Genre Various Official website luckyme.net Founded 2007 | Location Glasgow, Scotland, UK Founder Hudson Mohawke Country of origin Scotland | |
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Albums Aa, PDA, Remote Sympathy, Cid Rim LP, Path Integral Artists Baauer, Hudson Mohawke, Lunice, Rustie, Jacques Greene Profiles | ||
LuckyMe is a United Kingdom-based record label and design studio specialising in the release of new electronic, hip hop, pop, rock and underground dance music. Referred to as "one of the most innovative and prolific independent record labels of the decade" and acclaimed for "distinctive visual arts projects and collaborations".
Contents
2007-2008
The label was founded in Glasgow, Scotland, on 7 July 2007, by Mike Slott; Dominic Sum Flannigan; Martyn Flyn; and Ross Birchard, also known as Warp Records recording artist Hudson Mohawke. LuckyMe incorporated producers, rappers and designers, reflecting Flannigan’s Art school training. ‘We’re essentially a record label… but we also function as a design consultancy too. Most of the work we do at the moment is self-originated, though, and that involves all of our record sleeves and flyers.’
As well as operating as a design studio and label, LuckyMe began to co-run a series of music events in Glasgow called Ballers Social Club at which many of the label’s artists performed as residents, and the visual aspects of the night - identity, visual installations and flyer art - were undertaken by the design studio. A short run of club nights - LuckyMe: Drums - were run in 2007 at Edinburgh’s Octopus Diamond, at the launch 100 CD-Rs were given out entitled Hudson Mohawke - Drums Vol. One. At these events Flannigan and Flyn first met Rustie, Tom Trago, Linkwood & Eclair Fifi. The first LuckyMe Edinburgh Festival Party was launched in 2008.
In 2008, LuckyMe's first record was pressed and released alongside Wireblock - a limited edition white label, Hudson Mohawke's first release Ooops!.
2009-2011
The New Yorker praised LuckyMe as one of their favourite sites of 2009. The 2nd Annual Edinburgh Festival Party was held at Electric Circus with a visual installation by Pageant.
In June 2010, Sónar festival in Barcelona invited LuckyMe to curate 3 hours on stage at Sonar By Night, in which Hudson Mohawke, Eclair Fifi, Lunice, Machinedrum, The Blessings and AmericanMen performed live, hosted by Olivier Daysoul with visuals by Dominic Flannigan. The label was also invited to New York City to showcase the label’s music at a collaborative event with Goodpeoples in which Hudson Mohawke, Rustie, Mike Slott, The Blessings, Machinedrum, Eclair Fifi, Cubic Zirconia, Azealia Banks, Jacques Greene and Lunice played.
As part of Edinburgh Festival Mike Slott performed a live film score at a screening of Andrei Zvyagintsev’s The Return. LuckyMe released records by Jacques Greene, Lunice and Machinedrum and performed at an RBMA Culture Clash in Toronto. In a late 2011 review of Ango’s Another City Now (released on LuckyMe in 2012) Boiler Room wrote 'if you can think of a label that's been quite as 'on point' musically and visually, as LuckyMe over the last few years, then you're a brilliant thinker. Seriously..'
2012-2013
TNGHT, The collaborative project between Lunice and Hudson Mohawke released their official debut – TNGHT EP through LuckyMe with Warp. On 30th November 2012 TNGHT performed at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg, which featured an appearance by rapper/producer Kanye West during a remix of West's Cold. The duo co-produced Kanye West's song Blood on the Leaves from his critically acclaimed album Yeezus. The song samples TNGHT's track R U Ready.
S-Type toured alongside AlunaGeorge and was given Best New Track by Pitchfork in October for the title song from the Billboard EP. Machinedrum’s Van Vogue from the SXLND EP was used by Azealia Banks for her single 1991. Hudson Mohawke was commissioned for an official remix of Björk. LuckyMe were in Fact’s 10 Best Label’s of 2012, the magazine complimented the ‘website, essential mix series and inspired giveaways’, referring to S-Type’s Billboard and Machinedrums SXLND as essential releases. The mixtape series launched officially on iTunes as a podcast. Eclair Fifi began a residency on British national station BBC Radio 1.
