Flashpoint records burning brightly Posted by Greg Lynn on Apr 3, 2007 - 11:46:25 AM

A penny for your thoughts………what label sums up an underground life style with excellent music, great people and an awesome clothing range…….don’t know? Well how about Flashpoint Records!

Out of all the vital cogs that tick away in the music business, one of the most important has to be the record label. It’s often an area where many fail; not coming up with the goods, or only staying a float for a couple of years. But Flashpoint have managed to stand the test of time, being born back in 2003.

The brains behind it were first off Marc Johnson who had been hooked on dance music since age 18, when he got acquainted to the sound at the Lazerdrome in Peckham. It wasn’t long before he realized the amount of power that a DJ could have by being able to bring together thousands of people and have them merrily dancing to the same beat at a rave. He decided that he wanted a slice of the pie and brought himself a pair of decks.

After becoming a successful DJ progressing through Hardcore, he then turned his attention to Hard House. A chance meeting with Billy Daniel Bunter kicked off a chain of events that began his production career, having numerous releases signed to many of the leading labels. Marc also became the A&R man for Tripoli Trax, but he then decided that things could be taken one step further starting up his own label – Flashpoint.

His partner in the venture was to be his good friend DJ Jupe, who hailed from San Diego in California. He got his first break playing at the final of the first annual Super DJ spin off at the RA club inside the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas. With him being intensely focused on his future DJing success, it wasn’t long before he crossed over the Atlantic to play in London, Oxford and Leicester, whilst gaining residencies in LA clubs. By the end of 2002, he was one of the few DJ’s that had joined the international circuit and by the following year, he began his production career with having 5 tracks signed by the end of 2003.

Flashpoint were conceived when Jupe and Marc came together to produce ‘The Real Deal’ which got to be a huge summer anthem. Being adventurous sorts, they launched the label when at the time the vinyl market was controlled by large labels and distribution companies. They did their own distribution and took the ethos of having the best quality music possible. Success came quickly and the international dance music presse’s ears soon picked up and gave the label a hefty amount of support.

Just three years later, Flashpoint records had grown into being one of the most respected Hard House labels on the planet, whilst also paving the way for new independent labels to spring up. For some time the digital revolution had been creeping up and whilst many were skeptical, Marc and Jupe embraced the advance and launched the labels digital arm, being the first Hard House label to do so. It grew into an industry leader, proving the labels innovative edge, with their releases being some of the top sellers on Tidy Digital.com.

Throughout recent years Flashpoint released tracks have regularly featured on Hard Dance compilation CD’s. Last year they took the step of releasing their own compilation showcasing the best of past hits, plus the big anthems to come. It had tracks on there by the likes of Nick Sentience, Justin Bourne, Dynamic Intervention, Paul Glazby, OD404, plus others. How did the comp g down on the UK market? .........well a bit like throwing a gallon of petrol over your lit barbecue!! The industrial strength Vol 1 set a benchmark and a great follow up is planned.

Flashpoint have constantly managed to meet clubbers and the record buying publics changing demands – being one of the few labels to achieve this, the whole time Marc and Jupe improving standards.

Marc and Jupe have begun this year firing on all cylinders, indeed it looks like 2007 could be their biggest year yet with vinyl releases to come like ‘Step Forward’, ‘Universal Doubt’ and ‘Doktails’ A whole plethora of tracks are to be released digitally such as ‘It Never Ends ‘Motion Picture’ and ‘Caterpillar’

It doesn’t just stop there! Flashpoint have now brought out their own clothing range with their trademark of being innovative, original and pushing boundaries showing up once again with the distinctive, fluorescent coloured spiked ball showing on the front of the t-shirts.

Their website has also undergone a major revamp, having the inclusion of a forum. It went officially live on the 1^st March and the first 100 members were to receive an exclusive mix, featuring their best tracks.

With so much going on in the world of Flash Point Records, we thought it would be an idea to catch up with them……..

                                                    Marc Johnson

Marc, for the past 3 years Flashpoint have enjoyed a reputation as being one of the most innovative and original labels, supplying cutting edge music. How else would you describe it?

Erm not sure about Innovative, we make no secret that we like a certain sound so will pump as much of it out regardless of if it’s cool or not,   It’s good quality, energetic music I’d say.

The style of Hard Dance the label has is a very distinctive one; can you sum it up for us?

It’s basically fist waving music hehe

A whole host of top name artists have been signed to your selves. With so many artists clamoring to get on your books, how do you decide who to take on?

We’ll sign anyone so long as we both like the tracks, there’s no real criteria, it doesn’t’ matter if the producer is mr popular or in some cases mr un popular, if the tracks to our taste then we’ll make every effort to sign it, big or small name, doesn’t really matter.

You’ve got several vinyl releases to be released soon; what can we expect to hear from those?

There’s a lot of amazing tracks coming up IMO, because of the album we’ve got the next 6 or 7 releases in the bag which we’ve been keeping under wraps. The releases will feature Defective Audio (3 times) Frank Farrell(twice), Dynamic Intervention, Ben Stevens, Dave Owens and Riggsy so there’s some quality tackle up coming, we’ve held them all down so when the cd comes out it’ll look quite fresh.

