Multi Culti
‘Setting up a psychedelic platform for our own lives…’
There is simplicity here, a message that comes across like a stream of pure colour. Here’s an imprint that strives for a psychedelic sound that is all-inclusive, one that has a bare handed grasp on something literally multi cultural; sounds that aim to cross continents bringing them together for us to hear. When listening to label owners Thomas Von Party and Angus Cruzman (aka Dreems) discuss their mission it becomes clear that ideas, an absence of self-imposed structure and trust is central to the label’s success - whatever that means in this realm. Truth probably. The notion of ‘Nerdism’ can be very much a curse when formulating ideas behind labels - and in the releases themselves. It ends up equating to something of a sterile output, with no flux or risk, both essential elements - certainly for a label like this. These chaps aren’t afraid of not getting it all 100% right and that’s great. Creativity is mistakes after all - who wants all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed? That said mistakes aren’t reflected literally here, but rather in an Ethos that says - we’re here, we’re excited and we’re trying things for ourselves. A very true sense of the tribal is palpable in the sounds of the back catalogue and the artwork, it’s colourful on all counts, with the likes of Dreams, Maestro Nicola Cruz, Sascha Funke and many others present and very correct.
Where are you from?
I’m from Montreal, Gus is from Sydney
What do you do?
Stay indoors, grow herbs, cook all day. Before Covid-retirement I was a DJ for the past 24 years
Earliest musical memory?
My dad blaring Nu Beat records, being made conscious of the fact that music could, in fact, sound scary
Why did you start a record label?
There just weren’t enough of them out there! I think Gus and I had come out of long DJ / record label careers already and had ideas in common that it felt like a good idea to codify somehow. After running Turbo for the better part of a decade, it felt exciting to run a label with a more expansive mandate; crossing tempos, cultures, genres… pandering to the psychedelic prism through which I like looking at life, I suppose. It also felt good to run a label on entirely DIY terms, not trying to play by the industry rules I’d never managed to learn properly anyways
How would you describe the label’s sound?
A cut above what’s playing in your local incense shop - what SHOULD be played at your local incense shop
Some insight on the mix you recorded ?
Charting Multi Culti’s myriad influences is an exhaustive task, one which can’t be squeezed into a short mix, but we attempted to highlight some of the key strains present in our musical DNA. From Jon Hassell’s fourth world through fragments of Kraut and Afro groove, glimmers of Aphex and KLF mastery, a tough of Goa trance, Bollywood, Dancehall, manic 80s dance balladry to some classic warriors house. This mix is a cult crash course for the uninitiated, and perhaps a too-obvious ‘greatest hits’ for the aficionado… either way, hope you enjoy!