We recently spoke with Oddity head honcho, Fur Coat to talk all things about the Oddity record label imprint. Oddity have recently released a 3 track EP from Casper Cole which includes a Fur Coat remix. LISTEN HERE

Hi Sergio, nice to catch up with you, how are you doing today?

Hey, thanks for the invite, all great over here, in Barcelona, my hometown, at the moment during the week, while touring on the weekends, spending lots of time in the studio and planning everything around Oddity for the coming months. 

Let’s start by asking, how did the birth of Oddity Records originally happen and how long has the label been running?

Well, the label was founded in 2017, as I wanted a platform for my project Fur Coat, but also to sign upcoming and stablished artists that I was receiving unsigned music. This platform also gave me a way to express my ideas and vision for the music and artwork that I wanted to curate. It started with 4 releases in a year, at the beginning vinyl and digital, but during time I went fully digital and now the release schedule is 1 EP per month. 

Do you have any upcoming releases we can talk about that are planned in the pipeline?

Yes, there is a lot coming actually. I’m fully signed until early 2023. The new release is an EP by Casper Cole ft. Ed Begley on the vocals. I really liked the lead track, so I went and did a remix for this one. After that I have an EP by Armonica on November, and closing the year an EP by Recode. The rest you´ll have to wait a little for me to reveal the surprises I have coming for 2023.

Do you have any Oddity residents, if so, who are they?

There are no Oddity residents per se. It´s all a family that is building up year by year, and of course you’ll see regulars on the label that have more than on release like Coeus, Avidus, Lexer, Alfa Romero, 19:26, SOEL, Betical, Artche, Black Peters, Julian Wassermann to name a few. There is always a space for the artists I´ve worked with as well as new faces that I add to the crew, it´s just all about the right music. 

When receiving demos from artists, how long do you normally take to come back to the artists with an answer?

This is really relative, as I might be touring and can take me long time to digest the music, test it, or sometimes I’m during the week in my studio, and at the first plays I’m in love with the music. What I do realize is the music I sign I have to like it from day 1. I try to come back as fast as possible to everyone, but sometimes is impossible to give a detailed feedback, cause of the number of demos I have to go through plus the busy itinerary of the label and my personal one as an artist. If I know it’s not going to work for me, I prefer to be honest and don´t let people waiting for me to decide on music.  

If you don’t like the music that’s been sent, do you go back to the artists with any feedback?

At this point like I was telling you before, it´s literally impossible to take that time. I try to give the most answers I can even if it’s a yes or no, but can´t give detail feedback on what missing or why the tracks don´t fit my vision for Oddity. I try to listen as much as I can, and if the music really clicks no matter who you are, and especially if the tracks haven’t been played around or sent to other labels before (which is one of the requirements I ask for demos) you will definitely get my feedback as soon as possible. 

Do you tend to road test the tracks before signing them to the label?

Yes, it´s very important this side. That´s why sometimes it can take more time to finalize a deal. Although I have to be interested since the first listen, and I reach out to the artist that have sent me to give me a couple of weeks to test them out. I already recognize what can fit for the “Oddity” sound. It´s natural how I feel that the music will fit to the concept of my label. 

How would you describe the sound of Oddity to someone who hasn’t heard you before and would you say the sound has changed over the years?

It´s mostly melodic house and techno, with its own stamp. Oddity music sounds like something signed to Oddity. It can fit in the genre and into dj sets that play this sound, but I always try that artist express themselves as broad as possible on an EP. For example, if they add a break track that fits with the vibe I add it to the EP, as well as one main track combined with another deeper or darker one. It´s all about a balance and a canvas to show the full potential of each artist. 

How far ahead is your record labels release schedule looking like?

I´m ahead 5 to 6 months already planned. I try to slow down a bit on signings when I have a schedule like this, and tend to extend a bit more on the new music. Not only for the sake of the calendar, but I don’t want to make artist wait over 6 months to get their music released. I´m an artist too, so I understand both sides of the story. 

Do you have any events planned?

I have made a couple of showcases in club VAAG, and Watergate pre pandemic. This year was a bit more complicated as it was the first year fully open, with a lot of reschedules of the past years. So, the intention is for the near future to work on some showcases with the artists on board.

October 27, 2022