Experimental New Zealand Label MF/MP Share Debut Singles

Auckland-based experimental electronic label mf/mp have dropped their first wave of releases, a series of split singles titled sundrian editions featuring recordings by local artists Ducklingmonster, SL, William Henry Meung, blue&blacktones and Fuckault. Label head Sam Longmore (aka SL) describes mf/mp as “dedicated to producers of peripheral electronic music,” these initial recordings are available on 10” lathe-cut vinyl and can also be listened to below.

The label will be celebrating with a launch party on Wednesday 22nd November at Auckland creative space Strange Haven, and in Dunedin on Sunday 26th November at Toitu. Contributors Ducklingmonster and SL will also be performing at the upcoming Eeeow! Festival celebration of electronic sounds at the Audio Foundation. Have a listen to the debut outpourings from mf/mp, and read on for Longmore's thoughts on the genesis of the label...

"Early in 2016, I found myself in a place where (like lots of art school graduates) I had a strong desire to engage myself in a project, but wasn’t that keen on making “art”. Back then I had a bit of a thing in my craw about what constitutes proper motivation for engaging in any sort of practice. This was frustrating as I was also a bit miserable and in dire need of something to distract myself with.

Anyway, I felt strongly that whatever I did needed to have a point beyond ‘I just wanna publish some stuff’, because, well, why should anyone care about that? I was a little nervous about loosing money because my taste in music has always skewed to the peripheral, but I had been very inspired by the likes of K.C.B. who were able to establish a strong sense of community based on aesthetic commonality, where the collective energy was greater than the sum of its parts. A couple of years prior I had become very interested in lathe cuts as a medium, and was aware that they are a fairly affordable way of publishing music in small runs.

Limited edition split releases pairing niche artists from different places seemed to tick a lot of these boxes: the two artists are paired based on artistic common ground; their music, which may only have a small localised following, is heard by fans of their counterpart meaning 1) they reach a new audience, and, pragmatically, 2) there are twice as many potential buyers (though, still, not many!); and I got to feel like my desire to motivate myself wasn’t totally self indulgent!

It is an exciting project to be involved in, and I am very proud of the first run of records. The goal is longevity!"

Check out the abstract accompanying video for Ducklingmonster's track 'Passively is Unthinkable'...