Underground House Legend T.Williams on His New Label and Creative Freedom

Once upon a time, T.Williams (performing at Beta tomorrow night), who's known for his underground house/bass production and sets, partnered up with S.E.F. to found the Deep Teknologi label. "We came to a point with that label when that U.K. deep house thing was going on," he explains, "and my friend was really into that, but I was really more into straight, linear styles. So we decided to call it a day with that label a few years ago."

But T.Williams still had big plans for a label, and they're coming to fruition.

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"I always had it in my mind that I wanted to start a label where the ethos of the music leads first with everything, as opposed to following what the hype is at the time," he explains. "And in the last three to four years, I've thought that there are some labels that have been doing that very well, but last year it just felt like there was a gap for a label that had something special about it and that wasn't the generic UK house thing. We wanted to create a cool London sound."

He was already working with a group of talented young artists through another label and also through a BBC1 radio show, so the roster of artists he's collecting is impressive. "The only limitation I've encountered is that at the end of the day, I'm a creative person," he says. "I like to stay creative, and I don't have an amazing business mind. But I've got a team in place looking after that, and my position has been made easier now.

"To be honest, I've really and truly got no insight into trends," he adds. "It's just money and vanity. People follow that path because it's a clear way to make money, be famous and travel the world. And each to their own, if that's what they do, but I want to push for originality and be a part of something that's new and fresh and interesting me."

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