foc[-OUS]ed.
A chat with -OUS co-founders; Manuel Oberholzer and Nik Schärer.
-OUS (pronounced ‘US’) is a suffix in the English language. To serve its purpose, you put it at the end of a word. It is always the ending of something. -OUS also happens to be a audio/visual output for electronic music from the in-betweens: electronica, adventurous club music, experimental pop. Run by Ink!, Feldermelder, IOKOI, Slon and JJ., -OUS, metaphorically speaking, adds significance and meaning to their releases, as a final point upon its publication. Something to be able to express any kind of mood, sentiment or style or character of music within the same name.
Launched in 2015, Nik (Ink!) had been running another label called Hula Honeys since 2007 and had been collaborating with Manuel (Feldermelder) and Mara (IOKOI), as well as other artists who would be releasing on -OUS. Since Hula Honeys was more rooted in the DYI spirit, friends making music and releasing at a spontaneous interval, some core aspects had been be transformed into a deeper professional structure. Based between Zurich, Fribourg, and Milano (where Mara was living at the time) , -OUS became a new vessel suitable for future activities.
A powerful driving force when it comes to artistic contributions within the Zurcher scene, the suffix has become a household name when addressing left field electronic music. Where trends go right, -OUS takes a left. Constantly reevaluating themselves as artists and pushing the boundaries of sound, light and images with the latest technology available to fit in and out of clubbing contexts, -OUS does not aim for perfection, as it implies a threshold of completion. A limit. They rather become better.
Today, I present you with the sit down where I spoke with two of the original founders, Nicholas “Nik” Schärer and Manuel Oberholzer. In this chat titled “foc[-OUS]ed“ we talk about their work ethics, decision process when releasing music on different formats and the insight on the development of the Swiss music scene in the past twenty years.
How would you foremost like to describe yourself? A collective? A record label? Perhaps even a transmission communications company?
[Manu] I see ourselves as companions mainly. Companions to the artists. We are looking for people with long term ambitions and also someone we can collaborate with for years to come. We don't like the idea of doing a sole release and then never hearing from this person again. Most of the people on the label have or already had a strong connection with -OUS. We try to grow together to do things and I think that's why I find the word companion a fitting description.
[Nik]: There's no mission statement or attitude behind it, in the sense that we want to be super rooted in the local scene, for example. This companionship is also aimed, or rather intended to be international to some degree, but keeping this direct connection, and often friendship or kind of similar mindedness.
Going back to the beginning. We're in 2015. You just did your first release with Bit-Tuner… and now you have over thirty releases.. When you first started, did you have a clear vision in mind or is it something that developed as releases started to come out?
[Nik] The amount of releases seem about right. Something like it, yeah? It’s also because the releases do not come out in the catalogue order due to production timelines.
[Manu] Regarding the direction, when we started -OUS, Nik and I were already in this “business” for a long time. We had continuous thoughts on what kind of ambition, lifespan we wanted with the label. A year? Five? A lifetime? We projected a label that would be timeless in style, genre and roster. Because we do music related activities full time, we wanted to surround ourselves with people that felt the same. So we evaluated what kind of artists we wanted to work with as we wanted this label to be continuous and evolving, and not perhaps compromised by life circumstances, such as having children and such. It’s not to discredit such life ambitions, but we wanted to stay focused thoroughly, which is why I think we were portrayed in the beginning as a label that said ‘no’ to everyone due to this diligent selection process.
[Nik] People who are dedicated to their craft.…
[Manu] Exactly. People who want to do music as projects for a relatively long term. We'd like to work with artists on their careers. Not necessarily planning several releases on a fixed contract, but we want to at least base ourselves around characters, people who have something to say, whether it’s a concept, production technique or really just an identity. Whatever kind of artistic output they have in the end, they shine through these aspects that turn into their own artistic signature.
[Nik] We’re basically looking for artists who have their own musical language and not producers who might be experts in producing a certain genre. I guess we kind of went directly to the core of what we find important. In the end, we are aware that the music we release can be considered the niche of the niche, a sort of experimental electronic music with some popular appeal. We are considerate and realistic about how many people go to record stores and buy such albums. When pressing vinyl, it’s music that most likely will not be pressed in the thousands. I say this because it means that we also have to really think about who we want to spend time with, and who we can envision doing something together in a handful of years from now. Therefore, in decision making, we don't want to have this rapid pace of picking up trends and moving on. I like to ask myself when considering a release: can I see myself listening to this in five years or in ten years' time. After all, the artists we work with are the people who define -OUS.
