Devilman are set to release their debut album on 15th October, via the freshly minted Small But Hard label, which was founded at the start of this year by the band’s Shigeru Ishihara. We’re pleased to have been given the premier on the first listen to music from the album – ‘Bakan Q’, a sonic wrecking ball of a track that changes tack several times across its length, and whose video you can watch above.
Although the album marks Small But Hard’s inaugural release, the label – run by Ishihara, illustrator and printmaker Simon Fowler, production manager and co-founder Dysu Imamura and graphic designer/photographer Bryce Davesne – has already lined up a pretty formidable roster of incoming music.
So far on the label’s upcoming releases are a collaborative 7" and album from DJ Scotch Bonnet and smoked-out MC Sensational (due around November), a 7" by C_C, a Small But Hard mix cassette (due in February) and a 12" by Walter Gross (also due next February).
Small But Hard was started by Ishihara and Fowler, after the pair met at Supersonic last year: Devilman were playing and Fowler was exhibiting artwork. It blossomed into a discussion around starting a label where sound and visual aesthetic were all rolled into one complete package.
And for a taste of the sonic aesthetic they’re working with, the label are running a number of launch parties to celebrate both the album and the label’s launch, which take place in the UK and Europe.
The parties feature Kakawaka, Devilman, C_C, DJ Die Soon and a collaborative performance by DJ Scotch Bonnet with MC Sensational and Kouhei Matsunaga (aka Koyxeи). The latter two have worked together previously, and Matsunaga recently put out an excellent LP through the PAN label entitled Dance Classics Vol. 1, so these shows ought to be well worth finding your way to. The dates run as follows:
OCTOBER
18th – London, Power Lunches
19th-21st – Supersonic, Custard Factory, Birmingham
24th-28th – Elevate Festival, Austria
30th – Berlin, Berghain (also feat. Roly Porter and Dead Fader)
For more on Small But Hard, head across to the label’s website.
