Half Baked don’t do things by halves. The now legendary east London Sunday day party is the brainchild of Remi Landaz and Bruno Ciaramicoli and came to be in late 2009. Flowers, fairylights and friends adorn their magical venues. The Half Baked mission? To create a Half Baked Family (HBF), where like-minded lovers of underground house music can unite and feel free.
So, having well and truly anchored themselves as a mainstay on the East End’s party scene, and boasting a little black book bulging with some of the underground scenes most talented and diverse DJs and producers, Bruno and Remi decided to create their own label- Half Baked Records, through their Half Baked Family Agency. A means for like-minded producers of their original Sunday deep-house vibes to unleash their talents on the underground scene “without depending on major label[s]”.
But what sets HB apart from the other copious amounts of parties and labels emerging from the London dance scene? “We do not care about the politics from the music industry,” says Bruno. “We do what makes our friends happy and we do our best to create different music and art [to] experience during our event[s].”
The Half Baked Records philosophy is simple: to bring “innovation and playfulness to the greatest upcoming producers and DJs in the underground scene, and to release their music in the belief of operating as a ‘family’ spreading the records internationally.” The label believes in releasing all records on vinyl only and their first release came out on 12″ on the 4th of this month. This first release features an (almost) all French line-up with tracks from our continental compatriots and fully fledged members of the HB Family; Le Loup, Seuil, Yakine as well as London based Robin Ordell. The record provides us with tracks that are mixture of dreamy, uplifting deep house and dark, bass laden beats.
Have a listen to the first release here.
Le Loup, whose track Light Beam features on the release, says that “Half Baked is just what you’re looking for [as a] DJ. You know every time you will have fun, listening [to] good music with a good crowd…..I’m just proud to be part of this family.” Seuil continues: “The special thing with Half Baked is that….every time it’s an amazing time….the crowd is really openminded but already well educated on the music, they know what they are coming to listen to.”
So, what next for Bruno, Remi and co as their family continues to grow? Well, expect world domination as they take the Half Baked philosophy to Sonar and the Miami Winter Music Conference amongst many other cities. Robin Ordell says: “It’s exciting and motivating to play outside London representing Half Baked and to see that people are appreciating my music.”
The next release is due out in April, with a special showcase happening in Hackney Wick on 31st March, and will feature sets from Thomas Melchior, Mike Shannon and Nail.
If you want to become a part of the family and feel the Half Baked love, you can enquire about guestlist for the event by clicking here.