The digital side of things is thundering along even more and you’ve got about 15 tracks soon to be released. How do you reckon they are going to go down?

The tracks are proving popular, we don’t get it right every time because there’s less risk involved but 9 times out of 10 they seem to grab peoples attention.

Madison Groove has been as popular as any of the vinyl releases, we’ve got a few from Tom Parr who is looking like he’s gonna do some good things next year so the standard is good and reckon they’ll go down well.

Last year, you released the compilation CD ‘Industrial Strength’ and word around the Hard Dance camp fire is you’ve got a follow up coming soon. How is that all coming together? And when is it due out?

It’s coming along great thanks; it’s been a lot of hard work because we’re only featuring tracks from the label so I’ve been very busy in the last 4 months getting enough tracks done with various people so the album looks fresh and exciting.

 I’m going up to Dynamic Interventions tomorrow to do the last track and then we’ll mix it next week sometime, I’ve got another 3 discs to mix for another comp next week so my neighbors will be throwing bricks through my window no doubt haha

You are also the promoter of the underground night Insekt, holding regular parties at the Fridge in South London, where you cater for a specialised market. What do you try and deliver at those events?

I’m lucky that James and Chris who are my partners are like minded; we aim to create something more then just your average club night. We always book the DJ’s that are contributing towards the up keep of the scene by creating the music so you will always see the most in demand producer DJs.

A lot of effort is spent on creating a visual experience so you know that when you turn up it won’t be like you are going to a venue where the promoters have just turned up, turned the lights on and started playing records, we want people to go home at 6 thinking “wow”

The great CD vs. Vinyl debate rages on; and Flashpoint have played a key role in keeping quality vinyl alive; whilst also having a very successful digital outlet. How did you manage to achieve such a good balance?

Like I said before we only take on tracks that we like, there’s a bit more scope with the digital tracks because there’s no risk involved but we still wouldn’t take something on unless we were happy to do so.

For me the Vinyl side of it will always be the main one, I’ve had releases on both and having a digital release is not the same as having a hard copy you can give to your mum.

                                                       DJ   Jupe

Jupe, you’ve been with Flashpoint since day one. Over the past three and a half years, what has it been like seeing it all blossom into what they are today?

It has been a very interesting ride to say the least.   Marc and I started back then not really knowing anything about running a label.   However having good tracks floated us while we learned the business and almost 4 years on we feel like we have one of the best labels in the business with a killer line up for the rest of 2007!

When you first started up the label, what kind of job was it like to get everything up and running and let the world know that Flashpoint Records had arrived and they meant business!?

It was a challenge because when people don’t know you they aren’t that interested, luckily again it came down to the music and since we had good tracks we got good reviews and we really hit the ground running!   Marketing is very important but we have been lucky because records speak (no pun intended) for themselves!!

Your first clothing range is all about quality and you’ve even got the T-shirts in women’s’ sizes! What kind of feedback have you had about it so far?

Feedback has been positive so far and we haven’t even launched the clothing line fully yet.   We are going to have a full line shortly – I am working with my cousin who is a very talented graphic designer/artist and I am really excited with this new limb that Flash Point is growing!   As far as quality we have stayed true to quality from day one with Flash Point so it’s not going to change with the clothing!!

With the clothing range that has now been released, on the back of the T-shirts, you’ve got the image of a DJ behind the decks, then with the words “A hero was born”, who came up with that eye catching idea?

Without sounding like an ass I had the idea and so I worked with my cousin on getting the right design…the words have a few meanings…one about how this new clothing line is born!

What else can we expect to come out of that venture? How can we get hold of one of your t-shirts? And what very reasonable price are you offering?

I am always having ideas on designs and that partnered up with my cousin’s design talents we have a lot of ideas in the pipeline but nothing I can show right now.   The initial Hero design is only £15 and is available in a few styles.

There has been a lot of work that has gone into your new website. What other great features has it got on it and how pleased were the first 100 hundred members with their exclusive CD’s?

The website is something that Marc and I agreed on last summer and we worked with a very talented web designer I know in Cape Town, S. Africa…and the website you see online it the nearly-finished product.   We will be adding a news/features page and some other cool stuff!   Feedback on the exclusive mix was all very good and let’s face it – with MJ mixing it there’s not going to be many complaints, except for your granny maybe!

Hard House in the UK has seen many changes over the years from the classic sound of Trade, to the Hoovers and siren noises, then into dark Techno influenced territory. Where do you think it’s going to end up next?

Man that is a tough question – running the label however we kinda get to see a little of the future because we have pretty much the rest of the year already figured out as far as releases go.   I see hard house getting more creative again though which is promising and makes it more exciting which is what I think it lost for a while.

Flashpoints 4th birthday party is going to be celebrated in style at the fabulous Emporium on the 7^th July. What plans are busy being cooked up for that?

It’s a little hush hush right now but I am really looking forward to that one – we decided that we should start celebrating our birthdays and for a hard house label these days birthdays demand a little respect!   Emporium is a wicked venue and we are both super happy to be celebrating there!   The line up is going to be quality of course so again stay tuned for more info!!

©Greg Lynn 2007

Feature by Greg Lynn