Label Feature: Money $ex Records

We are very pleased to welcome Money $ex Records to our Carhartt WIP Radio channel - a Berlin based label managed by three friends that unite one thing: a love for all kinds of music. Since December 2015 Max Graef, Glenn Astro and Delfonic have released music which has been produced by them and their friends, including Gerry Franke, Tito Wun, C.A. Ramirez, Hodini, IMYRMIND, Dexter or Retrogott amongst others. Their styles are varied – it could be house, it could be jazz, soul, funk, hiphop, trap, or just a thrilling electronic dreamland from a producer’s mind. For Carhartt WIP Radio, DJ and producer Glenn Astro jumped into his private DJ booth and conducted a mix that features the multiple elements of the Money $ex history with a deeply moving, constantly groove story arc. He also been so kind to answer us some questions on his label, his work as a DJ and producer and on what the future brings for Money $ex Records.

Hey Glenn, can you shortly introduce yourself to us?

Glenn Astro: Hey. Sure, my name is Konstantin and publicly I go by the name of Glenn Astro. Together with Max Graef and Delfonic I run Money $ex Records / M$R.

What process do you follow for getting new artists?

Glenn Astro: It differs, actually. Most of the time it was us reaching out to people we like or were fans of in the first place, aside from releasing a lot of records from friends and even family in some cases. That is pretty much how we would like to keep it. Of course we also constantly find new stuff or artists we haven’t heard of before and if it feels like it could be something for us we contact them and hope for the best. We do listen to demos though. And a lot of the times it is actually great music, but mostly not really stuff that we are looking for at the moment.

What exciting stuff do you have in the pipeline?

Glenn Astro: We are slowing down a bit this year and will not put anything out after the Retrogott & Glenn Astro 7“ in 2017. For 2018 we have a lot planned already, Christopher Rau just finished an album that we are really excited about. Also there’s going to be a various artists 12“, which is actually the first time we’re doing something like that. IMYRMIND is also working on a follow up album to this year’s Uniwersum Luxus. Max Graef did an EP with Brandt Brauer Frick that we also will release at some point. New stuff from Nas1 and also Mad Rey from Paris!

How does living in Berlin shape the work at Money $ex?

Glenn Astro: It’s definitely a good infrastructure and being here helps a lot in terms of having a network of people that can help you to get things done quickly. We’re all living quite close to each other as well, so it has this comfy local vibe to it. Other than that, I don’t think Berlin has a big influence on the actual music we put out. Don’t get me wrong, I do like being in Berlin and I think all of us do, but we’re still pretty much outsiders and really niche within the general musical landscape here.

What was your biggest Money $ex hit so far?

Glenn Astro: I feel like Gözleme Izponak from Gerry Franke was quite a hit, at least on the dancefloor. It was definitely one of those floor savers and peaktime hits for quite a while for me. Generally the first three EPs we’ve put out have been going really well and have had a couple of represses each. Another one is Pay Attention Inwards Now by Christopher Rau. I feel like it’s a bit overlooked as it has this slow/very fast kind of double time tempo that’s not exactly easy to place within a House or Techno set. Maybe another reason why we like this track so much is that it’s not the obvious choice, but when you play it in the right moment people go nuts!

How important are the non-musical components of Money $ex releases, like packaging and album art?

Glenn Astro: I think it goes hand in hand, really. Rahel Süßkind’s illustrations and cover artworks had a big role in shaping the label’s appearance and general identity.

How did you select the tracks for your Carhartt WIP Radio show?

Glenn Astro: Pretty simple, it’s all just music from the M$R back-catalogue. I tried to include at least one track from every release we have so far. At first I thought the best way would be to play them chronologically, but then I dismissed this idea pretty quickly in favor of what I felt were the most timeless songs and tracks that also would fit in a mix next to each other. Although the music is very diverse throughout the mix, you can still hear that approach quite nicely and feel there’s a common thread. It’s never like “wow, I wouldn’t expect this type of sound now.” There are surprising sounds but not in a bad way, I think.

You are also a DJ, can you remember where you first started DJing and the kind of music you were playing?

Glenn Astro: Well, I started DJing in my bedroom at the age of 12 or 13. When I was around 14/15 I started playing those hip-hop and rap parties at the youth center in my hometown. Those weren’t exactly rewarding, I once even was punched in the face while DJing by this drunk guy who thought I stole his jacket haha. But all in all, it was a good experience and it kinda trained me to play long DJ sets and being responsible for the music of the whole night early on. Eventually we’d start our own parties later on when I was finishing high school and later at university where we’d play more dancefloor oriented stuff. Or even have theme nights like only playing French house or stuff like that.

As a DJ do you prepare your set and know exactly what tracks you will play and in what particular order? Or do you just improvise in the moment according to the vibe and the crowd?

Glenn Astro: I usually improvise in the moment. I think I would feel a bit weird if I’d always play the same set of songs in the same order. I prefer to react to the mood and atmosphere that is going on in the moment. Obviously there are records that you like to play a lot or that are always in the bag too.

What new stuff have you got in the pipeline?

Glenn Astro: I am working on quite a lot of different stuff at the moment. Things that are coming out for sure though are two solo EPs from me. But this will only be in the beginning of 2018. It has been quite a long time since I did a record all by myself so I’m really excited for this! There’s definitely some full length stuff coming as well, but I can’t really say which of these will be finished first. Also I did quite a few remixes that are being released as we speak or are yet to come. There’s this remix I did for Ivan Conti of Azymuth on Far Out that will be out October 27th. It also features a remix by Max Graef. Another remix I did is for a German rap project from Dexter which is also coming out the same time on WSP. While being at this rap thing, I just released a 7“ with Retrogott on M$R called Freihandel Freestyle… I hope I didn’t forget anything.

When you produce, do you work spontaneously or with a lot of thoughts beforehand?

Glenn Astro: It actually depends on the situation or project you are working on. Usually I like to start fresh and see where things will take me within the process, but there’s definitely situations where you exactly know how you want something to turn out or you have a melody in your head or general vibe that you try to realize later on. The Yard Work Simulator album with Max Graef for instance, was completely planned and thought through before we even started producing the music. The EVEN record I did with Ajnascent on Money $ex Records this year on the other hand, was the exact opposite and emerged out of jam sessions where we first laid down some basic ideas and worked out the rest within the process.

What's your favorite record label?

Glenn Astro: The usual suspects I guess. Labels that I was always looking up to since forever, like Stones Throw, Warp, Brownswood and all that! I think XL Recordings will pretty much stay my favorite label of all time. Eglo is still doing great stuff as well, Apron too. Alex Seidel’s Schwarz 12 is looking very very promising with only three releases under its belt until now, but he definitely managed to create this special thing with great music a bit outside the paths of electronic dance music releases.

What was the best thing for you about 2017?

Glenn Astro: Don’t know if it counts as the ‘best thing,’ but there were definitely a lot of changes for me this year. We restructured a lot for M$R and generally a lot of things just went differently, but not in a bad way. I also started picking up on some stuff outside of music for myself that I have been neglecting a bit for the last couple of years.

Who are you listening to these days?

Glenn Astro: Moses Sumney just put out an album that is really great! Some of the more trap related stuff got me really excited for rap again the last few months. Also stuff like IAMDDB was really refreshing this year. King Krule, Mac Demarco and DMX Krew is really present on my stereo at the moment too.

Money $ex Records discography