LAMP Weekly Mix #98 feat. Closed Caption

LAMP Weekly Mix #98 feat. Closed Caption

This week's guests are some of the hardest working guys in the industry at the moment. Between their full time jobs, running the industry tastemaker label Audiophile and DJing and producing under the Closed Caption moniker we we're very lucky to steal away some of their time for a Q&A and this electrifying Guest Mix. This one is stacked full of tracks from Audiophile XXL, Audiophile Deep and many more unreleased goodies os be sure to check the tracklist below. Also be sure to dive into their latest release 'Drop That' out via Audiophile XXL:MR PUZL: There's a lot to talk about but let's start with some basics. Who are Closed Caption and how did you first get started?Robert: I started the CC project about 3 years ago with another friend of mine, David Austin. We had been in the club scene as DJ's for quite some time and we were just really tired of the bottle service scene. I felt by leaving that circuit it would give me a fresh take on DJ'ing since I got sick of playing music I wasn’t really passionate about. After about a year, David had to leave the group as he was expecting his first child and couldn't really commit the time which is when Jimmy, another one of my close friends, came on and we went from there.MP: Were there any defining moments or past musical influences that lead you to where you are now in your careers? Have either of you had any previous music experience before starting Closed Caption?Robert: Well for me, my defining moment was in 1997 when i went to my first rave at The State Palace Theater in NOLA and saw Carl Cox & DJ Dan. I had been djing in college bars around LSU for some time, but that was my first interaction with house music. After that, it was all I played and I started doing shows in Dallas the next year.Jimmy: For me it was an undesirable tolerance for establishment education when I was studying at Oklahoma State University. I had been dabbling with DJ’ing since the early 2000’s when I had house parties and such, but it kind of never ended and I realized that it was one of the only tasks that truly made me happy. I dropped out of university as a marketing major and began a track down the road of electronic music. I moved down to Austin and linked up with synth and technology guru Francis Preve (who has collaborated with Wolfgang Gartner, John Acquaviva, Gabriel & Dresden, Olivier Giacomotto and other heavy hitters) he showed me virtually everything; real talk. Guy is a whiz at anything that involves the genre and honestly kept my head on straight through a lot of self-doubt moments I have had throughout this journey.MP: This year has been massive for Audiophile. How long has the label been in existence? How did you accumulate so much great music so quickly?Jimmy: So the label actually started in early 2012 to be technical, so we are approaching the 4 year mark now with our first label Audiophile Live, about 1 year since Scottie “Red Eye” started doing our Audiophile Deep A&R (which is when I would say we got “serious”), and about 7 months now for Audiophile XXL. There’s really no secret to acquiring good music to be honest, it’s all about spending the time sitting there and listening through countless amounts of bullshit online to find people that you can get onboard with musically. Those are the best ones too, the ones that you had to DIG for that end up going bigger places.MP: Dedication to the craft of DJing and producing requires a healthy time commitment. How do you balance your time between Audiophile and Closed Caption?Robert: Funny you should ask this because I had to squeeze making this mix in at 3:30AM after work lol. I think that's been the hardest part to be honest. Both Jimmy and I work full time regular jobs and obviously the label and the artists releasing with us come before we sit down to write music. So really, I feel like Closed Caption is a way for us to relax and just have fun.MP: The tracks that both XXL and Deep release reveal a very dedicated and well organized A&R system. What kind of background does your team have when it comes to running a record label? Had you all worked in the industry prior to launching the label?Robert: Well for XXL, our A&R Aaron Jackson and myself had never been in the label game before. Jimmy is a great mentor and it was fairly easy for me to pick up with my long history of doing events and keeping the label organized. Aaron and I decided to take a more proactive approach to the label by reaching out to DJ's that we either knew from playing events, or upcoming artists that I was familiar with by playing their tracks. I think being able to land guys like Intermodal & Landis LaPace really jump started what we were doing at XXL.

Intermodal - Record on Replay

Landis LaPace - Move All Around

Jimmy: It’s about the same for Jacob on Live and me with Deep, minus Scottie’s unbelievable huge network that he has to get us some of that “special good good” talent when we were young.MP: Congrats on your latest compilation Doble XX Grande! How did you go about selecting the tracks for this release?Robert: Well, we had a free summer compilation come out in June and we got so many great demos that we decided it might be best to cherry pick the best of those and put them in Doble XX Grande. Then I just went to the guys that have been the heart and soul of the label so far and they were able to contribute as well as some new artists that had peaked my interest during the summer, namely Nina Wilde, 219 Boys, Dillon Nathaniel & Dateless.

