James Beetham & Peter O’Rourke (Late Night Music) [Interview]

The eighth installment of our label manager interview series welcomes James Beetham and Peter O'Rourke who run Late Night Music. Launched in 2018, the digital imprint has become one of Australia's premiere progressive house labels. Dmitry Molosh, Golan Zocher, Jamie Stevens, Mike Rish, NOIYSE PROJECT, Subandrio and more have all showcased their sounds via the Aussie imprint, while label owners James and Peter have been fixtures of the country's burgeoning night life for the better part of a decade. With the label approaching it's five year anniversary and a pair of top tier releases landing shortly, we had a chance to catch up with James and Peter for a chat about their vision for the label, day to day operations, advices, inspirations and much more. Enjoy.

Hi Guys, thanks for sitting with us today! What is your current mood, and what was the last piece of music you listened to?

James – “Hey Mitch, feeling good, just woke up and having a green tea. I last listened to and mastered a few unreleased tracks from Wolfframm for his upcoming EP on Late Night Music. This guy has some seriously cool sounds.”

Pete – “Feeling a lot more relaxed this weekend with some nice sunny weather here in Canberra, after a particularly stressful couple of months. Last thing I listened to was the Dune soundtrack from Hans Zimmer, the sketchbook one which has some really lush ambient vibes, as I recently bought the paperback to read.”

How has the first half of the year been for you guys, and what are your plans for the week?

It’s been amazing time for the label we run together, Late Night Music. Over these last six months (and really the last 12) has been a huge period of growth as we’ve cemented our processes and defined the label’s sound, reflected in some fantastic international support. The next week is planning for a label showcase we have at the famous Revolver nightclub in Melbourne!

Tell us more about your story. How did you discover electronic music?

James – “I had always had an interest in music from a young age following in my father’s footsteps as a musician and playing a few instruments as I grew up, from an early age I would remember my mother listening to Sneaker pimps which would provide a deep root into my love for trip-hop and more obscure sounds. 2000-2005 would have been my most influential years - I would research and listen to my eldest sister’s music which introduced me to sounds in the Progressive Trance and Techno realms through DJ Mixes from artists including John OO Fleming’s with his mix on Godskitchen’s ‘Journeys’ compilation through to Carl Cox’s mix for his ‘FACT Australia’ show, right through to hearing albums from Massive Attack’s 100^th Window and a house edge from Fatboy Slim’s ‘You’ve come a long way baby’. In the later part of this period I was introduced to more electronic music from both Alex Braknys (who now helps with the label), through his love of Prodigy, and from attending Hard Trance Raves between 2004-2006 in Canberra.”

Pete – “My parents had a massive influence in the discovery of electronic music. My dad used to play 70s electronica from artists like Jean Michael Jarre and play tape recordings of the local FM station’s ‘Party Hard’ show for road trips in the car, while my mum used to play stuff like Deep Forest. She also bought a few clubbing mix CDs – but neither of them actually ever went clubbing! But it was a copy of Mark Farina’s Mushroom Jazz CD that my dad bought me which put me on the path. It came with a CD-ROM with a basic make your own beats mixing program – pretty cool for a 10-year-old!”

How has growing up and living in Australia contributed to your passion for electronic music?

Australia has always had a tight knit community when it comes to electronic music and clubbing culture. There used to a website called InTheMix which had a music forum to discuss events, tracks and whatever was happening in the scene. Being able to interact online with the DJs you used to see on flyers while a teenager still in school really added to that sense of community. Seeing what the elders did to bring it forward, and now getting to do that ourselves is pretty special and a responsibility that we hold dearly.

At which club or event did you experience electronic music for the first time, and what memories have stuck with you from that moment?

James – “This would have to be sneaking into clubs underage with my elder sister, one memory sticks where I was so high on the dancefloor at a club called Insomnia and we were there for a hard trance event and I vomited on my sisters hand on the dancefloor as I was rushing to the bathroom – LOL …. 5 minutes later I was back on the dancefloor. Another memory that really sticks was seeing Carl Cox play for the first time at ANU in Canberra – Seeing him play on 3 vinyl at the same time was a skill level to aspire to.”