Something I like about -OUS is that you frequently collaborate with each other, whether it's mastering or reoccurring graphic designers or collaborations between artists. How do these collaborations genesise?
[Manu] In my case, I work with Noémi under the artist name Musique Infinie. It happened because we connect very well on a creative level and also because she is my partner. Besides that, it is spontaneous, and occurs throughout events. Since we are all friends, we often talk a lot amongst each other and discuss projects and sometimes it happens that we can merge them together, whether it being for an LP or a series of shows.
[Nik] It also happens that everybody on -OUS are actual musicians. They understand music theory and technique, but also are capable of creating music at their fingertips. When they play on the same night, they are capable of entering into a musical dialogue that goes beyond genres It is not to disregard pre-programmed live sets and the likes, but it makes things a little more “extra”; flexible, yet focussed. It all becomes something very special.
IOKOI & Bit-Tuner.
Sarah Oswald & Feldermelder.
Simon Grab & & Francesco Giudici! with their album “[𝗡𝗼] 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿” (28.01.2022).
Feldermelder & Julian Sartorius at Bad-Bonn. Photo by Patrick Principe.
In relation to maintaining the value of music in regards to its availability on various formats, what is -OUS’s perspective when releasing solely digital?
[Manu] Different releases call for different formats. There are also the more classic reasons, such as timing, size of the project, budgets… but to be honest, we’ve been thinking differently in regards to how we release music for quite a while. To elaborate, pressing vinyl under the thousands threshold is an environmental nightmare. Alongside the effort behind shipping and other complications when releasing on vinyl, there are always discrepancies between promo and the physical product. All of that, to afterwards have your music played from laptop speakers This is not really the way we feel music should be listened to. We don’t know if this burden is worthwhile or whether we just should refrain from all formats except digital downloads and streaming. It becomes problematic. Really problematic.
To add to this, I'm making more and more conscious decisions when I'm buying records (such as white label LPs), where there's barely any archival information, artwork or credits on it. I often wonder, as you described, whether it’s really worth it on the environmental aspect of it. Releasing only on digital formats does not mean that it reduces the quality of the music, obviously. So in this case, how does -OUS function as a label to make sure that digital formats hold equal “weight” as a tangible format?
[Nik] That's a really hard question. The lifespan of a digital release is a lot different than the lifespan of a physical one. If you take into perspective the artists’ career and the sum of their releases over several years, a digital release might also become important, like two years later or so, depending on what happens with the artist. But as Manu said, I think the current reality is defined by logistics and money. On our roster, about half of the artists are from Switzerland, which means we can apply for funding for those projects. This can make decision making on analogue formats a lot more straightforward. With our international artists, we have to get creative in how we get money for some releases. Additionally, the lack of “live” activity we had the past couple of years due to the pandemic meant that it was very difficult to do events in order to cross finance and promote.
Besides that, communicating with the artist is also very important, because it is substantial for us to know how fast they would like their music to be put out, is there more to come, is it a collection of pieces created following a certain concept, do they have ideas for their artwork… these are all factors to take into consideration when releasing music.
[Manu] Since I am also an artist, sometimes I really prefer that it happens faster, for things to go forward. For some projects, I prefer that it comes out faster, so that there is more promo and to keep the momentum going for a later release with more weight and funding. Otherwise, it has happened to me that you get too stuck in old projects. Sometimes you need to just put out that release so you can detach and make the next step.
[Nik] What absolutely needs to be said is that in an ideal world, all the people who listen to music, but it also applies to other art forms, should be willing to pay something for it, especially when living in a world where streaming is continuously growing and digital downloads are decreasing. I think we should not lose the ideas of owning music or building a collection, as a music listener, as a fan. You should also be aware that through your action, you're directly contributing to a certain person's life. It’s the same as in a labour context, basically.
