House Essential Records: An insight on the most unique of dance music's imprints

Taking the utmost of pride in their unique approach of music distribution, House Essential Records have established themselves as a “boutique record label,” where their main concept floats around the idea of releasing a limited amount of tracks on a yearly basis, with quality the primary and sole focus for that matter. Ensuring that each of their chosen tracks are always in line with the standards that they have set, the label will then proceed with the most efficient and effective of promotions, as they heavily invest in the exposure of a certain track, and in turn use all resources available in order for the artist(s) and their production(s) to gain the success that they deserve.

Based in the UK, and Liverpool in particular, they are as their name suggests a House & Dance Music specialist imprint, with a clear outtake on how music should be a record labels primary resource, where as opposed to the quantity that most record labels within the scene focus on, in their case, the quality of a track is what inspires traction, and eventually, allowing an artist to leave their own mark in the most distinctive of ways. With this said, House Essential Records have set out on leaving a lasting legacy of their own, and having already gained the constant support from some of the biggest names in dance industry, including the likes of Tiësto and MK (Mark Kinchen), we can’t help but notice that their unique approach stands out from the rest.

Coming off a stellar and productive 2021, the record label have set out on continuing on the success pathway that they have so effectively and efficiently embarked on, and in turn, ensure that this current year is the one that will elevate their presence to even further heights. Featuring regularly as an artist to watch on their imprint, Anto, saw his ‘Deja Vu‘ EP, as well his collaboration with Rare Candy, ‘Back 2 U,’ gain a significant amount of traction in just a short period of time, with major streaming platforms, radio shows, and even social media outlets, all contributing to the success of his releases. Looking to follow suit, House Essential Records have only recently released their first track of 2022, with Swedish rising star Robin Tayger, taking us all on the most captivating and enticing of journeys, through his dance rendition of AUROA’s ‘Cure For Me.’

Destined for nothing other than success, Tayger has set out on leaving his own mark within the dance industry, with this latest release a clear indication of the high standards that House Essential Records have set when distributing music from up and coming artist’s within our community and not only. Paving the way for the most mesmerising of future releases, the record label will most definitely look at continuing in the successful manner that they have achieved thus far, and in turn, we cannot contain our excitement for all the upcoming releases that are in the works. Whilst we wait, however, we are also thrilled to have caught up with the person behind the launch of House Essential Records, as we look to gain further insight on their overall approach at releasing music, the significance of higher quality as opposed to quantity music, what the future holds and much more.

Hello and thank you for your time! Could you give us an insight on the launch of House Essential Records, and how significant your approach towards music distribution has been thus far?

“Hey guys, thanks for reaching out. We founded House Essential Records in early 2019, when we noticed a handful of artists who we felt sat above most in terms of production quality, were not getting the recognition that they deserved, and we wanted to change that. Prior to starting the label, we ran a YouTube channel that supported up-and-coming artists and we have seen the shift in DSPs and music discovery, from platforms such as Soundcloud and YouTube, towards Spotify, Apple Music, and even more recently TikTok.”

Following an approach where the quality of music is the the primary focus, as opposed to the quantity, we would like to know the significance behind this idea.

“We feel that the shelf-life of current music in this mostly digital industry is very short, coupled with little to no promotion for a track pretty much makes it obsolete even faster. We like to release less often, and really push each track for a long period of time.

With our limited amount of releases per year, this also gives us adequate time to plan the release and use all of our available resources, along with sending it out on promo to key DJs & tastemakers to get an idea of how well it’s received.”

Ensuring that each artist(s) and their track(s) gain the utmost of exposure by doing everything within your power seems to be of the essence for House Essential Records. Could you give us an insight into how effective or not this approach has been thus far, and on whether your outtake on music distribution is one that will be imitated in the near future?

“Similarly to the above, I would say that we have been very effective in pushing quality music down different avenues until we feel that all roads are exhausted with each release.

For example, starting with our first release ‘Anto – Paradise’, which ended up being championed by Tiësto in his sets, we feel would never have been possible if we had a super busy release schedule, or if the music quality was not as solid as it is.

We also feel that we choose to work to a higher standard with more focus and depth on one individual project at a time as I feel it’s definitely more rewarding, fuels our passion and keeps us excited, as opposed to the conveyer belt model of most labels today.”

Having released your first track of 2022 in the form of ‘Cure For Me’ by Robin Tayger, we would like to know any future releases that are on the horizon, and how difficult or not has it been to spot talented rising stars such as Tayger?

Heading into Q2, we have releases from Anto & Lyle M, Zak Joshua & Jamie Nugent to name a few, also some releases that we can’t disclose as of yet, along with a few cheeky remixes from a few familiar names I am sure you will all know.

In regards to spotting talent early on, we have worked with several artists who were at the start of their musical careers, and we could hear that their music had potential, it’s really rewarding and exciting to see how they develop as artists along with us as a label.

Besides the release of new music, are there any further initiatives surrounding your imprint, and if yes, could you give us an insight into what the future holds for House Essential Records?

“We are currently in the process of finalizing our merch line, which will feature some limited edition items for some of our superfans, also, later on in this year, we are planning to head into the Events Industry.

Going forward, we are very focused and passionate about fostering a family-like community around the label, from fans to like-minded artists.

We are super excited to see what the future holds and what barriers we will continue to break down!”

A record label that intends to leave its very own mark within the dance industry, House Essential Records is definitely an imprint that we will be hearing a lot about in the near future. With this said, be sure to visit their official website here, as each of their releases are more eclectic than the other. Be sure to also follow them on their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify accounts for all the latest news and more. Enjoy!

Image Credit: House Essential Records