Label Spotlight: Amniote Editions

The words “international collaboration” in dance music can, within Australia and New Zealand, conjure up some pretty commercial images. Dance is now big business, whether we like it or not, and some of the longest standing brands in the world are now spreading their reach to regions and countries in manoeuvres that many would criticise weren't very “for the culture”.

In amongst the inevitable further fissure between marketability and creative desire however, one silver lining is the ability to understand who is really in it for the right reasons.

Amniote Editions is one such silver lining.

The label, split between Naarm/Melbourne and Copenhagen, is the shared project of T-N (she/her) and Mama Snake (she/they). Tanya and Sara, as I would come to know them, have developed a close personal working friendship as a result of their meeting in London. Amniote, a clear product of their friendship, is a testament to the kind of creative opportunity, drive and opportunity that comes from a globally aligned vision for just how incredible this culture and its works can be.

With releases by some of the modern techno’s most exciting local and international names, including Hasvat Informant, Different Shades, Eastern Distributor, Cloudy Ku, Spekki Webu and D.Dan among its alumni, Amniote Editions is becoming an increasingly influential platform in modern dance music, both here at home and abroad.

While visiting their Bandcamp may not yield any immediately recognisable results, given the label’s commitment to having its featured artists adopt brand new monikers fitting within their reptilian style guide, there is no shortage of incredible talent that they’ve brought on board.

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The mystique and clear direction with which the two approach the label are a combined force that has grown Amniote into a revered name across the globe, bridging the thousand kilometre gap between their two homes. It’s a collaboration which even they understand is one that, to many people, begs many questions.

“I get that question a lot from people here,” Tanya told me. “They're like, ‘how do you have this random, obscure connection to Mama Snake and Copenhagen?’”

Tanya and Sara became friends while Tanya was living in London, working for the now understandably silent label Lobster Theremin, responsible for much of their international distribution. One label they were servicing at the time was Amniote Editions.

Originally started by Sara and her childhood friend Rose Marie, now the creative director for Playboi Carti and understandably without much time to spend on the label any longer, Tanya’s love for what Amniote was doing made her a clear choice for someone to step up and assist in taking the project even further abroad.

“Sara was good friends with a lot of people that I worked with, and from day dot I’ve been obsessed with the label and like the visual world, the sonic world and what Sara and Rose were doing,” she explained passionately. “Our friendship has kind of come before the label and grown through the label.”

Establishing a connection between Northern Europe and the underground depths of so-called-Australia may appear like a strange or farfetched choice, but Amniote Editions commitment to the forward-thinking sounds coming out of each of its homes has assisted in establishing a shared musical vision that these regions share.

In explaining what commonalities its audiences share, Sara explained that “it’s this kind of deep, mythical, psychedelic sound that’s the common ground. I think both scenes are born out of happening in forest environments, but just with really different scenery.

It’s the gum trees in Australia and the pine woods in Scandinavia.”

For Sara though, this common ground doesn’t exclusively apply to the environments in which the music is played however.

“The strict regulations for anything, nightlife or the underground, might push you into nature. That happens to create inspiration, and ideas that arise from that.”

So too, the appreciation for the sound and its artists’ place within it is clearly something that is able to cross international boundaries. The success of many of the label’s Australian alumni in Europe, as well as Sara’s own repeated visits to Australia alongside other Amniote associated artists like Spekki Webu, demonstrate a shared connection that comes from a deeper cultural sense of self and community.

“We have this fucked up thing called “Janteloven”, ‘the law of Jante”, Sara told me. “I don’t know how it translates, but it’s very much about not thinking you’re better than anyone else. You don’t stand out in a crowd. That’s a very negative thing, but I think it’s also meant to keep people humble.

It’s essential that you give back to what you’ve gotten,” she said somewhat proudly.

Those in Australia may see this as an all too familiar concept, with ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’ a comment that applies to all walks of life down under.

For both of these cultural concepts however, the shared approach to our place in dance and electronic culture is clearly something that’s brought these two regions closer than ever before musically, and opened the door for collaborations able to channel this feeling of appreciation.

