For our fourth remix competition we were delighted to have fellow Brightonians Catskills Records on board. Not only that, but they gave us the opportunity to host a remix competition with one of our favourite artists on the label. Awesome! Just when you feel you could almost catch your death in the frozen wastes of the current music scene, a saviour pads into view. Husky Rescue are here, carrying the revivifying (and intoxicating) liquor of musical invention and pure, untainted melodicism in their capacious sleigh. As clear as icewater, as dazzling as the Aurora Borealis, as jolting as a splash in the face from a Finnish lake; the music of Husky Rescue is more than capable of refreshing even the most jaded palate and warming the cockles of those left cold by lesser talents.

Finnish multi-instrumentalist and all-round musical magus Marko Nyberg leads the charge. His delicate, country-folksy yet contemporary music is surely the work of an artist touched by the chilly majesty of his homeland, and much more besides. He speaks of his influences as being ‘the magical moment’ and mood in movies. David Lynch, Lars von Trier. Wim Wenders, Lukas Moodysson, Russ Meyer, Scandinavian architecture, Erik Satie, the airy lushness of French impressionism and Philip Glass. The sound of Arvo Part, warm and honest country music and a lot of other things in pop culture (such as) graphic design and photography.

Unlike many artists who cite such wide-ranging influences, you really can detect them in Nyberg’s music. Each song is a self-contained mini-movie aiming for its own unique emotional impact. Take ‘New Light Of Tomorrow’, a slow burning Floyd-ian epic, a hushed meditation on hope and doubt. Both intimate and immense, this is the stuff of heartbreak, a happy-sad reverie.

‘Sweet Little Kitten’ is well named. It’s warm, delicate and adorable. Around the time of ‘Pet Sounds’ Brian Wilson declared his ambition to make music which loves the listener back. This is something which Husky Rescue are also clearly capable of - this song curls around the listener in a warm, comforting embrace. As Marko puts it, “I'll try to create music that gives you feeling that somebody’s holding you in their arms. And some contrast for that. There always has to be contrast.”

And there is plenty of contrast in the Husky soundworld. ‘Gasoline Girl’ begins as a laidback, bluesy daydream before breaking out into an expansive psychedelic landscape while ‘Rainbow Flows’ begins with a truly awesome cinematic flourish before settling into an understated lo-fi groove, revealing a frivolous, dizzy dimension of Nyberg’s sound - a Husky tongue lolling around weather-beaten chops, you might say.

When asked to describe his own work, Nyberg’s metaphors are unusual but entirely appropriate: David Lynch meets the night-less night in Lapland, he suggests, or perhaps Bambi meets big bad wolf and they become friends.  If you can read that and not be intrigued, you are an iceberg, my friend.

- Catskills It seems like just yesterday, but – in the blink of an eye – Catskills Records is TEN years old! Yes, it’s actually been TEN years since label-founders Jonny Reggae, Amr Mallassi and Khalid Mallassi got off their collective sofas and dropped the first classic twelve in the shape of the "Indian Motorcycles EP". In the decade since the birth of the label which has spawned a thousand “So where did you get the name Catskills?” type questions, the shape of the music scene has changed beyond all recognition. And, Catskills has been there ducking and weaving through every new trend and flash-in-the-pan music genre by sticking to one principal: We release music we like; there’s no particular style or formula to the way we do our thing – if it rocks, we’re spinning it till the wheels fall off!

This willingness to experiment and avoid getting pigeonholed has led to Catskills unleashing such diverse new music from across the musical spectrum, from the vicious sonic experimentation of Pepe Deluxé to minimal musings of Shenoda & Faure or Nylon Rhythm Machine; from the blistering dance anthems of Bushy & Professor or Black Grass to the downbeat lushness of Husky Rescue, Hardkandy or Sonorous Star and all the points in between. Bands on the roster have included the likes of Pepe Deluxé, Husky Rescue, Hardkandy, Black Grass, Feature Cast, Bushy & Professor, Mex, Shenoda & Faure, Sonorous Star, Capsule, Aldo Vanucci, Kidda, Vibra… the list goes on. No two bands have the same sound, each artist is encouraged to forge their own sonic path.

Through the years, Catskills have had their various brushes with the mainstream (high profile worldwide adverts with the likes of Levis’, Apple iPod and Ray Ban and a solitary moment of chart success with Pepe Deluxé to name but a few) but have always kept stepping and cutting  their own unique groove where the quality of the music comes first. Throughout the last decade Catskills has maintained the family vibe that has won them many friends and admirers in the industry and kept the spirit of the label ahead of the game. Here’s to the next ten years of music, parties and good times ahead.

- Catskills

1st - GJ Orange

Runners up

2nd - Broken Chord
3rd - Carlini

Honourable mentions

4th - Implosion Quintet
5th - Andrei Nikolsky
6th - The Holy Roman Army

Listen to all the finalists on our AKA004 soundclick page soundclick.com/aka004 download the sample pack here