“Rather than following the crowds along a given and inevitably ephemeral path, we take to the open road..”
The mid Nineties, the ‘Golden Age’ of french house, they both seem to cut a distant silhouette looking back through the sonic periscope. 26 years ago Gilbert Cohen (Gilb’R) launched Versatile, when all of that was very much live and in the room. There’s a big clue to the label’s continued success: the name. It’s all very well to proclaim versatility from the ramparts before the battle for longevity has even begun, it’s wholly another to humbly reflect on how honestly and creative flexibility has kept you relevant for so long. The label name reflects the ‘brutal’ opening of Gilb’R’s mind whilst at Nova Radio in the 90’s and there’s little doubt that as time has gone on - with the help of artists such as I:Cube, Joakim, Etienne Jaumet, Zombie Zombie and many others - versatility has come precisely from enjoying the flexibility of many categories rather than the imprisonment of just one. With this imprint, again we see how the like minds of many creatives make for a prosperous whole. There’s no doubt that this Label is headed but something of a stalwart, a chap with fluid but solid ideas, leaving many a courageous risk in his Versatile wake.
Label playlist
Gilb’R
Hexo
4:44
Vague Imaginaires
Voiles Stellaires
5:36
Château Flight
Nookoqo
6:18
I:Cube
LA GROTTE AUX FEES
5:03
Gilbert Cohen, Ariel Kalma
Des câlins, des pingouins
4:56
Emmanuelle Parrenin / Detlef Weinrich
Le Couple Coupable
5:09
GILB'R
Triangle Days
5:50
ALMA VOX
Toi mon toit
3:13
Antoine Kogut
L'Oeillet Noir
3:42
Bright Future
Babel
3:20
Chateau Flight
Lo
6:23
Etienne Jaumet
Ma revelation mystique
7:33
Gilb'R
Foliage (DJ Sotofett Live Jazz Mix)
5:16
Gilb'R
Le zouk du Crepsule
2:55
i:cube
adore
7:02
I:Cube
Disco Cubizm (Daft Punk mix)
8:16
i:cube
Session 3 (Live)
6:57
John Cravache
Jacksonville
5:55
Zombie Zombie
Heavy Meditation
7:48
Oeil Cube
Pistache
5:50
Oeil Cube
XXX (Abel's Edit)
5:11
Acid Arab
Theme
7:22
Pierre Bastien, Eddie Ladoire
Phantom Dance
5:32
Jonathan Fitoussi, Clemens Hourrière
Labyrinths
6:36
CHIMERE FM
Live at Astana
3:24
Judah Warsky & Gilbert Cohen
LE SERPENT
3:54
O
Where are you from?
G
I landed on earth in Nice/France to achieve some tasks, which I am still trying to figure out
O
Earliest musical memory?
G
My grand dad buying me a 7 inch every week on Wednesday and playing it on his small portable turntable
O
Why did you start a record label?
G
I already had some solid I:Cube demos, a lot of friends around me were doing music, and I was getting more and more interested too. But I haven’t wondered many questions at first, I just did and it all went pretty quick. I also made my own label to be independent. Having our own studio and production structure gave us more freedom and flexibility. We work at our own rhythm
GilbR - Oddity Influence Mix
Gilb'R
Delay
-
Intro
Okay Temiz
-
Orient trip
Cris Prolific
-
Crumble beat
The Animated Egg
-
Sock it my way
I:Cube
-
Unreleased
Louie Louie (Cover)
Chateau Flight
-
Kunka(Steve Moore remix)
Sun Ra
-
When there is no sun
I:Cube
-
Unreleased
Ennio Morricone
-
Gli Scassinatori
Brigitte Fontaine
-
Brigitte
Jean Claude T
-
What is time
CHIMERE FM
-
Le désir de rester petit
Equiknoxx and Mark Ernestus
-
Flagged up (Mark Ernestus remix)
Zombie Zombie
-
Driving this road until death sets you free
Los Pasos
-
Habibi
Mohamed Jamal
-
Alemi el hob
Areski/Fontaine
-
Quand tous les ghettos bruleront
Die Wild Jagd
-
Jagd Auf Den Hirsch
François de Roubaix
-
Pousuite à Anvers
Chateau Flight
-
Les Antipodes(Clicky dub mix)
Bill Nelson
-
When your dream of perfect beauty comes true
The family
-
Screams of passion
Aladdin
-
A simple game
O
How would you describe the label’s sound?
G
It’s really inspiration from my Radio Nova days in the early 90’s, where, coming from my home town in Nice at 20, got exposed to so many new sounds,music..It was litterally mind-blowing.
And I really wanted my label to reflect this state of mind. I like artists that are singular and develop, evolve their sound over the years. It took time until this idea would be more accepted than when I started Versatile in 1996
O
Some insight on the mix you recorded?
G
I basically tried to pick in my discotheque some records of different genres that influences me (or had) and put them together into a coherent way. All dubbed out with delays and noises. I also picked some of my faves from the label and few unreleased.
Will be released April 15th