Label Focus: Bermudos

Bermudos has somewhat of an intriguing reputation around Thailand – "imagine tech house at a reggae bar thrown by Russians" is how it was once described to me. Now that’s not entirely true, the Bermudos story starts in Belarus and labelling their sound as simply tech house is far too narrow. The imprint better describes their style and sound as bright and incomparably fresh with unusual rhythms and effects, floating on the border of a deep and tech sound to a diverse and exciting dub techno style but with a touch of acid and finished off with an extraordinary display of electronica.

Inspired by the free spirited ethos upon which communities like Burning Man were built, Bermudos has set out to instill this uninhibited mindset into their own small pocket of Asia through the events they throw, the artists they book and the projects they involve themselves in. With roots in KaZantip and Epizode, every week they bring this same breath of freedom to the southern most tip of Phuket and transform Thailand’s oldest reggae bar into their own little hedonistic house and techno paradise where you’ll usually find artists like Fishmonger, Kago Do, Vadim Almazov and label founder Wayu pushing their love for vinyl.

We caught up with label founder Wayu to talk about 10 years of Bermudos and the 5 releases that best represent the label.

How did the label start?

Bermudos began in 2008 as underground open air event in Belarus and since that time we’ve been moving around the world – we’ve since done events in Dubai, Moscow and Bali but for last 5 years we’ve called Phuket, Thailand home. Since the beginning we’ve done a few hundred events with local and international acts, launched our record label and subsequent booking agency.

Why Asia?

At first it was all about the energy in Asia – here we feel really different vibes and there is more life. But now Asia’s underground scene is growing very fast. In the winter you can find people from all parts of our world and it’s all together a very interesting life experience.

What is the ethos upon which the label was built?

We try to focus on smart experimental music alongside with more mainstream dance genres. Our label is playground for our artists where they don’t have any limits.

What have been your proudest moments with the label?

Our proudest moment has been our participation in a new experiment in Vietnam, which you know as Epizode. We’re lucky to be involved in that magical process. There we feel like we are a part of something bigger.

Bermudos isn’t necessarily connected to any one sound or style. What’s the common thread that ties together everything you do?

Our common thread is positive vibes; our events remind us more of family meetings where everyone feels like they are a part of a community and not just visitors. We try to attract them as much as possible. Also we try to mix between different types of art and we always open for new ideas and experiments.

Why is Phuket the perfect home for the Bermudos?

I love Phuket. This island makes a lot of positive changes on our community. Our regular venue is in the south of Phuket, a more wild part of this island, but at the same time you can find everything you need just driving 10-15 minutes on north of Phuket so you don’t feel like you’re cut off from world and can easy travel between countries. Phuket also has a really good mix of urban with nature.

Bermudos has evolved into a series of unique events in Phuket. What defines a Bermudos event and makes it standout from the sparkling beach clubs of Phuket?

The biggest defining factor is our people - they know where to come and why. Our people create such amazing vibes when an artist makes them feel good. That’s why we very carefully select our artists. It can be anyone from an international heavyweight to a local gem playing vinyl. Also we have more live acts with interesting performances.

What one track best represents 10 years of Bermudos parties?

Doubling as a creative & booking agency, how far is your reach?

In our heads there are no limits. Let's just say it's become more interesting and multilateral year by year and now I don't see any final point.

What's coming up for Bermudos?

We are trying to cooperate with communities close to our world vision like Burning Man, Kazantip or Epizode for example. These places are not only about music but about people freedom and we totally agree with it. For now we are trying to mix different types of art and turn it into a once in a lifetime experiment.

"This is perfect example of music freedom. Amazing collaboration between artists from different countries. You can find wide variety of music experiments."

"Very interesting melancholic concept and first experiment from my friends with live vocal. Synth part is also very memorable."

"One more very close artist to our community. A lot of experiments with analog instruments and minimal melancholy."

"This release is result of big international job between Marcelo Vasami, Guy Mantzur, Khen and Silinder. Original has regular support from Hernan Cattaneo for example."

"It was our first release, we worked hard at it and were very worried about how the music community would welcome our child. Very memorable moment. This release is absolutely free on SoundCloud."

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