____ ___ ___ __________ ___ ___ _________ | | | | | | | ________|| -_ _- | |_______ | | | | | | | \ \_______ | _ --- _ | ______/ / | | | | | | | _______|| | -_ _- | | |______ | | |/ ___ \| | / /_______ | | | | | | ______\ \ |______- -_____| |__________||_| |_| |_| |_________| WEME Records is a cool label from Brussels Belgium releasing many of our favorite artists like Ceephax Acid Crew, Global Goon, DJ Stingray (including my all time faveorite AQUATEAM II) an many many more!!! ___ / \ |= = =| | ___ _-\___/-_ ___ _/ \_ / \_- | | -/ \ . / \ __ __ |= = =| _| |_ |= = =| | | ||||||| | | | | \___/ / \ \___/ | | |______ | | | | | \ / \ / | |___| |_____| |_| |__ _\ | = = = = | /_ _____| | | __________ --__ /_ \ / _\ . . __ | |__________| \__/ \_____/ \__/ / \ / \ /\ |__________| / -_ || _- \ /\ / \ |__________| . . . /X| -_ / \_- |X\ ____ | || | |__________| /X/ |= =| \X\ / \____________/\/\____/\____| . . /XX| \__/ |XX\ . . . . . . . . . . . . . \__|____ /XX| |XX\ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \ An interview with WEME Record's creator Frederic Mergam, by our special reporter BoeufStroganoff. If you happen to hang out in some pubs in Brussels on a dark winter night, there is a great chance that you will hear the locals pronounce these super simple sounds: "Oueeeeeeeaiiiis mais ...[add here whatever sentence]" The first "ouais" should be a long sounds while the second "mais" should be much shorter. Like in some weird forgotten tonal languages from South East Asia, the tone and length of these two sounds are carefully chosen to vary the meaning they convey. Sometimes used to interrupt someone, sometimes used to emphasize a sentence, sometimes use to signify sarcasm,... And you can also invert that simple sequence and say "Mais Oueeeeeeeaiiiis" which further multiplies the amount of meanings you want to express. It's a delicate art that only the francophone-inclined Belgians can master. Use it with French people and they will give you a circumspect glance, while totally missing the precise message being broadcast. The refined art of beer-induced conversations with strangers and the mastery of tonal and guttural technicalities are required to enjoy full-duplex communication between Belgians (and show-off your fascinating sense of humor). If you do master it, you will make new friends in that bizarre city, although there is pretty good chance you won't remember anything the next day. So why talking about this? Well because it is the beginning of an explanation to understand what WEME records is all about. The Year is 2004 and, after a first iteration as MéWé records ("Mais Oueeeeeeeaiiiis") with one of his pal the year before, Frederic Mergam went solo and created WEME records (Oueeeeeeeaiiiis Mais). This name-inversion rebirth added another episode in the saga of cool, yet not-so-numerous fine quality Belgian underground record labels. WeMe, if you will, is the perfect antidote to the horrors of another Belgian creation : Tomorrowland and its hordes of lobotomized so-called EDM artists. Back then, Fred released WEME001, some quality fast-paced jungle by an artist called Zorg. That first LP was fresh indeed and got critically acclaimed by the gods of the underground. This success allowed Fred to slam the doors wide open for what was next in the pipeline and now, after almost 15 years, WEME established itself as a tasteful provider of fine electronic music with releases by EOD/CN, DJ Stingray, MNLTH, Ceephax, Cylob, Global Goon, and the likes. Fred also released some more personal and ambitious projects, like scores by Ennio Morricone or unheard music by the late eclectic french composer Francois de Roubaix. - Fred, Would you say that WEME's brain has two competing hemispheres, one focused on releasing new quality electronic music and the other one dedicated to great music from previous times ? I never asked myself that question... Music has no predefined place in time. A genre is defined in relation to other genres, whether new or old (and they have a meaning in the history of humanity). All genres and style have their place in the history of music anyway, good or bad. It is obvious that I have preferences for some, especially in the context of productions for my label, which has a coherent editorial line. I listen to a lot of music of different styles and mainly via radio. If I ended up stranded in the production of so-called "electronic music", perhaps it is because it is easier for me to communicate with one person rather than a group ;-) But it is mainly my state-of mind and my moods that dictate my choices at any particular moment. - Looking at your releases, two main connections rise above the rest in importance : The British one and the Detroit one. Has it happened randomly because of personal connections or is it something you wanted, worked for, and made it happened ? I spoke of "communication with the artist". I think that the choice to work mainly with anglophones come from my childhood and those dreams and impressions that I had when I heard speak or sing in English. It seemed like a language from another planet that I did not really understand. My parents listened to French songs, and the English- speaking world allowed me to escape from a dark daily life. Because I didn't understand it I could only imagine and create stories. It's the same feeling that I have with electronic music or movie scores : since there are no or very few lyrics, I feel more free to build a screenplay in my mind, but now in a much more positive surrounding. - So What about the Belgian scene ? Any news from Cedric Stevens aka Acid Kirk ? I know very little about the current Belgian scene. It may be related to my overloaded schedule (I have a full time job and two children)! What may seem strange is that I did not even really know the scene at the moment of its splendor in the 1990s ... I've always been curious about so many things, so I never focus 100% on one topic. I get quickly tired of things, and I like to explore several spaces. The Belgian scene has surely been, is, or will be, essential in history, but my Belgian non-chauvinistic side does not allow me to give it great importance. And it's much better like that. Ced Acid Kirk is doing well, at least according to the latest news ... His life is as much of an artwork as his records. These records are just a trace of his path, like in the Little Thumb fairy tale. Bread crumbs that he drops continuously to find his way around... We swore to work again together: he was one of the main reason for the birth of WeMe. - I believe you released some of your own stuff under the name "Fuck Uphner", is