Bare Bones Waxcast 009 – Al Bradley
For Waxcast number 9 (at the bottom of the page), we welcome 3AM head honcho, Al Bradley. Based in Leeds, Al can be regularly be found behind the decks at 212 and Distrikt purveying his deep grooves. We caught up with the former Bugged Out resident to ask him about the mix and what else he’s been up to.
What have you been up to recently?
Waiting patiently for my album to be pressed, haha! Although not as long as you guys have been waiting, by the sounds of things. Otherwise, I started the New Year in nice style, playing before Maurice Fulton at Distrikt on New Year’s Day, and then did another long vinyl set at 212 on the 8th of January. I’ve got a couple of weekends chilling, then I’m back at 212 on the 29th of January, sharing the decks on that night with Matt (& possibly Jamie) from Enclave Records.
Thanks for doing the Waxcast, it’s wicked. Where and how was the mix was recorded?
Just at home with two decks & a 20-year-old Vestax mixer. Nothing flashy going on here, haha. I sorted what I wanted to play and got on with it, so any slight adjustments/fades are left in, as I quite like it to have that ‘human’ sound.
Can you tell us the idea behind the mix and the vibe you wanted to go for?
Yep, I was going to do a ‘2021 vinyl’ mix with all the stuff I bought that was released last year, but realised it’d be about a five-hours long. So, I changed my mind and decided I’d do a little ‘nod to the 212 in Leeds, where I play often. I have been doing it since it opened back in 2014. I’ve always played fairly deep stuff in there, and as I do (and love doing) warm-up sets. There are a number of 12″s that have been firm “212 tracks” for me over the years. Added to that, the year or so before the first lockdown, and since the bar has been open again, I’ve played a lot of seven-hour vinyl sets there, particularly last year. Even a couple of nine-hour ones, but as it’s not a ‘club’, but a ‘bar with an emphasis on vinyl’, you have to really be mindful not to go too mad. It’s great for me, as essentially, I’m playing a seven-hour warm-up set, every time I play there. So, this mix is intended to reflect that; it’s a sort of truncated version of what I’d play there, where it never kicks off too much. The idea is to keep it steady & deep, but with different styles of house within the overall vibe. Think deep, hypnotic, some organic stuff, hints of minimal, but not the same thing throughout. Hopefully, the mix showcases what I intended it to do, and the guys at the bar will approve (hopefully!).
The other thing I wanted to mention is the mix is also is topped and tailed with tracks by Charles Webster (aside from the beatless intro/outro). His music has always been an influence on me since the 90s, and I think I’ve played something of his, most sets, particularly in the last few years while playing longer. So that’s a nod to Mr Webster right there!
Your wicked 3AM label is approaching its 20th anniversary next year, do you have any plans to release new music on the label?
Yeah, 20 years in 2023, that’s completely insane to me. I can’t really believe it if I’m honest! Anyway, yep, the next three releases are already sorted, so that’s my album “Little Treasures”, which I’m hoping will be out around March. There will be a launch party at Distrikt here in Leeds, I’ve just got to try and nail that down.
Then I’m putting one of the EPs which only came out digitally back in 2012 onto vinyl, as I’ve always wanted to do that and it now feels like the right time. The EP is timeless in my opinion, it’s called “The Retweak EP” from Makka & Howard Sessions. I’ve also done a remix for it. When I signed it originally the label was only putting out digital releases, but I felt it could have been released on Paper, Toko, Guidance kind of labels. These really influenced 3AM when it launched. This stayed with me, and I can’t wait for that to be on 12″, hopefully around October.
Then it’s a release with my brother-down-under Carlo Gambino. An original track from each of us, with a remix of each other’s track too. That should be out around February to March 2023. Then there is the 3AM 20th Anniversary release, which I am aiming to sort for June 2023 as a double-pack. This will be featuring some of the key artists on the label. I could have just gone for some huge names who aren’t linked to 3AM, but that would go against the ethos of the label really, so I’m sticking with some of the artists who’ve been with the label for some time & that feels much more important to me.
I think the first thing I bought on your label was Sound Navigators “I am funky” back in 2005, and I absolutely hammered the Ben Dean remix. Your label has quite a back catalogue with some excellent artists, do you have a favourite release?
As I mentioned, the Makka & Howard Sessions release has always been a firm favourite, as has the LHK and Alex Moran “By Way of B (Dub Mix 1)” a track from TAM002. I guess one of the most rewarding is TAM088, which was when I moved the label back to vinyl-only. I wanted to use artists who’d been with me on 3AM, not just obvious ‘names’, so I got told by a few distributors that it’d never sell. So, when it did come out and was up in the Juno Top 5 that was a nice little moment, knowing how many people will have seen that. Plus, as daft as this may sound, the lead track on that 12″, which was my first ever thing on vinyl called “Kindergesicht”, really had me getting all emotional when I got the test pressings and the first kick came through the speakers! I never thought I’d get 3AM back onto vinyl, after losing a ton of money in the initial vinyl crash in the late 00s. For my debut vinyl track to be on my own label, relaunched on vinyl, it was a very special moment. I did shed a tear haha.
