Spencer Brown is a producer known for pushing the boundaries of what defines a genre. Techno, deep house, progressive house, trance – Brown covers it all and makes it his own. Throughout his career, Brown has released on labels like Anjunadeep, Last Night on Earth, Factory93, and mau5trap, to name a few; now he’s taking his career to the next level with the launch of his very own imprint, diviine.
Diviine will officially launch on February 11th, 2022, with its first double-sided release from Spencer Brown, ‘Forbidden Flow / 18 Min Loop.’
The double-sided release will include ‘Forbidden Flow,’ which starts off dark and ominous, but transitions into something soft and emotive, an area in which Brown shines as a producer. ‘18 Min Loop’ is literally an 18-minute loop, paying homage to old-school club culture in which DJs performed all night long and producers released tracks that didn’t conform to industry rules.
Here’s what Spencer Brown had to say about starting diviine and its first release:
“Streaming has provided an incredibly convenient means to consume music; there’s no denying it. We artists have to make a “shorter version” or “streaming friendly version” for every track we make. I completely understand the principle if it’s a radio-friendly track. But some music isn’t necessarily designed for radio. With progressive music, it’s about the journey. I love to foreshadow, and elements come and go as the song progresses. It’s an art in itself to keep someone’s attention for an extended period of time. The art is the art. The track is the track. If it’s three minutes, great! If it’s eighteen minutes, great! That’s what it should be.
Since when should “the system” tell the artist how people should consume their art? Some of the most life-changing music for me was longer tracks (7+ minutes). Perhaps had I consumed this music in short-form edited versions, they wouldn’t have impacted me as heavily.
In about 2015 or 2016, the music industry became hyper-focused on making music “playlistable” – if I wrote a beautiful 8-minute track I’m proud of, I’d be forced to chop it down to 3 or 4 minutes. It feels like chopping off your baby’s arms and legs! I’ve released music in the past (many times) whose long versions actually streamed stronger than the edited version, which we had to make.
I’m very excited to start diviine to allow myself full creative freedom. Some tracks will be long. Some tracks will be short. Some radio-friendly tracks will have an edit. But that’s how it should be, at least in my mind. I currently feel artists coming together to give power back to the artists. I’m grateful to have a platform to help fight our battle!”
