Crude Wax Records

Crude Wax Records is a German record label from Berlin founded in 2014 by producer Vincenzo Maurice. Why should a label call itself »Crude« when the word means »raw«, »awkward« and »immature«? In fact, the name defines its content and the content is its distinctive feature. Vincenzo Maurice cites the monotony and his discontent with the mishmash of Techno and House as the starting point. »I was and still am delighted with the idea, to leave behind the perfectly mixed pieces, and with saturation, distortion, tapes and amps create a dynamic yet for many people distorted sound and essentially compose a warm story, which nevertheless also functions on the floors«, says the Berliner. In terms of production, he chooses not to go back to digital. »If I work digitally, it is only in the form of brainstorms. When I lay in bed, and have new ideas, I quickly open Ableton and „write“ these ideas down. In return it is pretty practical, and at the same time it is also the only thing I like to use. Consequently, digital releases are no option for me and Crude Wax«, he clarifies.
Instead, Crude Wax dedicates itself, as the name suggests, to the medium vinyl – and puts a lot of work into the limited releases. Whilst the initial-compilation with contributions from Vincenzo Maurice himself, the British Aurhythm and the Italian Giovanni Scala arose from a »gut feeling«, from the finished tracks to the final pressed record, it took half a year until the operators were finished with the debut EP »Odd Perception«. »There are so many labels, which publish ten or more records in a year, and that is really not my thing. For me it is important to be slow and conscious in the decision making of a release, and naturally give it time to mature.« He is assisted by the graphic designer Marie Mestwerdt, who with her charismatic designs gives the raw sounding releases a friendly coat and is continuously involved in organisational matters. Even though, Vincenzo admits there are few specific plans with the label as such; In terms of format he would still like to up the game slightly. Next to the vinyl releases, Crude Wax wants to in the future also publish music on DATs. The main thing, haptic. »These formats excite me a lot, because you have to physically handle the sound carrier in order to be able to playback the music. For me, it its about treating music with a wholesome respect, which is all too often neglected in digital«, says Vincenzo Maurice. This sounds neither awkward nor immature and only in musical terms, it might be described as raw.