Label of the Month: Freak n'Chic

The first of our new series sees us profile seven year old French imprint, Freak n’Chic, and talk to the man behind it all, Dan Ghenacia.

We say: Since its inception in 2003, Freak n'Chic has almost singularly flown the flag for quality underground music in Paris. Whilst the late naughties saw Pedro Winter's Ed Banger stable briefly take over the world with their ADHD fluro-rave from the same city, Dan Ghenacia's label has pretty much been the stark opposite. Joining the dots between subtle minimal melodies and the deeper sides of house music, the focus has always been on freak-out, after-party vibes.

Now on its 50th 12inch release - no mean feat, to be sure - the label has made stars of producers like Shonky, Dyed Soundorom, Mayam Nidaam and Anthony Collins. The boss's parties at Batofar - a floating club docked in Paris - are stuff of legend, whilst the label's place at the very heart of Ibiza's most infamous club, DC: 10 during its boom years have also helped propel the label into the big time.

The label is certainly a family affair, heavily championing French artists in their early days, and it seems to have paid off. "I recently realised that I haven't asked for any retouches for a very long time. It seems that the guys know what they are doing."

We, for one, are inclined to agree...

They say: "The start of Freak n'Chic was very simple: I just wanted to have a label for me and my friends to release our music quickly" Dan Ghenacia tells us.

"The name comes from my parties at Batofar in 2004. Everything started there. The sound of Freak n'Chic was born in that club on Sunday mornings: it was very deep and very intense.

The early musical inspirations for the label came from San Francisco and some European labels like Music for Freaks, Classic or Playhouse. Also, a little bit of electro which was mainly influenced by Ivan Smagghe who was playing at a lot of my parties.

"Those influences are still the same for the house side of things, especially during the last the last 2 years when house sounds are totally back at our nights and in my own DJ sets. The electro part is not around anymore. But this can come back suddenly – you never know. Music goes so fast at the moment. As long as its quality I am happy.



"Our main goal is to bring the sound of the afterhours from very early in the evening till the end of the party. Before I decide to release a label it has to fit in my DJ set - I love to jump from one style to the other and it’s the same with the releases on Freak n Chic.

"After 5 years working together, Freak n' Chic is a team label; we’ve known each other many years and have a lot of common taste, but equally we have all our own, and strong, personalities. This, in turn, makes the label’s identity and with each artist releasing two records a year, it helps to keep the sounds consistent.

"Freak n'Chic is a family thing: we were all living in the same area in Paris and we play together at the same parties. That’s why we release a lot of French artists. Now we’re spread around more… Tolga Fidan, Dyed Soundorom and Shonky (who I first met because they were always coming to my afterparty at Batofar 10 years ago, following me everywhere I played in Paris) are living in Berlin and are very close to Maayan Nidam who is Israeli, whilst Terry, Djebali, Anthony Collins and Seuil are still around for the moment.

"Freak n'Chic is not only my baby; it's also the baby of the artists of the label. I almost never make a decision on my own. If I have a doubt on something I will call Shonky or Dyed, and actually i call them a lot, to get their input.

"Now I am back with the label at Batofar, but only every Thursday for the summer. We wanted to do something very different to the old vibe of the afterhours. The party starts at 7pm on the terrace of the boat. People have a drink; some dinner. It’s really nice around midnight - we all go to the boat to dance ‘til 7 in the morning. It’s a 12 hour party but it really doesn’t feel like it. It's always a very nice time and this year we will have guests like Nina Kravitz, Carsten Klemann, Wareika Live, Kubicle from London with the all crew and Lee Jones, Ryan Crosson Live, Ivan Smagghe and of course all the DJs form the label."

Proudest moment: "It was the Freak n'Chic at Panoramabar - all the crew was playing as we were invited by our friends from Highgrade. We did a 27 hours party absolutly amazing!"

Find them: Catch Jamie Jones and Seuil playing at The Ferry, Glasgow for Tic Tac Toe on August 14th, or get a slice of Dan Ghenacia, Shonky, Dyed Soundorom and more at Boulevard Culture Club during Sonar on June 17th

myspace.com/freaknchic
freaknchic.net

Listen to: Handily, this month sees the release of Freakest Hits - a retrospective collection of the label's finest moments, with contributions from Shonky, Seuil, Dyed Soundorom and Anthony Collins all useful additions to any wised-up DJ's record bag.

Or you could check the label's 50th release from newcomer Djebali, 'Sorry I Missed the Sky' out now.

Alternatively, for a petites hors d'oeuvre, try these...