To the casual observer, the Copenhagen-based record label, Tartelet Records can have a somewhat random or haphazard quality to it. The releases are placed somewhere within the field of experimental house and techno but there doesn’t seem to be any identifiable logic to the distinctive output. That is, unless you look dig a little deeper and examine the aural and visual aesthetic with discerning eyes and ears, which is when you’ll discover that the labels founding fathers have very set ideas on how they want to go about the business of putting out music. Since its inception, the Tartelet crew has been on an ambitious, idealistic mission to put out the freshest, strangest and most remarkable new electronic music while paying meticulous attention to its visual communication. This is why every record on the young Danish label marks a new chapter in terms of both music and cover art.
In the beginning they were three: a DJ called Emil, a bald, smiley-faced musician named Tomas, and a dog-loving producer/modern renaissance man, called Frederik who got together in 2007 and formed a label with the aim of releasing their own productions. The name was drunkenly suggested to them by their friend, designer Silas ‘Soulland’ Adler, and they stuck with it because they thought it sounded suitably ‘stupid and down-to-earth’ and that non-Danes would be able to pronounce it even though they’d never tasted the doughy delicacy. It grew organically from there and Tartelet records currently provide an artistic hub for some of the most innovative and original, established and up-and-coming acts; from the avant-garde, conceptual house stylings of Kenton Slash Demon and Wareika to the banging, Detroit-inspired techno of James Braun.
Today they are two. Tomas Barfod is no longer with the label but the raison d’être hasn’t changed. Emil & Frederik are toiling away in Tartelet HQ where they’re digging up bright new talent and, by all accounts, getting the more formal side of the operation together.
Look out for Tartelet in 2012. The next releases will make you feel as strong and alive as Tom Cruise at a Scientology convention, and quite possibly more emotional than Kanye West at an awards ceremony.