It’s been quite the year since our last conversation with Louie; in that short space of time, the young producer has been signed to Vivek’s System label, appeared on several radio shows and had numerous bookings across the UK and overseas, not to mention relocating back to London after living in Brighton for 2 and a half years. Where most producers – new and established – would become complacent or overwhelmed by the rapid change and resulting success, Foamplate is forward-thinking and focused on pushing his distinct, cavernous sound in new directions. If the tracks from his new imprint Plantpower are anything to go by, not only is he one of dubstep’s highly sought-after young talents, but he also has the potential to transform his solo label venture into one of the scene’s most intriguing outputs. Ahead of Plantpower’s inaugural release, I spoke to Foamplate about his decision to start the label and plans for the future.
Where did the name “Plantpower” come from?
It came from an interest in plants – they are powerful. We can live off just plants. There’s a lot of medicine that comes from plants. They are a vital source of life, and I thought, “Plantpower”.
You’ve had success on some well-established labels. Why did you decide to start your own?
When Vivek signed one of my tunes, he suggested that maybe with the money from the release I should start my own imprint. I’d thought about it before, but wanted to get music out on other labels first. It was around February / March I decided I wanted to put out two tunes on a pretty low key white label at some point in the year. I’m still going to release on other labels, but this is another avenue for me to put out music.
Talk me through the tracks on your first release.
“Tabula” I made a while back; I made it before my other releases that have come out so far. “Deadly Habit” is one of the most recent tunes I’ve made, so there’s this wormhole between slightly older and new production. “Tabula” is 140bpm and “Deadly Habit” is 130bpm. I like that 130 halftime ‘almost dubstep’ style; another one of my releases, “Smokey Joe”, is 130 as well, on a similar flex.
Given your background in graphic design, how did you decide on the aesthetic of the plate?
The only artwork on the plate is a white label on one side and a black label on the other. That’s kind of an ode to dubplates and white labels – it’s all completely debranded at the moment, but I have some plans in mind for future developments of the artwork for the sleeves and centre labels.
Is Plantpower going to be vinyl only?
You’d think so, but a lot of people don’t play vinyl, so I thought why not also put it out on digital? Even though I love and buy vinyl, I like to have digital versions of music. It would please me if every record I bought gave me a digital one. At the same time I can see why people don’t want to put stuff out on digital. It may differ for some releases but 001 will be both for sure.
Is there a certain sound you’re going for?
Just whatever I’m feeling – I’ll see how it goes. There’s a possibility for collaborations with other people, maybe remixes of my tracks or theirs. It’s just me on the label at the moment, but I’m thinking about getting some other artists on. I have a few ideas but nothing certain.
You did a great job on the first plate – I can’t wait to see the direction you take with Plantpower! Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with me.
Big up TRUSIK! And thanks for taking the time to meet, always a pleasure.
PLANTPOWER001 is released October 14th and available to pre-order from Unearthed Sounds, Redeye, Juno and White Peach Records.
