A Plymouth record label set up in the dance music glory days around the turn of the century has been revived after its owner’s one -man play became a hit at the Edinburgh festival.
Independent dance music label Fiftypointfour has been relaunched, and is bringing out new tracks from a list if new and established artists including owner Sean Holland.
The label was a hit in the early years of the 21st Century after being formed following a chance meeting at Eastern Bloc Records in Manchester, in 2002.
Mr Holland was on a trip around the country distributing 12-inch singles for his old label DNA Recordings and searching out new tracks for his own DJ when he met Dave Muirhead, label manager for Eatern Bloc. Before long Fiftypointfour was issuing house music by the likes of Manchester's Thought Disorder, which went on to be called Headz.
The label produced a limited run of vinyl for its debut launch, Onimusha, which went on to feature in top DJ Sasha's set, he even opened his 2001 Creamfield's stint with the track.
Now the label is back after Mr Holland scored a different sort of hit - his single-hander play, One Foot in the Rave, set in Plymouth’s dance scene of the 1990s and clubs in its world-famous Union Street.
Mr Holland has written, staged, directed and stars in the production, which has been touring the country to sell-out crowds and five-star reviews.
The show, mainly autobiographical, tells the story of a disillusioned 23-year old Jehovah’s Witness who breaks free from the religion and lands on the dance floors of 1990s clubland.
The award-winning production is set to a soundtrack of remixed 1990s classics, and some original pieces, and its triumph at Edinburgh, where it is playing throughout August 2019 after a national tour, has inspired Mr Holland to give his label a rebirth.
He said: “Getting back into the studio to make the sound design, and remix 90s tracks has really inspired me. I have been working with my friend, and very talented engineer, Chris Pratt. Chris is so easy to work with. We had a lot of fun.
“Touring the play, and reliving the 90s on stage has left me wanting to finish a journey that felt unfinished. There are big plans for the show, which include bringing in visual elements, more remixes and other producers too”.
Mr Holland, who performs under the name Alexander Rhodes, has a release schedule of 12 tracks which he has remixed under another name: RetroSpektre. These will be “house, breakbeat and chill out tracks from a studio deep in the wild countryside of Dartmoor”.
Among the artists that will be appearing on Fiftypointfour waxings are Dan Aura, a singer/songwriter from Brighton, with his track Forever Isn’t Long.
Mr Holland said: “Dan originally approached the label back in 2018 after having released his own original version of the track. Over the last 12 months the track has been used as the opening sequence music for the theatre show One Foot In The Rave.
Fiftypointfour is also releasing two of Mr Holland’s own tracks: The Alexander Rhodes releases Sound of the Wave and I Am Ready.
Mr Holland said: “Back in 1998 I spent a life-changing week in Ibiza with the then Aubergine (Bristol) resident Paul Conroy. This week long adventure was a seminal part of the story which inspired the play One Foot In The Rave.
“Sound Of The Wave was originally written for the theatre show, One Foot In The Rave, to provoke thoughts on the concepts of, portals, fractured time and how we are what we project. This is carried throughout the track by a vocal sample from popular philosopher Alan Watts.”
He added: “I Am Ready is a very definite nod to the progressive explosion of 99 to 05. Inspired by record shopping trips to Manchester in the early 00s, it draws heavily on the deep progressive mood of the era.”