It was good to see the label going back to its roots and releasing on vinyl again in recent years. How are you finding the vinyl sales at the moment compared to digital?
Well, that was the reason I did it. I’d done digital-only for a while after losing the money through distributor collapses, but after initially doing okay, the more releases that were appearing on the platforms just increased at a ridiculous rate. I felt that, while I was releasing some great music, it was simply getting lost in among the thousands of releases coming out on a weekly basis. I spent some of my own cash on remixes from some really well respected artists, and a lot of those got lost too, meaning I lost more cash! I’d started to DJ back on almost exclusively vinyl around 2014, so I think my mindset was moving back to that and it just all tied in together. I’ve no issue with digital at all, but personally, I started buying vinyl in the 80s, started DJing in the early 90s and the label was originally vinyl. I feel the music I put out on 3AM including much of the digital releases are more suited to vinyl, and appreciated more by people who buy and play it, so it’s in a much better place. I’m not worried about making piles of cash, as long as the release sells and provides enough for the next release, with a bit on top where possible, then it’s all good with me.
You also have quite a back catalogue of releases and remixes you’ve produced. You mentioned you are about to release an album, what can we expect?
That’s correct, it’s due around March I hope. It’s mainly brand new tracks, covering dubby stuff, some late-80s/early-90s inspired house and deeper club sounds. A couple of bits came out digitally for other labels, but are now coming out on vinyl for the first time. I’m really proud of it. I sorted all the artwork for it too, so it really has been a ‘hands on’ thing for me. The cover has my old dog, Jeff on haha. He was with me from being a puppy and there through the label’s ups, downs and backups again until he died at the end of 2019. He knew what was coming the following Spring, that’s my guess! He also used to come to gigs with me, especially some of the ones at 212 where I’d play in the afternoon or early evening. He’d be there in the booth with me, or wandering about being all chilled with the customers so I felt it was only right to get him on the sleeve! He was a bit of a legend around Leeds to be fair, he’d been in the vast majority of the places I played at!
Finally, what are your plans for 2022?
I guess to try and keep the release schedule as planned, pressing plant-dependent! Plus I’ve been looking at getting a new label started called Dragon Parade, as that’s the name of the road I live on and it sounds kind of cool. I have the first few bits sorted and I’m just waiting for some very smart remixers to do their thing on the opening releases. I hope to have that up and running sometime this year.
Also, I’m now with an agency called Fort, so as it seems things are finally moving back to relative normality in respect of playing at clubs, in England at least. We’re going to be looking at trying to get some more dates around the UK and beyond where the venues are vinyl-focused. We can then get showcasing what brilliant music there is coming out on the format at the moment. It’s been too long really; I think this year a lot of the people turning 18 or 19 will really want to get out and let their hair down. My step-daughter will be 18 this year and for her and her friends, they missed out on so much, especially during the first lockdown and again for a long period of last year. For those guys, perhaps they’ll have a bit like the “Summer of Love” I had when I was that age with acid house! Here’s hoping….
Bare Bones Waxcast 9 – Al Bradley (3am Recordings) 212 Leeds Vinyl Favourites Mix Track List:
George Earnesrt – Storm [Pear]
Charles Webster feat. Ingrid Chavez – The Spell (Charles Webster Dub) [Dimensions Recordings]
1977 – Mondat [For Those Who Know]
Ciudad Feliz – Positive Vibrations [Silver Network]
Al Bradley – Inner Harmony [Call & Response]
Moody Waters – Hindsight [We’re Going Deep]
Chaos In The CBD – Mahia Madness [In Dust We Trust] *****
Pete Moss – Connective [Ovum Recordings]
Al Bradley – The Golden Ratio [3am Recordings]
Lattice – Body Of Water [Air Miles]
New Phunk Theory – Slope #2 [Forensic Records]
Moodymanc – Black Paint (Larry Heard’s After Dark Mix) [Tsuba]
A Sagittariun – Proof [Innate]
Ion Ludwig – Ten Canoes (2008 Mix) [Eklo]
Dudley Strangeways – Harvest [Chord Records]
Souledge – Golden Nugget [Pagan Records]
Filipe Gordon – Momma, It’s A Long Journey [Shall Not Fade]
Christian Jay – Liston 2 [Kommuna Tapes]
Jimpster – Sanguine [Freerange Records]
Edmonson – Took [Lissons]
Pete Dafeet – Baltimore (Charles Webster Mix 3) [Lost My Dog]
Jimi Hendrix – And The Gods Made Love [Reprise Records]