Doble XX Grande Compilation - Volume 001

MP: You've strategically segmented Audiophile into 2 unique 'styles' if you will. Are you exploring other genres to expand into?Robert: I think you will see the future house tracks moving over to the Audiophile Live impression in 2016 and I think you'll start seeing some more techno on XXL along with the garage and bass house.Jimmy: As for Deep we are really starting to go more along the lines of a peak hour dance floor, simply because it has the ability to reach more listeners; plus, it’s dope. We have been picking up a lot more acid house, techno, and harder tech house in the last quarter than ever before. I want to say that you might see a more laid back desert type of vibe label pop up in the near future, but it’s in the very infant stages of its inception. I’m currently looking for the right people to handle it, but that’s a whole other store in itself.MP: It'll Do and Scottie recently had a really dope shout out from Pete Tong and it's becoming clear that Dallas is raising the standard of house music in the US. What can you tell us about house music's roots in Dallas and Texas as whole?Robert: Well I came into a flourishing house music scene in Dallas highlighted by DJ's such as Scottie (Red Eye), Eric Entity (now known as Maceo Plex), Demarkus Lewis, JT Donaldson, 4Peace, Rob Vaughan, Joe Castillo, Kelly Reverb just to name a few. And almost 20 years later, there are still some incredible DJ's and producers coming out of this market in the house music scene like Preach, Pass The 40 & Samma Lone. It'll Do has definitely upped the ante and given us house guys a place of refuge every Saturday night.Jimmy: Well for the first time in a very long time, if ever, Texas is starting to unite forces more than we have ever seen to make sure that we salvage our once flourishing reputation we had here in the 90’s and early 2000’s. It just so happens that a lot of the guys I started with when I joined the industry have also done some amazing things (such as RealMusic and Kingdom nightclub’s Andrew Parsons). We all know what this scene is dying for and are trying to implement it in a way that it can all benefit each other. MP: We've had a few chats about Audiophile's potential involvement in the scene here in LA. Are there any updates you can share with us regarding your plans for that?Jimmy: Also, this is very new in the works – however, it looks very promising and we plan on pulling the trigger in early to mid-2016 on the details.MP: As 2015 is winding down do you have any upcoming releases and shows that we can hype?Robert: Well, we have a new track with Pass The 40 coming out on MC Flipside's label, Proper Beats Recordings. And then you can also catch us on the house stage at Lights All Night in Dallas on NYE, and then we open 2016 with an Audiophile Records/Closed Caption Events show at It'll Do with my good friend Low Steppa. As far as XXL releases, we have upcoming EP's from Aaron Jackson, Dillon Nathaniel & Dateless, Bijou, Defunt! and a massive Xmas compilation coming out Dec 18.Jimmy: On Deep, we have a 3 tracker from production overlord Spettro called ‘El Castillo’, a 4 track EP from Reblok titled ‘Zig Zag Lines’, a single from Dharkfunk & Flam Dept, and another 4 track EP from Gogan. On Live, we have upcoming releases from Yed Prior, Castor Troy, Vice City, and Refracture ft. The Crystal Method (yes, you heard it right).

Tracklist

1. Defunct! - Weekend Funk2. HoodRat - More Issues Than Vogue3. Gogan - Juno4. CamelPhat - Luna5. Groovebox - Jano6. Eelrack - Got It Bad7. Dateless - Revolt8. Landis LaPace - Caffeine9. Genghis Clan - In The Club10. BIJOU & Juany Bravo - Pump That11. 219 Boys - My Chicks12. ID - ID13. MOB - It's Over14. Landis LaPace - Drive That15. Inkline - AfterHours16. BIJOU - We Don't Stop17. Dilate - Vibrate18. ID - ID19. Billy Kenny & DJOKO - Do Me Right20. ID - ID21. Ghost Channels & Mind Cntrl - Right Now22. Aaron Jackson & FreeFall ft. Megan Hamilton - Changing MeEnjoy,LAMP