The Revenge: Back Into The Groove

In March of this year, Glasgow’s Sub Club hosted the last ever Instruments of Rapture party, an event which also marked the winding up of Graeme Clark’s much-loved label of the same name. Many would question the decision to close the curtain on a label which, after only 10 releases, had garnered a loyal following among fans of deep, disco-tinted house music. Yet anyone who’s followed the career of the DJ, producer and re-edit master will know that he’s never likely to remain quiet for long. Whether he’s producing solo as The Revenge, in partnership with Craig Smith as 6th Borough Project, or remixing the work of others, Clark’s work ethic has always kept him busy. Now, having taken a well earned breather, he’s ready to unleash new material and is gearing up for the launch of a new label, Roar Groove. 

What’s the motivation behind the label?
Creative control I guess. It’s not really a case of increasing my output, more just a way to release my music the way I want to release it. Every label has its own way of doing things and I like some better than others. I’ve always had a strong idea of how I want my music to be represented and delivered but this label idea got sidetracked when I got more exposure a few years ago, doing remixes and touring.

What can we expect in terms of the style of music released?
It’s going to be pretty broad, in line with my scatterbrained approach to music. Although I won’t be signing new artists as such, I hope to release some stuff that I have a role in producing or executive producing.

Though you’ve become known for your brilliant edit work over the years, the new record has more of your own sound coming through. What, if anything, has changed?
I’ve always been focused on having my own identity as a producer and DJ and a big part of that is finding the equipment that works for you on the road and in the studio. I moved studio a couple of times in the last 2 years and went back to the way I used to record as a kid, just jamming with some hardware. I did 3 live shows in Glasgow last year as a test to see if I could create and improvise some new ideas outside of the studio. It was a cathartic experience in some ways and blew away some of the cobwebs that had formed doing so many remixes and being on the road a lot. I wasn’t sure I had the ability to come up with a whole batch of fresh shit, but the opposite was true. I created so many new ideas that excited me and formed the basis of what will be the output for the label.

I read that you were drawing inspiration from your earlier Deportivo Street Team live act. Can you tell us about that?
Before ‘The Revenge’ stuff kicked off properly a few years ago, the Deportivo Street Team stuff was gaining some momentum. I formed the band with my friend Paul McGlashan and it was basically the vehicle for a lot of my more techno and house ideas to be performed live. We supported Calvin Harris and Faithless and played a few underground nights in Scotland like Record Playerz at the Art School and Monox in Glasgow. I hope to do the same thing with Paul next year as a proper ‘Revenge’ live thing.

The name of the new label seems fitting. Even listening back to the Deportivo material, you can definitely hear the beginnings of certain elements that show up in the new EP. For one, there always seems to be a solid groove at the heart of your music driving the tracks forward. How do you approach production generally?
The groove is pretty much where it’s at, especially for dance music. The key for me is to get 2 or 4 bars of something that is on fire, and then expand on that. The most critical (and difficult) part of the process is the arranging. It’s so easy to fuck the whole thing up when you start piecing it all together. That’s kind of why I went back to jamming stuff live in the studio and trying to capture that. That’s the genius of people like Moodyman, not the engineering. If you listen to something like Shades Of Jae, nobody would arrange it like that. He’s captured the spark, a moment in time, like a Polaroid of the music.

From previous interviews, it’s clear that your primary concern is the music rather than the format in which it’s presented, be it CD, mp3, vinyl etc. How are you planning on releasing tracks on Roar Groove and for what reasons?
Tracks from the label will be available on vinyl and digital. The vinyl will be in small runs of 500 units and the mix CD series that runs alongside it will be in runs of 200 units. The reasons behind the numbers isn’t exclusivity, it’s more psychological. I learned early on in my career that having boxes of vinyl and CDs sitting around waiting to get sold plays havoc with my mind and affects me when it comes to moving onto the next project. So I would always rather have less than more. I think for my core fanbase these numbers are sufficient. All products will be available initially through the online store and then onto wider distribution afterwards. 100 of the CDs go direct to Japan and the remainder will be sold direct. The mixes will be focusing on unreleased and forthcoming stuff on the label put together like a mix tape. I’ll be designing all the sleeves and packaging etc. That’s something I’ve missed doing greatly since not having a proper outlet for my stuff.

Is there anyone in particular you would like to work with, either through collaborating on productions, or by releasing their music through the label?
If Natasha Khan is up for doing a vocal then please pass my number on.

Finally, what’s on the horizon beyond the release of the Body Fusion EP?
I’m finishing working on the 6th Borough Project album with Craig Smith at the moment. I’ve also done some tracks with Harri from the Sub Club which hopefully will see the light of day (or night) this year.