Pete – “The Big Day Out festival, aged 15. It was my first proper concert, and I got to see the Chemical Brothers and Infusion in the boiler room stage. I grew up in a rural town of 7000 people, so having that many on the one dancefloor in the room was incredible to see, and experiencing music with that level of sound and all the lasers was mind blowing.”

Progressive House is well known for being popular in Australia and it has been for over two decades. Who from your home country inspired you the most when you first discovered the music and how has the scene changed there over the years?

Acts like Infusion which crossed over into the mainstream had a big influence, and that whole Melbourne scene of DJs pushing progressive house and breaks – Luke Chable, Nubreed, Anthony Pappa, Gab Oliver and Phil K. Even though Pete lived in Forbes (a central west NSW town) and James lived in Canberra, we were aware of it.

These days there’s much broader interest in electronic dance music, but progressive house is always a bit more niche and tightknit. And it’s still that prog family based out of Melbourne with inspiration being gathered with artists in other Australian cities.

The outdoor ‘doof’ scene as it’s known in Australia also can’t be denied, impacting on the sound, both from the psychedelic edge of psytrance, but also the influence of production itself. Music in the bush has more space to breathe, so the production becomes more intricate reflecting the environment in which it’s played.

Both James and Pete cut their teeth as DJs playing at local doofs – Pete even used to spin and produce full-on psytrance. That sense of community at those parties has a driving force today in progressive house.

What would you attribute the popularity of the progressive house sound in Australia to?

We wouldn’t say progressive house is actually hugely popular here, we just punch well above our weight in the quality of the music coming from Australia.

Artists like Mike Rish or GMJ and Matter (their Meanwhile label is run out of Melbourne) are making waves internationally now for example, all this builds on more than 20 years of solid releases of Australian music through labels like Vapour Recordings, Zero Tolerance, Open Records.

Who are some up and coming Australian artists to look out for?

Wolfframm is making some very unique productions at the moment, while artists like Leah Marie (currently in Berlin), Brett Kelso, Malika, Tristan Case, Covsky, Sam Cook, and Fraser Rix are all ones to watch.

What are your favourite venues to play in Australia and why?

Definitely Revolver in Melbourne. The crowd has a strong sense of community who are always up for a proper party. It’s a diverse, comfortable crowd, people are up for a bit of experimental sounds. Of course, as DJs we also love to spin in warehouses or outdoors. It’s not about being flashy, it’s about creating a temporary alternate world, and connecting with the community.

How did you guys initially meet?

We first met back in 2010 when James was the music manager of a nightclub in Canberra, and was hosting ‘open deck’ nights on a Thursday where new DJs could come and practice their skills, and meet other like-minded people with a passion for music. Over the next decade we built a rare friendship as we made music, ran parties and supported each other in the highs and lows of life.

What led you to start Late Night Music initially? Was that your first foray into running a record label?

We used to run a series of parties under a retired brand called ‘Department of Late Nights’ in Canberra (fittingly named for a crew in Australia’s bureaucratic capital).

When James moved to Melbourne in 2018 to pursue his music and audio engineer career, we decided to take a different direction and the idea of creating a record label began to form. It’s been a steep learning curve being our first label, but we’ve had some great mentors over the years and learnt as we’ve built it together.

In terms of DJs and artists, who would say are the biggest sources of inspiration for your labels?

For specific artists, the biggest sources of inspiration would be Subandrio and Jamie Stevens. Subandrio for adding that techno drive to the progressive elements. His music has warmth and doesn’t sound overly digital. For Jamie’s music, it’s that sense of soul to the electronic sounds, whether it’s that tribal, syncopated drum work or the way synths are played like organic instruments with subtle differences as each sound is played even on the same synth.

If you had to pinpoint a few tracks that you released which were crucial in the development of Late Night Music, what would they be and why?

