IMPRINTS: Extended Play

Name: Extended Play
Vibe: House and techno artillery
Founded: 2009 by JMX and T-Bone
Location: Belfast, Ireland
Upcoming releases:
JMX – Goosed EP
Cromby & ManooZ with Borrowed Identity & Jordan Peak Remixes – Break DisEP
Extended Players Vol. 6
Artists to watch:
Schmutz, Chris Hanna, Slurrp, ManooZ, Jordan, Cromby, JC Williams, Embezzlement Society and Martin De Brig.

Ireland has produced quite a few names in the global house and techno scenes. Minus' Gavin Lynch, better known as Matador, is a frequent performer at Richie Hawtin's ENTER. events, while producers like The Japanese Popstars, DeFeKT and Boxcutter can be found on labels like Bedrock, GND, Hotflush and right here in our MIXED BY series. Today's focus is Belfast's Extended Play Recordings. The imprint is a literal factory for dance floor devices, pouring forth a wealth of consistent, hard hitting productions ready for any time of night, anywhere in the world. We spoke to the two DJs who run the label, JMX (John McIver) and T-Bone (Timmy Stewart) to find out more about how they're doing it and why.

THUMP: What's the Deal?
John: We both felt it was about time that there was a stable for solid club electronics from our Belfast (Northern Ireland) artists and friends.

Can you explain the name, Extended Play?
J: Extended Play means music designed to outlast the latest fads and trends.

Why did you decide to form the label?
J: We were often frustrated with losing control when handing our own music to others. Conversely, we felt as though we couldn't really criticize that process unless we attempted it ourselves. Luckily, this coincided with the scene in Belfast exploding with new artists who needed a platform to showcase their music.

How would you describe the sound that those artists are putting out?
J: Good, old fashioned music designed for dance floors during early, peak or later hours. EP releases are essentially music for DJs to play out rather than strictly for at home listening.

Tell us about the scene in Belfast?
J: Belfast has always punched above its weight but now it has a definitive scene rather than one or two artists leading the way. It feels like we are going through a very creative patch, especially in terms of house and techno.

What's your favorite label that isn't your own?
T-Bone: Rush Hour Records
J: Aus Music

Have your releases been received as well as you'd hoped?
J: We have always adopted a bit of a long term approach and now at 40 releases in, we have picked up support from a bunch of artists that we respect and are still in action. Everyone from Eats Everything, Luciano, Slam and Bicep, just to name a few. So, we feel we must be doing something right.

Sure sounds like it. So then what makes your label different?
J: It's essentially a Belfast label—one of the only labels from our hometown—so it's always nice when we hear our releases getting aired on the other side of the world. We like to think we fly the flag (excuse the pun) for Belfast, so hopefully it helps people realize that there is more to this place than recreational rioting.

Which release would you recommend to introduce a new listener to your label?
J: The Extended Players releases are a good place to start as they always cover a few shades of the kind of house music we love, all encapsulated in the individual releases. Extended Players Vol. 6 is being mastered at the moment and is stuffed with gold.

Which are your favourite tracks on the label?
T-B: JC Williams' "Close To The Edge" is a definite favourite. A good acid workout never dates.
J:Chris Hanna's "Moonshine," and Cromby's "Heavy Peppered" and Jordan Peaks' forthcoming remix of "ManooZ."

What's the next release on the label?
J: The Allied Forces EP  just hit all good vinyl stores including Juno, Hard Wax, etc. and we got our next wax mastered and waiting in the wings. The new Extended Players compilation we mentioned is another. And the Goosed EP, which will be the precursor to the first artist album on the label by JMX and followed by an album of remixes to be pressed on vinyl.

How far ahead do you plan your releases?
J: We just sign stuff when it really grabs us rather than consciously thinking we should have a release out this month, or we should have this many releases in a year. Despite that, we are sitting on enough releases to take us well into 2015 at this point.

What challenges do you face running the label?
J: Doing something for love rather than money is what drives us both. Keeping our artists happy and the labels quality control high is what we really focus on. So, ensuring this ethos is maintained is an ongoing challenge.

What sound do you think the music industry is moving towards?
J: We feel like we are headed into a good era for more diverse electronic music. The EDM explosion is now causing ripples and the next generation is already digging a little deeper below the surface. We predict a healthy period ahead, although they probably won't actually want to pay for the music, just listen and share it [laughs].

Follow Extended Play on SoundCloud and Facebook for more releases and updates.

You can follow Nick Yim on Twitter: @theoldny