This week Manchester-based DJ, producer and percussionist Szajna will drop his new LP on Big War’s Infinite Scroll label. Marking the first release in the label’s catalogue, on ‘The World Is Mental Mate’ we witness a move away from the club-ready sounds of his previous productions in favour of a more rounded and meditated sound equally enjoyable at home as on a club system.
In the lead up to the launch, we got together with the pair – both members of the city’s Generic Greeting Colective – for a chat about the new album, the launch of Infinite Scroll, whether cassette tapes could ever be the new vinyl and more! On top of this, Szajna has dropped off a sweet guest mix for us. Packed with a mix of favourites and original cuts, including new unheard material from his forthcoming release, take a gander whilst you read on! (Tracklist at the bottom)
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Hey, thanks for chatting to us! How’s it going? What did you get up to this weekend, did you have a good one?
RJ: I’m ok thanks! I spent my weekend DJing and I checking out a few nights, same as most weekends but it was a good one.
BSH: Ye, really good thanks! I played in town on Friday and spent Saturday playing in Fallowfield and spent Sunday having a lazy one.
Nice! All about those lazy Sundays! So, let’s get down to business as we’re really excited to talk about the new label Infinite Scroll. Rich, what made you decide to set the label up, was there a catalyst or anything that made you think “yeah now’s the time to go for it”?
RJ: I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a label for a long time. I’ve been lucky to be around super talented people since I was young. Growing up in Hereford there wasn’t really that much to offer us in terms of a music scene, we had to make our own things happen so since about 14 I’ve been recording music, putting on gigs and DJing and stuff. It never really occurred to me until I left the city that this is something a lot of people rely on other people to do. That upbringing gave me the philosophy that if you want something to happen it’s often better to do it yourself than wait around for someone else. I feel like now is the right time as on an almost daily basis one of my friends shares some music with me that’s dope or I discover someone online that’s doing something that no one else is. Unless someone who’s already established in the scene picks up on this and sees the same value in that I do it’s not gonna be documented. The main impetus to do it right now though was that I feel like a good number of my friends that have always made interesting music are now doing it to a really really high standard.
You’ve been running the music side of Manchester’s Generic Greeting for some time and have showcased all sorts from house to hip hop in the past five years. When it comes to the new label, what musical direction you see it taking?
RJ: The main difference between the collective and this label is that we try and run the collective as a group – it’s about encouraging people to make art and to present it to people. I manage the music side but if anyone else has an idea more often than not we’re going to do it. The label on the other hand is run mainly by me, Will Berry who does art for Generic Greeting is helping out with the visual side of things and the first release is from Bill who’s also a part of the collective, so we’re keeping it in the family to start with but in future there’s going to be releases from people who are outside of the collective. Musically I don’t really have any specific genre in mind, if something is good then it’s good no matter what direction it’s coming from. The first few releases are coming from a hip-hop, house-ishhh direction but in future I hope to release music from a really wide range of genres.
“It’s that kind of philosophy that I have for the label, if other people enjoy the music and buy it that’s great but really I just want to be able to put out music I properly love.”
This Friday sees the first release in the new label’s catalogue with Szajna’s LP ‘The World Is Mental Mate’. Bill, for those who don’t know can you describe the LP and give us a bit of insight into your creative process?
BSH: It’s kinda half an album and half a beat tape. I was sick of making individual club sounds – I just wanted to make something for myself and play around. Tracks which on their own might not make sense but which together are hopefully a really solid listen. Before I was making quite showy songs but with this album I went in with the mindset that I didn’t have to prove anything and I could just have fun.
What was your vision behind the project?
BSH: I had a kind of hip-hop approach to the record, I was listening out for melodies that I liked and pairing it up with drums and other parts that I felt fit with it. It’s a lot looser than anything i’ve done before and hopefully sounds less cluttered. Although I hope that it does get played in clubs I wanted to go for an album that could be enjoyed outside of that environment. A lot of the times I enjoy and pay the most attention to music is when i’m travelling or at home and I wanted the album to be suited more to that kind of listening. My favourite music is presented in the format of an album that can be enjoyed at parties and at home and I wanted my album to fit into that situation more-so than the club.
Obviously it’s presented as a beat tape but also embraces high production values. Doing it as a limited edition run of 40 golden cassettes alongside a digital release is a nice touch, I think people like to have something tangible nowadays. Would you guys agree with those who say cassette tapes are the new vinyl?
BSH: I love cassettes and I think it’s really nice to bring out something physical. It gives a really nice DIY feel which I really like but vinyl remains the best way to listen to music.
RJ: I think if something is worth releasing then it’s worth making it into a tangible object. Files on computer are easily lost or forgotten about whereas cassettes and vinyl are always going to be there for you to look through and appreciate on a different level. I like being able to hold something in my hand and know the someone else along the line, normally in the tape scene at the moment either the artist themselves or the person running the label, has also held that in their own hand, folded the insert, perhaps written a note inside. There definitely feels like more of a personal connection with another person when you can see their hand writing on the tape or in the packaging. You can really feel the love they’ve put into a lot more than downloading some mp3s even if someones put in hours or days to produce those tracks. There’s so many more reasons to love tape that I could write pages on but those are the main reasons for me right now. That being said I don’t think cassettes will ever have such a widespread resurgence as vinyl has but that’s part of their charm, you don’t really see tapes being produced in runs over say 200. It’s a hobbyist thing (at the moment) and part of me hopes it stays that way. Those who get it are really into it and love it. Another part of me hopes it does though, it wasn’t that long ago people were looking at me funny for buying vinyl so it’s not out of the question. Obviously it would be great if more people got into tapes, got tape decks back but I can’t really see it ever coming back as much as vinyl has done, vinyl has almost 100 years of history of being the optimum for medium for collecting and listening to music whereas tapes came a lot later on and have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Wow Rich, laying down some serious knowledge! We absolutely love the release and have become obsessed with ‘Own Pace’, which is an absolute tune! Do you have a favourite track on the album?
