Something Happening Somewhere is turning three years young!
Founded by DJ and Producer Nuno Dos Santos, the label has seen an incredible rise so far, with 11 well received releases to be profoundly proud of; from Love over Entropy’s delicate music featured thrice, to the featured friends of the SOMEWHERE compilations.
Now, with 2016 in its final stretch, SoHaSo and Nuno Dos Santos are taking their 3 year celebration back to where it all started, Utrecht. With Midland, Polynation, Love over Entropy, Kiani & his Legion, Pieter Jansen, and Quentin Deronzier in tow, this label is poised to look directly into the future.
With that, we caught up with Nuno, who was also kind enough to provide an exclusive mix stacked with SoHaSo material, to discuss all things SoHaSo ahead of Saturday’s big soiree!
“I’m looking for music that speaks from the heart and is honest.”
What does SoHaSo add to the underground dance music spectrum?
I don’t really know. I just try to release timeless music. We put in a lot of work and time to make every release special. From the mixdown of the tracks to the final mastering at Alchemy to the relationships with the artists and creating the artwork. We are part of the ‘slow label movement’. We only released 11 ep’s in 3 years time. However, in 2017 we will try to release a bit more.
How is it different from/ similar to other labels coming from the Netherlands in your view? Does it have a global or a local scope, if any?
I don’t pay a lot of attention to what other labels are doing. I like labels that tell a story with their releases and put dedication in their work.
When did you first think about launching SoHaSo?
I was thinking about it for a while actually and then started the label when the time felt right.
When did SoHaSo actually launch? Was that a memorable moment?
Yes, it was a pretty exciting time! Over 3 years ago when I first heard the demos by Love over Entropy, I remember being blown away by his music and I knew it was going to be the first release on the label. I’ve know Michel (LoE) for a long time already, also from his previous releases under a different moniker. I then started to work on the release and connecting the dots. I’m a huge fan of Conforce’s alias Versalife and I wanted a remixer that I knew would turn the original into something completely different, and he did. I then contacted Jonne from the design collective Dietwee and they came up with the concept of the artwork. After I collected a few releases, I actually drove to Cologne to meet with Michael Mayer from Kompakt. After they heard the first three releases, they were very excited and so it happened that Kompakt is now responsible for the distribution of our label. A couple of months before the first release we actually did our first label night in Utrecht already, which turned out great and build the momentum to the first release.
Story behind the SoHaSo name?
An evening with some good red wine and two close friends, looking trough some pictures. There was a picture that said Something Happening Somewhere that didn’t resonate with me immediately, but grew on me over time. It already has this mystical vibe and it leaves a lot open for the imagination which really spoke to me.
What was the most difficult aspect of launching the label?
Getting myself acquainted with all the backside stuff, the distribution and administration etc. Luckily the guys from Kompakt helped me out a lot when we started out, and gave me a lot of tips about running a label. Nowadays you also have to plan ahead quite a lot, since the vinyl pressing times are pretty insane nowadays due to the regained interest in the medium.
What qualities do you look for in a SoHaSo artist?
I’m looking for music that speaks from the heart and is honest. I get so many copies of existing music; why would I release that? Surprise me! I also believe in having a personal connection with an artist. I received some pretty cool demo’s but didn’t feel the vibe of the person to work with. It is a really important part because you are both starting a relationship at the point you decide to put out a release. Some of the people I’ve released music of became good friends over time.
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