Monday 25 October 2010

live and dj in Omsk


hello,

Just a quick note to say im very happy to be heading east this weekend for a DJ and maybe little live set in Omsk Russia

SATURDAY 30 - James Swayzak Live and DJ at ZANZIBAR _ OMSK RUSSIA

Come and say hello if you around that way


CHEERS
SWAY

Thursday 2 September 2010

hand printed editions 25 /100


i get my shit together and deliver to you (the fans) the first 25 (blue industrial) of these lovely hand printed swayzak vs greta cottage records . 180 grams of vinyl loveliness packed in lined paper sleeves , lovingly hand printed by yes me in my living quarters and not some kids in china !
in these days of austerity (well here in the uk anyway) , we are going back to the roots of the music , and something extra.....art - the first art i did since i was around 15 ! not that long ago :)

an enjoyable process so far , apart from the rsi it makes light of the linear digital files uploaded distributed and forgotten . this is art and music in one , though the music is art ,is the art music ? already top seller thru phonica records london . the music speaks for itself and the art - well make up your mind , and make it quick please !
originally a 300 copy record 200 for the dj stores and 100 for you ....

4 editions of 25 . so get the blue or next will be green / brown / black
buy all four if you wish ?
comes in a 450g polythene sleeve to protect the genius work .
cost £6.99 plus shipping
uk - £3.50
eu - 4.50
USA - £7.00
japan - £7.00
rest - £7.00
email me :thebrun@mac.com for customer satisfaction

next up will be fashion and there is a limited teeshirt to come . see photo !

Wednesday 9 June 2010

the long wait


well finally the records arrived - yesterday ,two months after original delivery date . and guess what ? they are fucked :( all of them .......makes you want to do a digital label - well no not really cos thats what all the others do ....but very frustrating all the same after so much work , but hey thats what makes it such a artform and one for people with taste (thats you)
seems like the job was rushed by the factory and they didnt clean the stampers properly , giving our beautifully recorded and mastered tracks - distortion and surface crackles which am afraid are unacceptable .

good news is the factory will do em again !!!!and will work full steam ahead to get our customers their new record asap . and of course with the world cup coming up , and england dreaming like they will win we all need a bit of cheer so we will sneak out the record .

on the plus side heres a wee bit of scottish wildlife .

Thursday 13 May 2010

crushed by the wheels of industry


i cant say i have been that busy but you cant say we havent put any effort into making a new record ! new swayzak / 240 volts / greta cottage workshop ep will have hand printed sleeves and i am working on the designs alll day today ......only got 350 to print , i reckon it will take around 3 hours (yeah ?) i did a test run and did 10 or so in about and hour but that was me faffing around and getting the idea of the process ! and if i have my able assistant handing me the paper sleeves (matt?) and not too many tea breaks .it should be done in a day or so i reckon . still we havent got the friggin vinyl , they said 3 weeks , that was a month ago . no wonder the music business is dying !
like a lost icon of the british empire , the sleeve comes in any colour you want as long as its brown , cos it looks rusty and cool! and the record is black as long as you dont mind 180gram fatness:)
if you would like to order one direct from us with love . contact us at swayzak hq .its a limited run of 350 and we sold 300 already !

Tuesday 11 May 2010

new greta cottage workshop - brun (swayzak) mix

getting some great feedback on this , it was the first remix i did in new studio space and the results of the studio are starting to come to frution ! some nice new music coming out on greta / 240 volts vinyl release too .....and a new swayzak ep on logistic is sounding killer . not often we say that about our work , we didnt always blow our own trumpet , and we didnt always make killer music, well not for a while ......now we got a nice production plan and doing a few remixes here and there . not sure we will ever make an album again but we will see . but i think we had enough of big record companies and their schemes .

its all about space and time , it comes at a premium these days, its also all about investing in good monitoring , and some crazy shit hot plug - ins from UAD .last year i bought old apple g5 quad core (fuck the intel infidel) adam a7 monitors , the UAD solo card , and running ableton 8 (not stable) all in all a good wee set up . the adams a7 although not top of the range they still cost more than my car . mind you my bike cost more than my car ! who needs a car anyway ? i like buses its a leveller of people and in london we all jump on the bus . i jumped on the bus once in LA and realised its not the same ........
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Thursday 22 April 2010

return of 240 volts



yes finally we got our shit together , and cut a new self funded (myself and matt at greta cottage workshop) self produced , self explanatory record ! mastered in deepest taunton, somerset, england, uk by john dent @ loud mastering ! a legend of the UK cutting scene for his work with island records back in the day and with the exchange , london (techno cutting specialists). john is a master and did us a big favour as vinyl is not a money maker for him either .......

sadly i had a cold all through the mastering cut (thats my excuse) and in the final mixes , after a heavy weekend in russia , so am slightly sweating on the final outcome and feedback and impending doom called record sales :)
its been a long and interesting journey and we have tried to embrace the digital age but really our heart is in music and not money so thats why we go back and cut a record ourselves . time was way back we could get the funds from a label or a distributor to do what we liked but those days are gone and i feel its a little bit of fun too !
hopefully we can satisfy the lovers of deep house , techno , minimal etc who are not digital djs and i know there are a few hardcore nutters left like myself ! those who choose to pirate we cannot stop and they are the ones who kill the music . but they cannot get the beauty of the product :
vinyl will be 180 gram (heavy) ,in protective sleeves , hand stamped labels and screenprinted artwork all done by you know who ! 350 copies is the aim and no digital release of these and i repeat none !
a side cut at 33 rpm - swayzak mix on 240 volts
aa cut at 45 rpm - bruns submariner mix on greta cottage workshop
this will be available in about a month from all good stores (not many left) , and through ourselves swayzak.com and greta cottage workshops site .......
hit us up if you need a upfront copy for the love of vinyl ! check here for the video and the sound of the swarf as the lathe cuts deep into the grooves .....amazing process that took around 5 hours to complete for two songs , so a pure artform .......