Southern Fried Records is a London-based independent electronic dance music record label founded and owned by Garry Blackburn & Norman Cook, better known by his stage name, Fatboy Slim. The label was created by Cook in 1994 to publish and market his and other artists' releases that major labels would deem not commercial enough for mass release.
The label's roster has featured scene leaders such as Cook himself (often under his Mighty Dub Katz pseudonym, among others), as well as electro funk pioneer Kurtis Mantronik. Currently, the label has expanded its range of releases to include more album-based artists alongside club music producers, including Armand Van Helden, DJ Touche, Cagedbaby, The Black Ghosts, The Whip, Crookers, The Shoes, The 2 Bears, Kashii and The BPA (AKA The Brighton Port Authority)
Ive been a fan of Fatboy Slim for a while and because of this ive gotten to know a little bit about Southern Fried Records and how it started. I wouldn't want to say this is 100% because ive pieced the story together from various sources and could be misunderstood.
Southern Fried Records as far as I know is Norman Cooks personal label which originally started in the early 90's/ late 80's so that Norman could publish the tracks(dance tracks) that other labels didn't feel were either apropriate for that name or were comercial enough. If you follow its early history then its only Normans alias's that usually appear on the label. As it grew i think he realised he could put out other peoples vinyl releases if they were having the same trouble he used to. "Grand Larceny" I think is a good example. He knew it was the big beat sound HE would buy so he felt responsable to help out a friend. Later people started sending more tracks and he began realising that these were worth of more than just vinyl releases and could possibly be chart singles. Scanty Sandwich("grand larceny"'s new alias) is the earliest example I think with "because of you". It was poorly released but still manager to stumble to the top(i think it was 2 or 3 in the charts? i cant remember). Space Cowboy/ Loop da Loop was another and I think at this point other people start realising its potential and the fact he had some very fruity releases and Song got involved(i think at the same time they got involved with Skint) and since then it is marketing itself as a full blown label and will be seeing its first Chart and none mix albums in 2003.
Going from strength to strength I think and hope that if Fatboy Slim ever retires then Normans home will be here secretly working behind the scenes.
Since it asks for reviews, I'll start with them: I have a few Mighty Dub Katz tracks around here somewhere, but none of them see the light of day... The Feelgood Factor's "The Whole Church Should Get Drunk" is a blast, especially if you like pulpit-inspired funk house. In a way it's similar to the Drop The Hate Remix from Fatboy Slim on "The Pimp" B-sides. This is one track I wish I had on a single, but I've only got it on a DJ mix from Fatboy Slim.
Fatboy's Live On Brighton Beach is superb in almost every way to Big Beat Boutique II, its sequel. Better song selection, better presentation, better flow, less notable fan noise, and its more entertaining overall. I could have sworn this was a Ministry of Sound release, though... Perhaps the only detractor from the set is that there's a slightly revamped Star 69 Mix on it that, while interesting, has been spun an awful lot. Rehearing it again when there are newer, possibly better versions ("Wine 'em, Dine 'em, 69 'em") available raised selection questions.
I wasn't really impressed with Kurtis Mantronix's "77 Strings," but would highly recommend his mix of "Strictly Business," available on Digital Empire II (unknown release.)
Skanty Sandwich's "Because Of You" is all right, but I much prefer his "This One" track which, oddly enough, isn't on here (see Astralwerks "Rarewerks," volume 1.) I have yet to hear his other tracks listed here, and took note of another notable missing Skanty track, "It's A Southern Thing," also worth checking out, also available on a Fatboy DJ mix.
I'm seeking information on Skanty, having only a brief understanding of the man's releases. I had been told he made a tentative deal with Astralwerks to release music in the U.S. but that project was later dropped without explanation. Why? It's also unclear if he is releasing material as Skanty Sandwich or just as Skanty. I've been told there's a full CD of his available, but I don't know where.
On Southern Fried Records, what does this mean for Norman Cook releases through Skint or Astralwerks? Will new material of his be available here that isn't available through them?
Who is Midfield General? Is anyone planning on releasing his music?
Am I missing something on this site that says 'order here?' How do I get certain tracks shown here?
icravecheese
June 26, 2003Southern Fried Records as far as I know is Norman Cooks personal label which originally started in the early 90's/ late 80's so that Norman could publish the tracks(dance tracks) that other labels didn't feel were either apropriate for that name or were comercial enough. If you follow its early history then its only Normans alias's that usually appear on the label. As it grew i think he realised he could put out other peoples vinyl releases if they were having the same trouble he used to. "Grand Larceny" I think is a good example. He knew it was the big beat sound HE would buy so he felt responsable to help out a friend. Later people started sending more tracks and he began realising that these were worth of more than just vinyl releases and could possibly be chart singles. Scanty Sandwich("grand larceny"'s new alias) is the earliest example I think with "because of you". It was poorly released but still manager to stumble to the top(i think it was 2 or 3 in the charts? i cant remember). Space Cowboy/ Loop da Loop was another and I think at this point other people start realising its potential and the fact he had some very fruity releases and Song got involved(i think at the same time they got involved with Skint) and since then it is marketing itself as a full blown label and will be seeing its first Chart and none mix albums in 2003.
Going from strength to strength I think and hope that if Fatboy Slim ever retires then Normans home will be here secretly working behind the scenes.