Some labels have adopted the strategy that in order to create more value to digital releases, they purposely do not put their catalogue on major streaming platforms. The reason being is, if you truly liked a certain artist or piece, then you need to dig a little bit in order to find it. Considered as a way to sort of refocus yourself as a listener and add experience in enjoying music, consisting as a part of the journey of its discovery. Does -OUS have their own strategies? Perhaps an example of this is Manu doing a collaboration with Sara Oswald, which was only a digital release, but accompanied by a music video. Is this for example, a way for you to retain attention on the music and its artistic surroundings as opposed to what format it's being released on?
[Manu] I think? It’s another very complicated question. I've seen a lot of counter movement in the last two-three years, for example by labels that put out super long tracks to combat this idea of shorter songs to obtain streaming clicks. I really think that we always try to give more value to digitale releases, because it's an absurd situation: as much as 90% (if not more) of the people who listen to what we put out listen through streaming services. Personally, I think that today, in order to make ends meet, it is still live shows and royalties you need to get through your music. I think nobody has solved this puzzle of how to give more value to digital artefacts, there are so many realities when it comes to it. For example, we have quite a big following in Italy, especially in the younger demographic. But they do not necessarily have the means to buy our records due to the reality of their environment, at least on the financial side. The idea that because you are popular in an area, you will automatically sell a lot there doesn’t add up. You cannot expect everybody to be a thirty five year old who has a steady career going on that allows you to purchase such luxuries. But then again, streaming revenues are distributed in a way that is not benefiting small independent artists.
[Nik] To further your example of Manu and Sara Oswald, the reason why there was a video clip was because the videographer is a friend but also an amazing filmmaker who does interesting projects. From a label perspective, this is super welcome. But I think from an artist's perspective, it's something that almost everybody looks for; some way to collaborate further or find somebody to visualise a song from an album, essentially giving it another shape. In the end, I believe the visual layer that we are all exposed to daily with social media is already extremely embedded in our self understanding. So it's almost natural that when you have an album ready, you start thinking about a visual layer. And from the label perspective, it’s always great to have material to work with. Then again, on this day, you need to constantly remind people of what you're doing, which can be a very fine line between being actually interesting and annoying in a spamming fashion.
So in your description of -OUS, one thing that jumped to my eyes is that you described it as adventurous club music. Since you two have known each other since the early 2000s, I was wondering what your affiliation was with club culture.
[Nik] I met Manu because I had booked a tour package, organised by Kenny from Belgium, who makes music under the moniker X&trick. He would fill up a car with musicians, colleagues of his, and would tour Europe for weeks at a time. I was booking shows at the time in Zurich, and Manu was in that car alongside Kenny and Ceephax Acid Crew. So I booked them for an evening and almost twenty years later, here we are.
[Manu] Nik was a big raver DJ, especially in the day, and myself played a lot in clubs, especially as a money gainer throughout high school. In Switzerland I played a lot in clubs in the likes of Rote Fabrik, Rohstofflager or Toni Molkerei, and I made a lot of tracks to slip into my sets. It’s funny because I was never really a raver, but got affiliated to it through DJing and figured it was alright to do for a while, since I was good at it and enjoyed it for the most part.
[Nik] I still enjoy club music a lot to this day. Despite it being the fourth or fifth jungle/breakbeat revival in my lifetime, I'm still going along with it. As long as it has some musical dimension to it and is not solely functional, it’s fine by me. Sometimes I'm amazed that I still feel it and can really immerse into this kind of music. But then again, music is so much more. I mean, there's just so much music…
Svetlana Maraš Circolo. Photo by Lorenzo_Pusterla
Being two artists that toured a lot, locally and abroad, I was wondering if you also had any comments on the development of the Swiss dance music scene throughout the years?
[Manu] I think in the 90s, especially in Zurich and Geneva, they really had their own styles. At least in regards to dance music because other scenes were small and so niche that you cannot generalise. In the beginning of the 2000s, minimal music had an explosion in the scene and pushed everything else aside, there was a sort of rupture. Also, people back in the day who were making a lot of tracks and/or being active in the scene started running clubs, and building businesses, which left a hole among more ‘indie’ people for a couple of years. There was stuff moving in the scene, but at a small scale, at least until; 6-7 years ago when there was a big turn, lead by of groups of younger people who were really pushing forward thinking music on all sorts of professional levels, there was an immense output. Especially where I am from, Fribourg, there were labels and associations in the likes of Strecke records or TRNSTN radio that really helped people get their creative voice heard by being produced and broadcasted.