BSH: Thank you! I really like Own Pace, it probably is one of my favourite tunes on there. I put a lot of thought into Lost Ma File Bro as I was trying to imagine what I would do, as a drummer, what backing I’d give to the music if it was being played as a live band. I’m really happy with the atmospheres and the walking bass line for MC Break Up too.
RJ: I can’t really choose any one track, whenever I put one track on I end up listening to the whole thing.
“It’s kinda half an album and half a beat tape. I was sick of making individual club sounds – I just wanted to make something for myself and play around.”
We know you two are pals and have worked on projects together before. What involvement (if any) did Rich have whilst you were making the LP this summer?
RJ: I didn’t really have any involvement with the music at all, Bill gave me the project as a finished album and I’m really not about playing with other people’s ideas or telling them to change things. I’m here to support the artists I work with but I don’t really want to alter their visions for the music
Seems like a sound approach (excuse the pun)! Can you tell us what it is about ‘The World Is Mental Mate’ that made you choose it for Infinite Scroll’s first release?
RJ: Me and Bill talk super regularly about what we’ve both been making and the way he described the album to me – as something he was doing to please himself as opposed to what he thought other people would like – was what really made me think it would set off the label right. It’s that kind of philosophy that I have for the label, if other people enjoy the music and buy it that’s great but really I just want to be able to put out music I properly love. It obviously helped that the album is the best music he’s made to date as well.
When are you dropping the release and where can people pick it up?
RJ: You can pick it up at the release party on Thursday night but we’re properly dropping on Friday.
It will be available as a digital download from the Infinite Scroll bandcamp page. There’s also 40 limited edition gold cassette tapes that will be available from Piccadilly Records and online also through the bandcamp.
“I like being able to hold something in my hand and know the someone else along the line, normally in the tape scene at the moment either the artist themselves or the person running the label, has also held that in their own hand, folded the insert, perhaps written a note inside.”
Tell us about the launch party! What have you guys got planned for it?
RJ: We just wanted to celebrate the launch with our friends so we’re going to be playing records at Font in Chorlton alongside DJ Croww from Generic Greeting/Chow Down and Rohm from Heavy Rain. We thought it’d be a nice chance for people to pick up the tape before it’s released online the next day and as it’s such a limited run it gives people the opportunity to pick it up for sure before it all the copies (hopefully) go.
We’re sure they’ll fly out! Where do you see Infinite Scroll headed in the future? Do you have anything in the pipeline you can tell us about?
RJ: I’m just going to continue putting out projects I love. Next up is a special mix by DJ Croww which i’m really excited for, it’s gonna be split into two quite different halves one on the A-side and another on the B. Mixes are something I’m looking to put out more of in the future too as I feel like at the moment there are mixes that could be classics in the future but will probably end up just being lost in the digital junkyard with the other 1,000 mixes that come out this week. After that I’ve got a very exciting project dropping from a mysterious genius in Trontonomo Bay.
Awesome! We have to ask, what’s the meaning behind the label’s name?
RJ: An infinite scroll online is when a website pre-loads data before you reach the end of the webpage to give the impression that there is an unending stream of content for you to read. That’s the literal definition of it but I think it relates to some ideas I have about how people relate to online and offline content quite nicely, plus tapes are like scrolls in a way.
Are either of you working on any other projects at the moment that you want to put the word out on?
RJ: At the moment we’re both working on projects for Generic Greeting. We’ve got an open-air exhibition called Pillar opening at Projekts Skatepark in Manchester that we’re really excited about, it’s our biggest collective project yet and will hopefully be the best thing we’ve done. As well as that we’re working on an online advent calendar for December where we’ll be giving away art, music and a few surprises every day until Christmas. We’ve also got some plans for our fourth birthday coming up but we’ll be revealing more about that in the coming months.
Nice one, well we’ll keep our eyes peeled for these! Thanks for the chat and good luck with the launch! Any shout outs before you go?
Shouts to Will Berry, Paul Chambers and Rohm for their help with the project and all the support we’ve had from our GG family as well as our friends in general.
Keep up to date with Infinite Scroll through their twitter @scrollinfinite, and keep an eye on more music from Szajna through his SoundCloud page here. Released 07/11 via digital download and on gold cassette, copies will be available from Manchester’s Piccadilly Records as well as the label’s Bandcamp page!
Tracklist:
Szajna’s Generic Intro Feat. Billy Larkin & The Delegates – Hole In The Wall
Szajna – LA Mind
Roy Ayers – Get On Up Get On Down (Joey Negro Revibe)
Szajna – Lost Ma File Bro
Szajna – Le Corbusier
Szajna – MC Break Up
TORBEN – Votzendisko
Nick Holder – Your Love (Toika Lounge Dub)
Seven Davis Jr. – Open Up
Smith & Mighty – Walk On
Szajna – Own Pace
Al Dobson Jr. – Everybody
The Mohawks – The Champ
Lowell Fulsom – Tramp
Loni Gamble Band – I Like The Way You Do It (Feat. Lisa Warrington)
Roy Ayers Ubiquity – Running Away (12″ Long Version)
