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1. how long has ubiquity been
going for now?
It's 13 years since Mike and Jody McFadin opened the Groove
merchant record store and soon realised that a label would be a good
way to keep up with the demand for rare grooves. This was the birth
of LuvN'Haight, which soon gave way to Ubiquity, the mother label.
2. what, if any, is the label's
'mission'?
To stay in business! To continue to release the eclectic selection
of music that we like, regardless. And to have a laugh while we do it.
3. you seem to have an incredibly
prolific release schedule, with a lot of 12"s, why is this?
That's funny I was just thinking we don't have enough going
on! It's part necessity - we maybe distributed by over 26 companies
around the world, and one giant one in the USA, but we still run our
own warehouse, manage our own stock, sell direct, etc etc and this requires
a large team of people. We have about 9 people in the Newport Beach
office (and I'm up in Berkeley) doing everything from sales, to licensing,
to running an in-house promotion company, and our developing our new
merchandise line. So in a way we need the releases to keep coming to
keep everyone paid. We also like the constant flow of new tunes, that's
really what it's all about . . .
4. the label is highly regarded
in Europe, what is the perception of it in the US?
Thanks, that's nice to know, we're so far removed it's often
hard to judge. The USA is massive. There always have been pockets of
interest for the kind
of music we do, and I hope we're popular in those pockets. Recently
we've been working with more American acts (John Arnold, John Beltran,
Nobody, Greyboy, Platinum Pied Pipers), they're able to get around more
and have more localised reputations so hopefully that will help us even
more here.
5. what projects are you currently
working?
Currently the As One collection is out and about alongside new
12"s from John Beltran and Ayro, plus the Platinum Pied Pipers
single. Personally I'm overseeing the release of the John Arnold album
(watch out for a single featuring Amp Fiddler with Spacek and Iz mixes),
and a compilation called Bay Area Funk.
6. ubiquity was promoting jazz/latin/soul/funk
in old and new forms long before it became as fashionable as it is now
- are you happy with it's current popularity, and has this been reflected
in sales and profile of your artists?
Trends come and go, the good thing is that we're in this exciting
scene that moves on, developing new sounds, new flavors but always with
a nod of respect to the past. It's maybe a sign of our age when someone
like Egon at Stones Throw admits he was only 12 when we were first putting
out Luv N'Haight releases! But this just shows we're in a scene with
longevity. As for sales, they go up and down and we're doing OK right
now. I'd love a Top of The Pops hit though! The funk revival has been
great for Luv N'Haight and we've definitely seen those releases pick-up.
Ubiquity artist profiles will become more obvious as we drop repeat
albums from people like Greyboy, Nobody, P'taah, Beltran etc...
7. what future projects have
you got coming up?
New John Beltran album with some great guests, Platinum Pied
Pipers album ditto with Detroits finest on board, a Roy Davis Jr album
showcasing artists from Chicago and Detroit, Greyboys new album with
Sharon Jones and a slew of other guests, Rewind vol. III, an amazing
Brazilian reissue of an album by Arthur Verocai (think Jorge Ben meets
Charles Stepney), a Breakestra album, and a few artists that are about
to sign-up, urm, that should keep me busy for a bit!
8. your all time ubiquity top
ten releases?
Ubiquity 10 Essentials (in no order):
John Arnold - Neighborhood Science album
P'taah - The Crossing (Seiji mix)
Johnny Blas - Picadillo A Lo Blas (Carl Craig mix)
As One - 21st Century Soul album
Better Daze - Golden Brown
Nobody - Pacific Drift album
Greyboy - To Know You Is To Love You
Snowboy - Casa Forte (Joe Claussell mix)
Cuica - City To City album
John Beltran - Felicidad Nova
Luv N'Haight 5 Essentials
Black Renaissance - Black Renaissance
Don Cunningham - Tabu
Arthur Verocai - Presente Grego
Longineu Parsons - Funkin' Around
George Freeman - Frantic Diagnosis
CuBop 5 Essentials
Bobby Montez - Jungle Fantastique
Papo Vazquez - Baila Plena
Har You Percussion Group - Welcome To The Party
Franciso Aguabella - Desire
Pucho and The Latin Soul Brothers - Descarga On Las Palmas
9. other ubiquity related projects
ie. radio/club events/tours etc.
I host a weekly radio show in SF (The Friday Night Session 10-12midnight
on 90.3FM) with Tomas, editor of XLR8R magazine and DJ the Ubiquity
monthly event Family Affair with my man Vinnie from Dis-Joint records.
With a wide roster there's always something going on with one of the
acts - check the Ubiquity website (www.ubiquityrecords.com) under "events".
We're looking to do Nobody and John Arnold tours this Fall in connection
with their albums, a Bay Area Funk night as part of the SF Funk Fest
in October, and a Rewind tour in early '04. We've also gone full-force
into clothing and merchandise and are busy doing trade shows and finding
interesting designers to collaborate with.
10. the future's bright, the
future's ...?
Ubiquitous . . . happening . . . also available on wax . . .
now!
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