Parisian DJ, party promoter, and record label co-manager Ed Isar joins us for the 25th edition of the Off The Record Mix Series.
Ed is the mastermind behind the 33RPM +8% and Voodoo Rave parties in Paris, as well as the Mental Groove sub-label, Musique Pour La Danse, which he co-manages with Olivier Ducret.
For this mix, Ed dug deep into the Musique Pour La Danse / Mental Groove past and future catalogue. It features several releases on the label from the last few years and combines IDM, downtempo, ambient, video game music and traditional music. There are also several cuts from two amazing albums that the label will be officially announcing soon: a reissue of The Detroit Escalator Company’s iconic Soundtrack [313] album, and the first-ever vinyl release of Peter Sleazy’s solo record as Threshold Boys House Choir, an album recorded after his partner John Balance’s tragic death and Coil’s demise. Enjoy!
Tracklist:
1. Threshold Boys House Choir – A Time Of Happening, forthcoming on Musique Pour La Danse / Mental Groove
2. Coil – Omlagus Garfungiloops, Musique Pour La Danse
3. The Detroit Escalator Company – Faith (as Rain), forthcoming on Musique Pour La Danse
4. Le Coeur – La Source?, Mental Groove
5. The Detroit Escalator Company – Δ, forthcoming on Musique Pour La Danse
6. rEAGENZ – Hollow Mountain, Musique Pour La Danse
7. Jammin Sam Miller – Aquatic Ambiance (composed by David Wise), Musique Pour La Danse
8. Osamu Sato – Chu-Teng (ambient mix), Musique Pour La Danse
9. Coil – Theme from Gay Man’s Guide To Safer Sex, Musique Pour La Danse
10. Threshold Boys House Choir – A Time Of Happening, forthcoming on Musique Pour La Danse / Mental Groove
11. Unknown Artist – Solomon Islands Lullaby, Mental Groove
Photo: Marion Frégéac
Hi Ed, thanks for joining us! Can you tell us about your recording and what the idea was behind it…
Hey guys, thanks for inviting me! For this mix I dug deep in the Musique Pour La Danse / Mental Groove past and future catalog. It features several releases on the label from the last few years and combines IDM, downtempo, ambient, video game music, and traditional music. There are also several cuts from two amazing albums that will be officially announcing soon: a reissue of The Detroit Escalator Company’s iconic Soundtrack [313] album, and the first-ever vinyl release of Peter Sleazy’s solo record as Threshold Boys House Choir, an album recorded after his partner John Balance’s tragic death and Coil’s demise.
Could you tell us a little bit about your background, perhaps where you grew up and what first got you interested in music?
I grew up in Paris in a multicultural background where in addition to the local French culture, Latinx, Middle Eastern, Indian and British elements were present. I also spent a while in the UK and in the US before returning to France about a decade ago. My Colombian grandmother who was a yoga teacher in her spare time and really into new age music would always play me some music to put me to sleep, those are my first musical memories. Moving to London as a teenager and discovering the city’s clubs and raves made me want to become a DJ and become more involved behind the scenes.
Can you tell us a bit about the label you run with your friend Olivier Ducret – Musique Pour La Danse…
Olivier created the label in 2015 as a sister imprint to Mental Groove and We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records, I joined him soon after. We are mostly a reisues label, we are interested in sharing with the world music from the past that is either out of print and hard to find, or forgotten, or for some reason not readily available on vinyl. We are very lucky to have a lot of freedom with what we do since we are not particularly tied to trends or hype – which is a real luxury.
What else can we look forward to seeing and hearing from the label in 2021?
If we don’t get hit by further delays, the Threshold Boys House Choir and Detroit Escalator Company LPs will be out before the end of the year, fingers crossed!
What would you say are some of your all-time favourite record labels?
That’s a tough one, as there are so many labels that inspire me. Depending on the time of the day and my mood the answer could be in no particular order Planet Dog, Tribal, Twisted, Real World, Warp, or all the Mego-related labels just to name a few!
What’s your preferred method for finding new music – do you still enjoy digging around in record shops or do you prefer to find music online?
Both! I could not give up either. Nothing beats digging around in record shops, but being able to find and purchase music online has been incredibly formative for me and a real lifesaver during the most boring moments of the recent lockdowns.