Owning and running a label, to many, may sound like a profitable endeavour. Tanya and Sara’s move to distribute the music internationally and with more intent in different regions, on paper, may seem like a ‘smart business move’. To them however, as to many running and distributing their own label, the desire for money, success or ‘fame’, is a means of weeding out people that they don’t feel motivated to work with.

“Techno and house music have become massive industries. It's not just underground anymore. So that creates a sense of gatekeeping, I think, because when something becomes an industry and when something becomes profitable, it attracts people who want to make a profit.

“In Australia, there are massive companies that are making millions that tour European artists from undergrounds and they pocket a lot of the money, making it really difficult for local promoters in Australia,” Sara said somewhat divisively.

“I've definitely had friends coming from Europe and they're like, ‘I've got a tour,’ and then they show me their itinerary, and I'm like, ‘why are you playing those shows?’” Tanya went on to add.

While ‘becoming more commercial’ is a regular cry by any self deemed oldhead, Sara and Tanya were clearly not lamenting over this point for any reason other than for what it dilutes among a culture they love.

Amniote Editions, in all its forms, is an ode to what makes the culture they’re a part of so special, and the connections they’ve formed through the privilege of the platform they have.

This was perhaps most clear when our conversation moved into the sound that Amniote Editions has become so known for. The label’s reptilian roots are a core part of a new wave of sound emerging from both of its regions, which have not only influenced the wriggly, sudden and environmentally driven sounds of its music, but the textures, scales, motion and direction of its art.

The flexibility of what a collaboration invites and provides was something that came up regularly throughout our hour together. While on the outside, Amniote Editions with its clear theming and visual language, could appear as a label not interested in what may be playing outside of its wheelhouse. And while the label’s sound is consistent, Tanya and Sara were quick to clarify how that’s come to be.

“I think sonically, we're dependent on the artist to make the sounds, but we're not making it. We don't have to fit into a profitable narrative. So it creates a lot of freedom, right?”

What do we prioritise when money isn’t the goal?

It might sound like a redundant question to some, but as we continued to discuss dance music as big business and the resilience of underground communities, the many answers continued to inform my growing realisation that Amniote Editions is one of the answers to that change.

“You will always have the underground, right?” Sara asked rhetorically.

While the label’s two homes may have similar ideas around what makes the music they love feel the way it does, it would be remiss not to be clear on one particular area where the footing is anything but even. While European-based artists are growing to love playing in Australia, it often takes much longer and with far less opportunities available when the tables are turned.

The desire to use Amniote Editions as a platform to really help Australian artists, and artists from other locations to get a leg up in Europe is clear. While, as a world renowned artist herself, this undoubtedly comes from a desire to promote and stimulate the music culture which she cares for so deeply, that in turn is inspired by a sense of community and friendship that is at the core of what she, Tanya, and Amniote Editions does.

“What made me really attracted to club culture and electronic music was when I was starting out and I started to tour a bit more internationally, was meeting people who have often become extremely good friends.

I'm sure that if I quit DJing tomorrow and never play a gig again, all these people would still be my friends.”

‘Techno’, and the darker side of dance music is intimidating to the uninitiated. Not only in the obvious, the way it sounds, but culturally too. Hard, fast music that isn’t to the taste of many has a stereotype of judgement associated with it, aided by some of Europe’s more ‘institutional’ clubs and Australia’s tall poppy syndrome.

Amniote Editions, however, is a celebration of everything that makes this culture fun and exciting in the first place. Friendship, collaboration, opportunity and community. Doing things not because they’re easy or profitable, but because you care for it deeply. Because you want it to improve, to invite more people in, and to celebrate them when they get there.

“Oh fuck, do we have a big plan?” Tanya asked Sara, mimicking my final question in regard to the future.

“No, I’m just happy in the moment,” she continued, as Sara nodded approvingly.

“I’m glad it’s able to sustain itself, that we’re able to work with so many amazing friends and artists, and that they want to be involved and contribute their music to the platform.

Basically, just more of the same amazing music, and doing fun, creative shit with your friends.”

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Jack Colquhoun is Mixmag ANZ's Managing Editor, find him on Instagram.