Future Classic Turns...5!

Future Classic is fast becoming a treasured national icon.

This Sydney-based label began five years ago by local DJ Nathan McLay and has now had over 30 releases, mainly focusing on bringing Australian underground electronic talent to the masses.

They have nurtured such extraordinary local artists as Jamie Lloyd, Deepchild, Jimi Polar, Stick Figures, Loin Brothers, Peret Mako, Theatre Of Disco, T-Rek and more and have garnered the respect of the international community by regularly appearing on the playlists of some of the world's biggest DJs.

Touring and design also fall under the Future Classic umbrella, which alone has set itself apart from any other electronic label this country has probably ever produced. A long-running weekly afternoon soiree at the Tilbury every Sunday called Apres is another feather in its cap.

The label will be in full celebration-mode on Friday night (December 11) at the Civic where first-time tourists Henrik Schwarz (Berlin) and Chateau Flight (France) take to the stage alongside most of the local DJs that have ever played at the Future Classic parties.

And we love a celebration here at Spank! Future Classic has given us its entire catalogue to give away (CD/vinyl/T-shirt) in a specially-designed tote bag. All you have to do is email competitions@spankrecords.com.au with the heading 'Every Future Classic Is A Future Classic' and also make sure you are signed up to our blog for the announcement of the winner next week. That's enough about us. Now read on.

I threw down some questions to McLay who was busy expanding his empire on a train, speeding from one part of France to the other.

When did you first come up with the idea of starting a record label? What were you doing at the time and was it a specific artist that made you want to get their music out there?

I was working for Inertia (Sydney distributor) and travelling to Europe each year to meet their partner labels and at the same time DJing around and finding lots of good unreleased music. I played some of this to a couple of overseas distributors and they were into it and it began from there.

Was there any local labels around at the time? Did you have a specific idea on what you wanted to release?

There were a couple of people doing things. I worked at Floating Point (Sydney label) for a while before it fizzled. The Thunk (legendary Sydney label) guys were doing good things. I have always had a clear idea of what I want to release. There's no point doing it unless you 100% love it.

The music on the label in the early days to me seems ahead of its time. Do you agree? Was it hard to push this style onto the community at a time when I think the emergence of electro was all the rage?

I had a 'real' job at the time and was just doing the label as an outlet for what I personally found interesting. There's been things that have blossomed over time. Touch Sensitive 'Body Stop' was on the 'Future Classic Attractions' mix-CD 5 years ago and it went under the radar. Then we re-released it this year on the Aprés 12-inch series and suddenly there was loads of DJ feedback! 

I guess your connection with Inertia would’ve helped a bit to get the label off the ground. Is that fair to say? Was it tougher than you thought it would be, looking back?

Inertia has been very supportive of everything I have done. I worked there for 4 years running their digital department and learnt loads from that time, which has been invaluable. We still work together on various projects and they still distribute Future Classic here in Australia.

Who was the first to be signed to the label? Give us the story behind that?

The first official release was Deepchild's 'What's Going Wrong' 12" but before that I had tested the water with a very limited 100-copy pressing of an EP by Meem for the Superpeople night I was hosting at the time.

Your roster is a who’s who of Sydney’s ‘deeper’ underground. Did you actively go after these guys or were you getting ‘inundated’ with demos?

It was really just friends and friends of friends. The scene is really quite small internationally even, so people who share things in common musically seem to gravitate towards each other naturally.

Just to highlight one artist on your roster – Deepchild – he has been very successful internationally. Has that also helped the label’s exposure?

Sure, Rick has put a lot of hard work in and toured actively overseas. Every artist connects with different people to build the overall story of the label. I am regularly travelling overseas also to play music and meet other like-minded music people, so all these things help.

When did you start going after internationals for the label and why?

From the start, Future Classic has been a bridge between Australia and overseas. This began with getting international remixes for the local artists' 12" releases and is now expanding into broader representation of overseas artists activity in Australia.

Touring is yet another feather in your cap. How did that start and why? Up-coming acts?

It started from parties as it seems to for nearly everyone involved in touring. We wanted to have our favourite artists play our parties. Then some of the bands we were looking after got bigger and so it turned into a full time part of what we do. Tomorrow night, we celebrate our fifth birthday with two artists who have not been to Australia before - Henrik Schwarz from Berlin playing live and Chateau Flight from Paris (also founder of Versatile Records) spinning records. On January 22 we do our annual Sydney Festival Becks Bar party with Aeroplane and Trevor Jackson of Playgroup and Output Recordings. Trevor is writing a new Playgroup album and back playing after an extended hiatus. He's a very deep musical (and visual) mind so it will be a pleasure to have him here. Of course Aeroplane are crowd favourites at the moment and finishing off their debut album due mid 2010.

Away from the music, Future Classic also does design? Was this a vision you had for the label form the beginning or did it happen by circumstance?

My partner Jay is an artist and designer. She art-directs all of the Future Classic covers and event artwork as well as designing books for chefs Christine Manfield (Universal), Matt Moran (Aria), artists including Ben Quilty and various galleries. Jay is also behind the annual 'Future Classic Review' paper we do, working with her small team of designers, stylists and photographers. Increasingly we are being approached by clients to do projects that integrate our music and design areas.

What is the most satisfying thing that Future Classic has brought to you Nathan?

It's enabled me to meet and develop friendships with people from all over the world that share the same appreciation for art and music. 

Goals?

Be balanced.

What do you think people will be saying about Future Classic in 2050?

Wow, 40 years. We're going to have to make something genuinely timeless now. Nah, they will be talking about the first time Henrik played in Sydney!

Happy birthday Future Classic. See you on the dancefloor. I'll be the one with the party hat on my head and a whistle between my thighs!

Murphy.