in the last two months. Is this a coincidence, a Jungle Council conspiracy or the shadowy work of The Illuminati?

We met with the council of the D&B elders for a ritual ceremony recently and we were told that there was a big conspiracy to put Andy C in place of David Cameron……… Nah, it is a total coincidence. We have been seeing people drop their own labels in the last few months thinking “People are gonna think we are jumping on the wagon” We just think that the scene is in a place that allows artists to have full control over themselves if they are willing to put the work in. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few more pop up by the end of the year. Stick it to the man and all that.

Stick it to Hybrid Minds: Touch is released June 10