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Label Spotlight: Infinite Pleasure
I first became acquainted with Rotterdam's Infinite Pleasure through Manuel Darquart's paradise inducing 'High Tide', a vinyl which I've rinsed every side of in various mixes, DJ sets and radio shows. Since then I've unearthed some gems from the likes of DJ Safeword, DJ FFFTP and ghettohousedrummachine by digging into their back catalogue and keeping a close eye out for new releases. Launched in 2017 with a lo-fi esque boogie EP from SZCH, the label was created with the intention of bringing pleasure to people's live, whether through the dancefloor or home listening.
I caught up with label head Khalil Ryahi to find out more about the origins of the label, about their new compilation 'ABUNDANCE' and to find out what the secret ingredient was in bringing Infinite Pleasure to our lives.
Hey Khalil, thanks for chatting with us! Please can you introduce yourself and how you are involved in the music scene on a personal level?
My name is Khalil Ryahi from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. You could say I’m a veteran in the
scene having started collecting records at age 16 about 21 years ago. I got hooked on
electronic music and house parties at that age and started buying records as if my life depended on it. Shortly after I started playing my first gigs and organising my first events. With my friends we started calling ourselves Triphouse Rotterdam and with this organisation we opened our very own record store, started a record label and began organising even bigger club events and festivals as well as performing throughout Europe. So yeah I got sucked in by the music and never really let go of this passion even now I’m still selling records on discogs, I work as a programmer at WORM, a club in Rotterdam as well hosting a radio show on Operator Radio and of course running Infinite Pleasure.
When did Infinite Pleasure start and what was the inspiration behind it?
In 2016 I really felt the urge to start a new label as I was discovering new artists and new exciting LoFi-ish dance music. Being a part of a collective for a long time I really wanted to start something of my own where nobody else’s opinion (except for the artists) would have any influence on the label's direction. And I was already in contact with some awesome young
producers that I wanted to work with.
What was the first release on the label and how did it come about?
I came across SZCH (Filip Šćekić) on Bandcamp and he had a few tracks on there that blew me away. I reached out to ask him about getting these bombs on vinyl and he was just as excited as I was. At first it was supposed to be the third release as I was already working on multiple releases to have a steady release schedule. But these tracks worked so well when I’d play them in my sets that I decided to release it first. This proved to be a good choice as the first run sold out in less then two weeks and it was repressed soon after.
What is the aim of Infinite Pleasure and how would you describe your sound?
The basic intention behind the label is to create an output of quality music that provides
pleasure and a source of pleasure to people’s lives whether it be on the dancefloor or in daily
life. I also find it important to provide a platform for talented artists to get a chance of getting
heard. I really believe in the artists I work with and would love to see them reach higher heights and I just hope I can help them in their pursuit of musical success. Also soundwise I really don't want to stick to one style or direction, on the contrary, in the future
the diversity of the releases will only expand. My taste in electronic music is pretty wide and I
want the label to reflect this.
What is your favourite release (or releases) on Infinite Pleasure and why?
Haha that’s a tough question. I really love all of them! They all contain something very special to me. I can single out a few tracks that I absolutely never get tired of. Such as No One by SZCH, Untitled by Willrijk, Down Wit Boo by Slamb and High Tide by Manuel Darquart!
The whole process of getting these releases into existence is special. Most of the time it’s me
chasing an artist I really love and when they agree to work on a release this just makes me so
happy. I’m actually just a fanboy working with my favourite producers haha.
Quite a few of your releases are on vinyl as well as digi. Why is this an important medium for you?
Well the first releases were vinyl only actually, it was only after two years that I decided to
include digi. While it’s ubercool to be ‘vinyl only’ I thought going digital would also mean
providing infinite amounts of pleasure to even more people ;-)
But with crazy waiting times at vinyl pressing plants I’m currently exploring other avenues of
releasing music such as classic mediums such as cassette or cd as an addition to digital
releases because I really want a physical manifestation of each release being the OG that I am.
What challenges have you faced whilst running Infinite Pleasure?
The biggest challenge I had to face was running the label while becoming a father to two
daughters (twins). I do most of the work by myself and the V.A.I release (INPL003) My focus was nowhere near music at that moment. The first year of being a parent was super intense so the Slamb release (INPL004) also suffered because of this and I couldn't give it the right amount of attention with the lack of sleep and amount of work I was going through at the time.
Luckily the family situation has been under control for a while now and the label business is
going quite alright.
Is there anything else you think you should be doing as a label/ want to do?
Before the corona measures (temporarily) ended our way of life, with that I mean clubbing of
course, enjoying music in crowded settings I was working on Infinite Pleasure club nights. I’ve
had to cancel nights in Rotterdam, Berlin, Paris and hosting a stage during a festival in
Morocco, so that hurt a bit. But as soon as things let up again, keep an eye out for Infinite
Pleasure parties coming to a club near you, if clubs manage to survive this crisis anyways.
Any future plans that you have in store?
Hell yeah! There are a few exciting releases coming up very soon. First up is a new compilation series called, ABUNDANCE. 21 tracks from awesome producers from all over the globe. And its out now on our bandcamp with all other digi platforms following next week and a cassette mixtape coming later this month!
And vinyl/digi releases by Westcoast Goddess and Lostlojic will be announced very soon and released on May 14th . We will be picking up the pace this year so that there’s plenty of new dancefloor heat as soon as the clubs open their doors again!
Keep a close eye and ear to our channels to stay up to date on new releases as well as cool
merch that will hit the streets soon!
A big thanks to Khalil for chatting with us, don't forget to check our their wicked new compilation ABUNDANCE. For more from Infinite Pleasure you can follow them here:
Bandcamp: https://infinite-pleasure.bandcamp.com/
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/infinitepleasure
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/INFIN8music/