End Recordings

In December 1995, The End was opened to critical acclaim in London. It has had unparalleled growth over three years with residencies from the worlds finest DJ's in all musical genres. Founded by Mr C and Layo Paskin, The End was also the birthplace of End Recordings.

"With the club and the label, it was the same story", says Mr C. "We wanted to push cutting-edge music into the mainstream, and give people the chance to listen to music that was cool but accessible". And so, two days after the club was opened in December 1995 Killerloop's "Black Label" was released on End Recordings.

The labels' output can be broadly defined as representing the new hybrid sounds, which mould together techno, house and breakbeat. Mr C and Layo feature prolifically as Killerloop, from the deep, vocal tech-house of "Someone" (and check the sublime, minimal groove of Juan Atkins' remix on the flip) to seminal End tune "The Blue Hour" and "Music Inside" to Mr.C's Ron Trentesque "The Birds and the Bees",not to mention his recent collaboration for "A Thing Called Love" with legendary house vocalist Robert Owens . Indeed the tech-house sound has been championed on the label from the very beginning, with tracks and mixes from Stacey Pullen, Eddie Flashin' Fowlkes, Alex Reece, DJ Sneak, Impossible Beings, Love From San Fransisco and Cari Lekebusch helping to define the sound.

A new, edgy breakbeat-influenced sound - with its roots as much in techno as in hip-hop - also saw its genesis on the label, most prominently with releases from Layo & Bushwacka! formerly known as The Usual Suspects. Given the "tech-breaks" moniker to describe this symbiosis of ice-cool breakbeats and funky riffs, their tracks "Nightstalkin'"and "She Disrespek' Me" generated a great deal of interest and have been in much demand since being deleted. The first Layo & Bushwacka! 12" Deep South / Dead Man Walking acted as a fantastic prelude for the release of their debut album "Low Life" which has made a huge impact in the specialised dance arena gaining album of the month reviews in Muzik, Ministry, Jockey Slut… and several features and articles.

"When we started the label, it was a hobby for us", Mr C explains, "but as interest grew, and reactions continued to be positive, we're focusing much more attention on the label. We're now beginning to develop our artists in the long term rather than merely releasing tracks". Indeed this year has already seen the release of the album "Low Life" with the next album Mr.C Presents Subterrain 100% Unreleased due in April 2000. This comprises of exclusive tracks by a host of well established artists i.e. Dave Angel, Cari Lekebusch, Layo & Bushwacka!, Pure Science, Stacey Pullen, Terry Francis, Derrick Carter etc.. The format will be a 15 track CD mixed by Mr.C as well as four separate vinyl EP's.

For the future, an offshoot label is to be set up to widen the scope of End Recordings. Called Blended, the label will take a more abstract and deep left-of-centre philosophy to its heart, championing a variety of sounds to include trip-hop, drum & bass, melodic electro and deep house.