Fourthstate’s ‘Distant Source’ EP was a big one back in Nov 2020, it really defined a sound and it was that point that we felt we knew how to run the label properly. The second moment was our ‘Annular’ release in 2022 where James & Pete compiled the best tracks of the year where Kazuki (Pete) would mix the release. When we listened to the mix we had a huge sense of achievement of what we achieved across a single year - it was the first moment we could hear and perceive the sound of our label in a continuous DJ mix.

Your musical interests seem broad, but it’s no secret that some artists and genres tend to sell better than others. Is this ever a factor in what you sign to your labels?

No. The three of us working at the label review the tracks always with the intention of asking ourselves ‘would we play this in our sets?’ We never entertain the idea of wondering if a track will sell well, it’s always about the feeling we get from the music. Good music always reaches an audience!

You have two special releases coming up from Dmitry Molosh and Jamie Stevens, perhaps the biggest to date for the label in fact, please tell us about those and how they came to fruition.

We’ve always been a fan of Dmitry’s music, everything he remixes or releases evokes some sort of emotion. James reached out to him to remix his EP late last year, and it was a natural progression to release an EP with the label in time to celebrate our 5^th birthday in Sept of 2023.

Jamie Stevens has been a mentor of ours for a good 7-8 years since we’ve known him personally. One of the original intentions of starting the label was to sign Jamie Stevens. We knew that we couldn’t ask Jamie to sign straight away, we had to build a label to a certain calibre first. His EP will be the 50^th release at the end of the year with two originals.

Organic House has become a trendy sound in electronic music these past couple of years, do you think this genre has become a bit over-saturated? And what is your opinion on the current state of the genre? And to add to that, with the emergence of Organic House, has the Progressive genre suffered to some extent?

A lot of progressive house fans find their way to the sound we love through things like organic house (or tech-house or afrobeat), so that’s a positive outcome. Even if there is a bit of an over saturation of tracks, there will always be gold that no matter what the genre they will stand the test of time. Organic house can be a great tool, providing contrast in a set.

Similarly, a lot of the younger generation love what we’ve dubbed ‘lollypop prog’. They’ll find their way to the deeper or more dynamic and driving end of the genre after their tastes develop for a more acquired appetite!

Are both of you solely responsible for the A&R on the label? And if not, who else contributes to what gets signed or is helping with the weekly duties?

We are all responsible for signing music, based on what we referenced before ‘would we play it’. Alex Braknys (Fourthstate) who also does A&R has a fantastic ear, we trust his advice.

Do you have a special spot to listen to demos? Outside of the studio, I mean, a place where your mind resets a bit, and you have fresh ears in a way.

Pete – “Beyond the studio, I sometimes listen to Soundcloud links on the morning commute in the car with my partner Laura. She has a really good perspective on whether the tracks are accessible as a non-DJ who just enjoys good club music.”

James – “Sitting down in a Zen garden on top of a mountain while smoking some DMT…. Only joking, I generally always listen in my studio on multiple monitor references, but I also listen a second time on a different day to ensure my mood wasn’t affecting my decisions”

Let’s discuss artwork for a moment; your label follows very recognizable themes which you use for a stretch of releases and then move on to a new design which is working very well for you. Should labels be putting more time and thought in their artwork?

We switched our label design to reference 1970’s sci-fi art at the end of last year following some comments from Wolfframm about a release which had a bit of that vibe. Both of us were designing the initial releases, but it became a lot of work when we did more frequent releases. Because we got busier and the label doesn’t make a lot money to spend on a graphic design, we moved to using AI for the art with a very specific aesthetic, pretty much at a time we defined our label’s core sound.

As for other labels’ approach to art, we understand the mechanics of how a label works, so when it comes to art it’s up to labels to decide what they value and how they manage it, everyone has a different situation and we respect that.

What advice do you have for artists hoping to get signed to Late Night Music?

Send a personalized email with some brief information about yourself as an artist and the tracks, along with a private soundcloud link (don’t send the same link to 20 labels!). Make sure you understand the label’s sound and that your music suits the style. We actively listen to each demo, although we only reply to ones we want to sign due to the amount of demos we receive.

