Big Bait

Big Bait is a record label founded in Karlsruhe by Niels Hofheinz in 2008. »I simply could not buy the music which I liked anywhere« says Hofheinz looking back. That’s why he established Big Bait, which until today, he runs on his own. Apart from a little support here and there, like for example from Scherbe with whom Hofheinz formed the duo Citizen Funk. The sound produced by the two or Hofheinz (aka Peter Clamat) alone is representative of the stuff that appears on Big Bait: house with a hip hop background. »I followed the two genres already at the beginning of the nineties at the age of 16 or 17. The vibe, the feeling of life is someway connected,« thinks Hofheinz. “I think hip hop and house work with the same basic structure of groove, looping and the use of soul, jazz and disco elements” says Hofheinz. That’s exactly what is close to his heart. “A vision of sounds, a musical idea of aesthetics” directs him with the curation of the label, where not only his own productions appear but where others like a young Glenn Astro and an institution like Roger23 already have a foothold. “Since the beginning groove and deepness has been the core idea with Big Bait. However just as the music in the last five years has developed, so has the sound of the label” he adds. For example Glenn Astro sounds ultimately different today as even back in 2013, despite the fact its EP ‘Coloured Sounds / Hotel Groove’ represents a small highlight of the label’s discography. “Move D played the thing in the boiler room and held it in the camera. Then off we went.” Hofheinz is probably still far away from his dreams of living off music. However he has established his vision over the years. In particular his claims in terms of design can be traced back to the early times. “As a child I always found the record covers of soul records belonging to my parents extremely interesting. I could look at them hours long whilst the music ran” he explains how his autobiographically anchored claim to the styling of his records. Which are partly connected conceptually like in the case of EP ‘Sativa’ by Chocky and the counterpart ‘Indica’ by Georgi Barrel. Internal unity and openness are mutual at Big Bait but it’s not the be all and end all. Hofheinz listens regularly to demos. So anyone who thinks to contribute to Hofheinz’s firm vision, should not be put off by the email address muelleimer@bigbaitrecords.com