The label started a 6-part series of mix shows on Mista Jam’s Daily Dose Show on BBC Radio 1Xtra, Lunice hosted the first show followed by Ango, Eclair Fifi, The Blessings, Obey City and S-Type. Rinse FM invited LuckyMe to start a bi-weekly show, which featured The Blessings, Eclair Fifi, Obey City and Joseph Marinetti. The Yolo Bear EP was released and launched over 3 cities on the same night with DJ Yolo Bear “performing” in New York, London and Edinburgh.
2014
LuckyMe were referred to as defining the sound of 2014 along with other British labels ‘carrying the torch lit by legendary British independents such as Rough Trade, Warp and Domino.’ by The Guardian The label’s producers formed a stronger relationship with pop music as new signing Cashmere Cat released music with Ariana Grande, Ludacris, Tinashe and Charli XCX amongst others. The label and studio were given creative freedom on the Boiler Room launch of Hudson Mohawke's Chimes in Los Angeles. Director Dominic Flannigan curated an indulgent set of performances which featured costume design by Tirsh Hunter (known for her work on Björk's Wunderlust video) and sets by Flying Lotus and Lunice.
The label co-curated a SXSW event with Warp at which a number of its roster performed, as well as a showcase at Miami Winter Music Conference with performances by Cashmere Cat, Jacques Greene, Obey City and Joseph Marinetti. The label’s artists also performed at MoMA PS1 warm-up in New York and main stages at Field Day festival in London. Eclair Fifi starred in a campaign as an artist and model for H&M.
LuckyMe released Claude Speeed's debut album My Skeleton. The studio produced videos for new releases by Cashmere Cat, Lunice, Rustie and Joseph Marinetti, and the label released records by Jacques Greene, Tim Vocals, S-Type, Sevendeaths and Baauer.
S-Type and Hudson Mohawke produced The Rap Monument - one of the longest rap songs of all time, wherein 36 rappers were recorded by Nick Hook over a 42-minute composition by S-Type in studios across several different cities.
2015
Edinburgh-based band NAKED were signed by LuckyMe and released their debut EP Youth Mode. The label also released a single by new-signing Littlebabyangel with an interactive website and Merlot Sounds by Obey City, the follow-up to his debut EP Champagne Sounds. Eclair Fifi & Joseph Marinetti toured Europe. S-Type scored an exclusive soundtrack for Astrid Andersen's New York Fashion Week '15 catwalk show and released an EP of collaborations entitled SV8.
Hudson Mohawke announced his second album Lantern and was referred to by The Guardian as 'one of the biggest producers in the world'. Mohawke headlined Fader Fort at SXSW with guests Travis Scott (musician) and Twista.
Artist collective and design studio
In addition to releasing music, LuckyMe operates as a visual art studio staffed by former Glasgow School of Art students. As a studio, LuckyMe has undertaken design work in the fashion and music industries, completing print, film, public events, websites, and sculptural projects.
In July 2011 LuckyMe launched an Augmented Reality project for Becks in several sites including Shoreditch in East London, where viewers could listen to LuckyMe’s artists’ music by walking round a green box, 2.5 metre 3D eyeballs appeared to float in the street, changing as the viewer moved, each eyeball visually represented different artists music. Photographer Christina Kernohan exhibited her work in a solo exhibition Gammel Butikken in the Stockbridge area of Edinburgh as part of Edinburgh Festival and has shot official press photography for Chvrches, Theophilus London and Optimo.
The design studio received acclaim for the album artwork on Machinedrum’s Ninja Tune release Vapor City, directed and designed by Eclair Fifi and Dominic Flannigan, the design was featured as part of the Record Sleeves of the month piece in Creative Review.
In 2014, LuckyMe studio’s in-house director and cinematographer Peter Marsden was praised across several press platforms for his work on videos for Rustie ft. Danny Brown Attak, Cashmere Cat Wedding Bells and Lunice Can’t Wait To.