Label Spotlight: Riot Records

Who are you?

Label name: Riot Records / Founder: Georgie Riot

What’s your ethos?

We focus on celebrating unique electronic dance music from independent artists, which reflects the era we live in.

Tell us your origin story?

I started the label because I wanted to have creative freedom over the music I release myself as an artist. I found that I was spending a lot of time waiting for other labels to listen to my demos and reply to emails. I also wanted to celebrate other artists who make music that doesn’t quite fit into one box so to speak.

Where are you based?

I personally am from Coventry. Here we have a small drum & bass scene, with small events like “Fack Abaat” and “Standard Procedure Presents” run by my good friend Toddlah. The Kasbah often hosts day raves where there will usually be a d&b room. I played my first two shows at The Kasbah and Ivy House, they’re a vibe! If you go a bit further afield in the West Midlands, clubs like Forum, Lab11, XOYO, and others all throw some killer bass nights!

Do you have a specific sound or vibe?

I personally play mostly jump-up and dancefloor d&b in my sets when djing, but I think it’s really important to embrace all styles when selecting music for the label. I don’t want artists to feel restricted with their production, experimenting is good! Basically any tracks I really vibe to I’m happy to sign, I don’t restrict the label and box it off to just one sub-genre – if it slaps, it slaps.

Do you have a regular artist roster ?

Yes we have regulars such as Feed The Fire, Gouki, Klay, Kartypartyy, and of course myself!

Tell us about your A&R process…

I actively look for artists with a signature sound and a strong identity. I listen to each track a couple of times, sometimes I like to wait a few days and then go back and re-listen to tracks I marked as potential releases. I sometimes make suggestions for what I think a track might benefit from whilst still respecting the artist’s vision. I sometimes source vocalists for producers who have sent through an instrumental who might not be in contact with vocalists themselves. It’s also important to choose tracks which will work well together when considering them for an EP, and it’s important to sign tracks that fit with the label stylistically as well as in terms of quality.

What makes you different from other labels?

I think variety plays a key part in setting Riot Records apart from other labels, we’re not restricted to just one subgenre of drum and bass. Also the fact that the label is run by a woman, that’s something in itself that sets us apart from other labels because men still dominate the industry!

What does it take to run a bass music label in 2024?

Knowledge in music production, marketing, music rights, artist and general management. You need a strong brand identity. You need to be hardworking.

What have you got coming up we should look out for?

We kicked off the year with a wicked new EP from Feed The Fire called “Dopamine Dreams”, that will be hitting the stores on March 1st. We have loads more in store for the rest of the year, including a VIP pack from Gouki as well as brand new releases from myself – so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Follow Riot Records: Website/Instagram/Facebook

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