this a project you want to push further ? and who is that Uphner ? some crazy psycho ex of yours ? Fuck Uphner is just a name I use for publishing my own tracks, but I have not been composing music for a long time. Let's say that my label is the follow-up result of these compositions. WeMe is my artistic field now... I could have called it Fuck Uphner Records. During my studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, there was this teacher of French language called "Uffner." Because of its strictness, the students began to tag "Fuck Uffner" on the benches. I always laughed at it. I didn't like the double "f" so I changed it to "ph". Later I was selected in a demo contest to do a live show, and I did not have a name at the time, so "Fuck Uphner" became an obvious pick. - You recently released a compilation of remixes by the revered Heinrich Muller (Gerald Donald) in collaboration with the Drexciyan Reseach Lab blog. Can you tell us a bit more about how it happened ? This compilation had to exist. Heinrich Muller has always had a very personal approach to remixes, which goes far beyond a simple reinterpretation... My challenge was to take a step back in the choice and order of the tracks. I'm not the blog follower type, it bores me too quickly, except for "Drexciyan Reseach Lab " : I think his content is always on point. It became clear that I had to ask him to help me for this project, which he accepted. - You've mentioned being a perfectionist and taking time to do things. Can you elaborate ? I produce records, and it has a cost: I have to sell them at a certain price. When I sell a record to someone, that person invest financially in my product. I am aware that money is important in our society and this exchange is not without consequences. As I respect my clients and the fans of the label, I have to be a perfectionist both in my choices, and throughout the production process, which can take some extended amount of time. As said earlier, I do not make a living out of the label, and I must constantly hit the bullseye for what I choose to do, for the survival of the label, but also for my own satisfaction and that of those who follow my projects. I am hyper sensitive to the reception of each project, to feedback I get on my artistic choices and on production quality. I'm always listening. - How is your relationship with artists you sign ? is there any artist/ project that you wanted to work on, but turned out too toxic for your taste ? It has always been a relationship of mutual trust with each other's expectations.The artists give me the best of their soul and in exchange I do everything to produce a release worthy of their effort. It's a duet job: I would not exist if they did not exist, it's fundamental. This proximity creates very strong bonds of friendship, and we remain in contact even if there is no current project, as with James Leyland Kirby for example. There are projects that are either suspended, or that will never succeed. This is due to the impact that life can have in some cases. My thoughts are with Jodey Kendrick and Dave MNLTH, or Acid Kirk. But I have never stopped a project in progress for other reasons. - What's the deal with the deification of assholes DJ like Aoki, Tiesto and that maus ? is there really no way that more people would listen to better music ? what do you think: is music taste in general a matter of guts, marketing, education ? (if it is the latter, maybe we should be very afraid of the state of the world...) I do not really have an opinion on the question, the world always has a certain balance between different things... And that gives me the opportunity to continue. I'm not fundamentally convinced that what I do is better than what others do, that's not what drives me. I have two children, I do not educate them against a system... but within a system that is constantly mutating. - you have collaborated with other labels like Portland based Wil-Ru for a CN/EOD album for example. Can you tell us a bit more about how this came to be ? If there is one thing I am convinced of, it is that randomness does not exist! Wil-Ru and WeMe could only work together. Eric Adrian Lee, who is one of the two bosses of the label, is a wonderful guy. We have the same passion for film soundtracks, the design of film poster, and covers for film scores. And also the same appeal for Stian's work and sensitivity (EOD / CN). Besides, Eric is very talented, he produces a lot of covers for several different labels (like Death Waltz Recording, have a look here http://ericadrianleedesign.tumblr.com ) It is always a huge pleasure to work with him, we are in sync to trip together. Perfect calibration. - Do people still send loads of demo these days ? Much less than at the beginning of the label, maybe people think that I am too selective ... It is true that I never answer to say if it is good or not, or to direct them towards what they should do. If I knew what the magic formula was, I would have used it for my own productions for a long time ... - Good tracks have this thing about them, like, not too generous, keeping you kinda tense and eager to listen to what's next, and there is this magical moment when you tell yourself : "this is it, that track is dope !" Can you tell us what is your process ? what makes a great WEME track ? Is there a "WEME Sound" ? It surely depends on my sensitivity and my expectations. As I said, I love film scores. With hindsight, I feel that I have produced only that: sounds that generate images. As soon as I receive new sounds it must be radical from the first listening: it is necessary that images take over the music, and the technical aspects of it, for me to go ahead. And that encompasses all styles of music. - Can you tell us a bit more about what WEME will release in 2019 ? There are 2 EPs from the "ACID CASK" trilogy, WeMe052 and WeMe053 from Ceephax. There is also a split EP from an artist from Belarus (WeMe056 / WeMe313.21) which I received the demo 8 years ago! I just had to find the right moment to put this EP in WeMe's story. And then a new album project by Heinrich Mueller, WeMe313.19 that is exceptionally beautiful! There is also this incredible EP "Solomon Angelo" WeMe055, a demo that has come out of nowhere ... I directly contacted the artist without hesitations. The last track of this mix is part of the EP https://soundcloud.com/dionysian-mysteries/sound-aesthetics-11-weme-records And still other projects under construction of course: I'm always hungry! Thanks Fred, cheers, and long live WEME ! BoeufStragonoff Check out the music on WEME records on their webpage: https://wemerecords.com