Mism Records

Introduce yourselves by stating your name and your favorite type of sandwich and what you do.

Mich: A sandwich has to carry either lots of cheese or ham, and in any case cukes between the fresh bread. Hardly respect to those who go wrong with this combination. I’m pale for no reason, and I regularly practice imitating animals that haven’t been discovered yet. Only at home though. And sometimes, mostly when I watched High Fidelity I’d like to rearrange the records in the shelves but never do it after I looked at them for six seconds.

Manu: I just rearranged my room while listening to Schleimkeim (Punkrock from the DDR), which was less fun than fixing my bike on the balcony listening to Guns’n’Roses. Sandwiches… if there is mayonnaise in it, but no tuna, no fish, no salami, no tomatoes and no cheese, I even eat sandwiches.

How did Mism records get started?

It was actually a quick decision while sitting in the garden and swarming about lots of good stuff coming out, even though there was less vinyl than a couple years back. As big fans spending a lot of spare time on records, we thought we could release some stuff we appreciate.

What are your expectations for Mism?

The only expectation is actually to keep up with good songs, be it rap or instrumental / electronics or others. And sure to keep up at all, so far it took a lot of, let’s say, additional support of our own pockets; we didn’t think it takes in that amount to even do it.

What projects are you planning to release in the future?

It’s just the very next one that is definitely lined up. There will be two songs by Thesis Sahib, Fritz tha Cat and Zoën. The flipside features Babel Fishh and The Beastmaster with Edison.

What is the art and hip hop scene like in Bern and Switzerland in general? Are there a lot of local artists?

Mich: There is a more or less agile scene, but for the most part it’s not very interesting to me to be honest. There is only a hand full of artists making creative, distinct sound. If we come up with a weirdo (or in another way unconventional) rap concert, most self-proclaimed open minded dudes think it’s wack or boring – if they even come to the show. These boundaries are impressive, in a slightly sad way. The people around here appreciating this music aren’t really part of the common hip hop scene.

Manu: Speaking for Zurich, there’s quite an active graffiti and streetart scene (in most other big cities in Switzerland too) with regular exchange with artists from all over europe and the world. I actually don’t know the so called hip hop scene as it is represented in mags and TV here in Switzerland… there’s a lot of rappers and DJs but none of really big interest to me. There’s the label Quiet records though with good artists like Goeldin & Bit-Tuner. And Mattr. of course. That’s it, more or less. If you go to a concert in Zurich, let’s say Bleubird, there will be all kind of people in the crowd, punks, hippies, indies, hiphoppers… it’s more an alternative people scene we’re in, not the “hip hop” scene.

Why did you decide on two seven inches for your first releases? How did you get in touch with the artists?

There’s still a certain charm to 7″es, the particular songs have more weight this way. We don’t want to deny that maybe one day there will be a 10″, 12″ or even a double LP. We’ll see. How we got to the artists; since a few years we try to set up shows if artists from that indie/underground rap scene come to our country, and we became good friends with some of them. So first we are going to release people we personally met and thought these are cool guys. Sure that list will end some day. What we are going to then is not settled yet. Maybe a “Best of 2 Live Crew” remix album?

The die cut sleeve on the Bleubird and Son Lux/Reindeer 7″. How did the art direction for that release come about? What about the crazy photo on the Motionless and soso 7″?

Mich: I asked an ambitious friend which I knew has indusputable skills in arts, all kinds of stuff, and was very happy with what he came up with. The idea with the die cut sleeve popped up in a long beer filled night.

Manu: And in a few other long and beer filled nights we’ve been cutting and cutting and cutting … Some people bought the 7″ just because of the artwork…

My friend Toak from Germany is responsible for the photos. I sent him the songs to listen to them and a few days later he told me that he has found a piece of wood in an old fabric which he could use for the cover artwork and has sent me a picture of it. Probably the piece of wood told him what to do next and that is what resulted.

What are two things you feel people should know about Mism records?

It’s for the records: for the artists and their fans who both deserve vinyl in our opinion. We like hedgehogs.

Top 5 favorite electronic 7″ records

Mich: Well, that’s a heavy one. Today I’d say

Loess – Nomon / Schoen
Lusine Icl – Zealectronic Blue
Lackluster – Rikos
Ilkae – Remixes 3
Bomarr Monk – Surface Sincerety (if that counts as electronic)

Manu:

Goeldin & Bit-Tuner – Up In Smoke (Down By Concept Remixes)
Dalek / Oddateee – Split
Glen Porter – Falling Down
Moodswing9 – Reflections of Progress / Isle of Toys
DJ Sun – Sure

Shout outs? Last thoughts?

Mich: Shouts to the fox and hedgehog in my garden – cool! Bill Clinton should try to play drums with his fingers on the throat. If he’s proficient, maybe he could sing at the same time. He’d win a lot of bets in bars.

Manu: Thanks for mayonnaise and life in general. What’s it all about the hedgehogs anyways?

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