Features
The Top 20 Record Labels Of 2016
These imprints have driven dance music forward this year
2 Mixpak
It’s been wonderful watching the Mixpak discography unfurl. The New York label, which is helmed by Dre Skull, began its life in 2009 as a vehicle for the producer’s work with dancehall artists Sizzla and Vybz Kartel, as well as releases from artists making zingy club music indebted to the sounds emanating from Jamaica.
That’s basically been it’s MO until this year: Dre Skull has pursued his work with the most eminent dancehall stars on the planet, producing and releasing Vybz Kartel’s seminal ‘Kingston Story’ in 2011 and following up with Popcaan’s smash ‘Where We Come From’ in 2013, all the while putting out a steady stream of red-hot, club-ready EPs by the likes of Jubilee, Murlo, Dubbel Dutch, Palmistry and Schlachthofbronx.
Away from the huge success of those Vybz and Popcaan full lengths, the label has remained at a steady simmer for the best part of a decade. But in 2016 something changed and Mixpak became a real force to be reckoned with. Critically, this has been its best year for releases yet. We’ve been served albums by Jubilee (rampant party music), Palmistry (sweet bedroom pop) and GAIKA (the raw sound of London). There’s also been a set of twisted, post-club electronics from Wildlife!, made to soundtrack an exhibition that took place in NYC. Publicly, Mixpak found itself on the world’s stage when it won the Red Bull Culture Clash in London, complete underdogs who took the crown thanks to a bag of dubs and intimate knowledge of how to wreck a dance (and get the crowd squarely on side). Locally, it’s been running regular parties in New York, with line-ups featuring the best club DJs and rappers the city has to offer, as well as scores of special guests flown over from Europe and beyond.
Having followed the label since its inception, this felt like the year that the Mixpak vision really crystalised. “Who the fuck is Mixpak?!” people asked during the Culture Clash. As ’16 draws to a close, they now definitely know. S Wheeler
