There is nothing unusual about the beginnings of Catchdubs career as an underground industry icon, it’s pretty much the norm. People bonding over similar interests and explored passions. One industry job lead to another and through an intense dedication to the scene, excessive time and energy an indie label with eclectic but impeccable taste emerged. Thousands try, only few succeed. Catchdubs is one of the few.
Even is his early days Catchdub’s contagious enthusiasm for the industry caught the eye of Fader Magazine’s higher ups, where they offered him a position- remarkably without any previous writing experience. “I wasn’t looking to get into journalism, but they thought I could bring a fresh perspective to the magazine. “says Catchdubs. Although rewarding, when things began to roll, it was time to leave Fader behind. “When A-Trak realized the electronic-leaning music he was making with Kid Sister and on his own wouldn’t make sense on his old label [Audio Research] he asked me to start a new label with him that reflected our personal tastes and the hybrid music we were pushing in our DJ sets.”
It was the right time, as the market was lacking a home for the varied sounds emerging from the underground. Fool’s Gold is in a league of their own due to their purposefully eclectic approach. “Running the label is so fun is because it’s a genuine reflection of A-Trak and myself as individuals. It’s completely flexible, and can evolve with our tastes. I like the fact that we can put out a club rap record, or an experimental techno song, or a moody pop tune and it all makes sense – you don’t even have to tell people what it specifically sounds like, you can just say ‘Fool’s Gold’ and they get it.” As their reputation as a label grows to a wider scale they are making erratically calculated decisions, which is adding to their mainstream appeal.
While running a label with a serious direction is time intensive, Catchdubs has found is highly rewarding, as the music industry is clearly where he belongs. “While that’s time that could have gone towards working on music of my own, it’s no less satisfying. My brain is going in a bunch of different directions at once anyway.”
This year, Fool’s Gold is keeping busy. New albums from Gant Man and Alexander Robotnick are due in the coming months. “They couldn’t be more different, they’re both representative of different sides of FG” says Catchdubs. Fool’s Gold will also release the first installment in a series of compilations featuring a load of fresh artists. Of course there is a little something extra in store, “We have a very big surprise project called Duck Sauce that’s going to get people excited this [US] summer.”