Is big DJ play a factor in signing something? From someone like Hernan Cattaneo or Nick Warren, for example.

No, it’s not a factor at all. Most of the tracks we receive haven’t been played out beyond the artist who created it. When we lock in a release, we’ll often send it out to select artists in the DJ community or to a promo list before it hits the online stores. As an example our unreleased EP ‘Glide’ for Dmitry Molosh has already had plays from Nick Warren and Hernan Cattaneo.

You generally do remixes on most of your releases, so what is your thought process behind remixer selection on a given project, and how many is too many in your opinion?

 When we first started doing remixes we thought more was better, but now it’s about ensuring there’s a broad selection and contrast between each track on the release to help compliment the release. We often try to have some of the more established artists remix newer artists to lift them up and expose them to new fans or different networks.

Looking back over the label’s discography, which one of your early releases / tracks still puts a smile on your face when you listen to it now, and why?

Pete – “This might be a bit of an egotistical answer, but my first track I put out ‘We Came In Peace’ from our first release. It’s such a weird, trippy tune - I still really like it!”

James – “All of Wolfframm’s tracks - They always put a smile on my face when I hear them, they all have an infectious energy – happy or melancholy, but always infectious.”

Who do you see as future stars in Progressive House?

James – “The Godfather reigns will be passed over to Jamie Stevens as he continues to create this electronica infused progressive house movement. Rockka has a bright future – Sri Lanka has a global hub of progressive house, much like Argentina is now. Plus Leah Marie is taking some great early steps with her productions and will go far.”

Pete – “As a producer, Wolfframm is one to watch. I honestly think his productions are unlike anything out there at the moment, his tunes have a crossover appeal into the wider global electronic music market.”

What advice would you have for new or potential label owners out there?

Consistency is key, both in the quality of the releases and a regular schedule. Be prepared for the long haul, building a label won’t happen overnight. Don’t try to do everything, find your own niche whether in its sound or how you approach the whole endeavour.

If you could set up an event with a line-up of five artists of your choice, who would you book, and what set times would you ascribe to the artists?

James – My Ideal lineup for an evening into the morning event would be:

6PM – DJ Koze

8PM – Bonobo (DJ Set)

10PM – Jamie Stevens

MIDNIGHT – Guy J

3AM – Paul Angelo & Don Argento

Pete – I’d love to run a party in the desert in Central Australia in the cooler months, starting just before dusk into sunrise with a bit of a psychedelic edge.

5PM – Damian Lazarus

8PM – Ozric Tentacles (live psychedelic band)

10PM – Subandrio

1PM – Eat Static

3PM – Depth Institute

What’s a book you’ve read, or film you watched that has left an impact on you, and why?

Pete – “Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Children of Men’ is one of my favourite films. It’s a fairly dark piece about social collapse (the premise is that no babies have been born for 18 years), which seems more prescient as time goes on. Beyond it’s incredible cinemaphotography though, it’s got this real message of (somewhat cynical) hope and humour as the protagonists do what they can against an oppressive system and state of decay. It’s just one of those films I still think about years later.”

James – “As funny as this may seem, it was the movie called ‘It’s all gone Pete tong’. It was a real eye-opener to me about ear health and looking after my ears. I remember watching this at a younger age and feeling educated to protect my ears with earplugs and to manage my noise exposure. Even to this day I’m very critical at ensuring to protect my ears”

Apart from music, what makes you happiest?

Pete – “It’s a bit of a cliche, but spending time with my partner Laura, my friends, and family. I’ve got an incredibly close group of friends and we all hang out a lot, especially having BBQs, going camping, that sort of thing. Sharing food and conversation (both silly and serious) together is one of life’s greatest pleasures.”

James – “For me I feel my happiness comes from within and to ensure that tap doesn’t dry up, I feed my soul so that I can continue to give to others. I like to treat myself with alone time to recharge my soul by going to special unique places, be it on a mountain top or in a forest, or on a bike ride. I love connecting with nature and taking time away from the chaos to take a breath and centre myself.”

Check out the entire Late Night Music catalog here: https://bit.ly/3sHq2PA