[Nik] There’s a strong community aspect to it as well. It’s something people look for now instead of doing things by yourself. Referring to that Minimal explosion, it was a difficult time for the other side of the underground because anything that would deviate from that genre, even in the slightest, would be frowned upon or disregarded. It was almost dogmatic in many of the audience's minds, so it was really hard as an artist to expand from a certain sound and take people to places, and this is something that you can absolutely do now, not only in off-spaces.
[Manu] To be honest, I never regarded the Swiss scene as being incredibly good back then. Back in the day, there were maybe two crews that were doing the kind of music I was producing, and we were also enthused in the same core beliefs. However, the rest were people who were doing the same thing, but mainly because they loved it, not necessarily to support each other. It’s fine, but the problem is that you have an unsustainable structure that never really latches on and thus disappears as fast as it began. Many people’s careers never grew, despite the hard work of many smaller labels.
An example regarding other genres… When I was running this club in Fribourg called Fri-son twenty years ago, it was practically impossible to book a Swiss band that doesn't look bad in front of an internationally renowned act such as Slayer. You want to help the band, but not if they will look really bad in front of such an act, since this wouldn’t help the band. Nowadays, you can choose from maybe 10 bands that could fill this spot. And I think this has changed across all genres, you now have choice. In today’s electronic scene, the gender gap is finally tilting towards a new balance, so this is also very healthy for the scene as well. And finally, I think the fact that most people speak English fluently and are online broke down a lot of barriers. It was not the case back then and we kind of stuck to each of our areas, especially the Italian part, we did not hear so much from them.
[Nik] I think mobility also has a role in it. Social media broke down boundaries on granular levels regarding what’s happening next door, so there is less this mentality of having achieved everything once you’re a regular in your town. There is more curiosity in what is happening next door, and also ways to find out about it.
[Manu] I think it was always a pity, because we have such a good club infrastructure in this country. Like nice PAs, stages everywhere, even in small towns, that are well visited, but there was no real music industry in the background that would elevate artists or push them to elevate themselves. Labels that I work with a lot, such as Strecke records, really helped push their artists and followed through with them in their career. One that comes to mind is Goffbaby. I think he was eighteen when we were working on his record. It is in no way to speak badly of him, but at that age, chances are that your production skills need development. And so people like me come to help in producing this record and you mentor them for about a year with knowledge that extends for over ten years. Back then, we did not have the same support or resources to progress faster and to move on to higher quality things, it was slow paced and resistant at times. Nowadays, you can get to the next level, whether it be your career, production skills and so on, at a much faster pace. If you want to of course. I don't say this because I want my generation to be remembered and more recognised. On the contrary, I am enthused how exciting this can be when you share ideas and collaborate.
An example of someone who really did something for the Genevan scene from my generation is Oliver Mentalgroove. He's been helping a lot in that sense for the past twenty or thirty years. I feel that a lot of recognition has been amiss towards this character. Nobody sees that a lot of things wouldn't exist without this guy and his dedication. And there are lot of these people that really put their life into helping artists, or work on their projects. I also helped so many people finish their records, some people never mention that you worked on half of their record and some people are the contrary. Goffbaby, who we were talking about earlier, is again a person who is incredibly grateful. He writes to me pretty much every week to thank me that he is now able to achieve all these things. This is really nice for me, but as a personal matter. As a whole, it doesn't really matter for the health of the scene. I don’t particularly care if it's recognised or not as long as the people do their thing and contribute with cool stuff.
[Nik] To close this circle of thought, today’s digital music ecosystems should get better in terms of context and information. Streaming services like Spotify do not provide such archival information in the like of credits, opposed to when you own a record on a tangible format, where you usually have such information in the back, on inner sleeves and so forth. Sure, this is perhaps more relevant to us who build collections, archives or libraries - but it also speaks for the interests driving the design of these services. People should have the possibility to inform themselves about the whole universe that came into place to ‘make’ this release. From who did the mix, mastering, pressing, graphics, videos, and so forth. It's another way of discovering a certain period, or a certain scene from a certain network. It's the way it should be held to help each other. In the end, the music outlives the person who made it, so there is a sense of responsibility to preserve context that will in the end translate into memories for the next listener.