Audio: 5 Years of Tsuba fabric Promo Mixed by Kevin Griffiths

Few intimate parties touch on the blistering atmosphere and vivacious crowds that cram into our Room Three every weekend. Like Tsuba boss, Kevin Griffiths says, “I love the vibe in room 3 the most when it’s going off.” Turning our attention to the fifth year anniversary of his underground deep-house UK imprint, made up of some of the worlds most desirable producers such as Sascha Dive, Okain, Federico Molinari and of course, Kevin Griffiths himself. We are already lining up to celebrate the musical milestone with Kevin & friends next Saturday and to swoop up the very special Tsuba double disc album which sees some of the label's finest output reworked by Sebo K, Art Department and Arto Mwambe. Leaning in with anticipation for its release on March 21st, we caught up with the Tsuba torchbearer to hear more on what makes the five year release stand tall, as well his dedication to vinyl and why running Tsuba has become an addiction. DOWNLOAD: 5 Years of Tsuba fabric Promo Mix by Kevin Griffiths Hi Kevin, first of all can we wish all of those at Tsuba Records a happy five year anniversary! How does it feel to start the New Year off with such grand celebrations and how are your energy levels this January? It feels great to have reached 5 years, though it really doesn't seem that long since my first release. Time flies when you're having fun! My energy levels are good, especially with the 5 Years of Tsuba project to keep me occupied. There's also some very inspiring music around at the moment so I'm buzzin' and really excited about my upcoming gigs. You are celebrating the five year milestone with a special album of exclusive new tracks from the Tsuba family and some new remixes of Tsuba classics. Can you tell us more about the release, who’s involved and what makes it stand out from the crowd? The album is split into 2 EPs. The first part includes some remixes of Tsuba classics so I'm really pleased to have Sebo K remixing Nina Kraviz - I've been a huge fan of his for years. There's also mixes from Art Department and Arto Mwambe and a new collaboration between Okain and Hector. The second part of the EP includes exclusive new tracks from Federico Molinari and Christian Burkhardt, Ethyl & Huxley, Bearweasel and myself & Justin Drake. Tsuba has a certain vibe musically & visually which hopefully makes me stand out from the crowd. As well as special artwork I’m doing some T shirts with Million Hands plus there will be lots of cool stuff on the Tsuba site - interviews with all the artists and some free downloads & iPhone wallpaper. Do you think that you have much of an affinity with UK music? There are a couple of UK labels I really like. Fear of Flying is always on point and very consistent. Myself and Justin released a single with them recently which was great and I'm releasing an EP from BLM on Tsuba Limited soon. One of the most challenging things is being consistent and maintaining quality in terms of the music, artwork and everything else so labels that do that get my utmost respect. You juggle your time between managing Tsuba, Tsuba Colours and most recently sub-label Tsuba Limited. How do you stay true to the individual sounds of these labels and keep on a level with their musical goals? Tsuba in general has a deep vibe, which is a theme I try to follow for each release. The sub labels allow me to broaden the sound a bit from this starting point and are focused more on the vinyl side of things - Tsuba Colours is more deep house orientated and Tsuba Limited, being vinyl only it’s more underground. Tsuba Limited aims to celebrate the 12-inch format: each release will be vinyl-only, hand-stamped and limited to 350 copies. Tell us about your decision behind this? The digital market is great as it gives music a much larger audience. But for me running a record label, it’s important to stay close to the roots of my business which has always been vinyl. I wanted to do something with this in mind to support the market and the few shops still around, so Tsuba Limited was born. I stamp and number each copy personally too. How's that for dedication! Are you looking forward to playing at fabric and can you tell us a bit more about what special guests, Christian Burkardt, Federico Molinari & Bearweasel will be bringing to the floor on Saturday night? I've played in each room over the years, but I love the vibe in room 3 the most when it’s going off. Federico is an amazing house DJ and Christian's live show will tear the roof off! My good mate Bearweasel aka Dean Muhsin is a brilliant DJ with impeccable taste in the deeper side of house music, so it’s going to be a great night. Tsuba sits at the deeper end of the dance music spectrum with emphasis on deep grooves and spacey melodies for late night & early morning clubs. We’re interested to know what your vision is for the house scene in the coming year and where does Tsuba fit into this? I would say things are getting more musical in general which is a good thing. My focus for Tsuba to continue to release great house music. I suppose you could say running the label is an addiction - 5 years on I love it more than ever and I can easily see Tsuba being around in 10 years or more. As I make all the decisions relating to A&R, remixes and artwork its quite an absorbing but incredibly rewarding job. What are your top three Tsuba releases to date and why? Tough one, but here goes! 1. Aural Distortion (Peter Dildo Mix) - this is the one Tsuba track that I still play in every set. A benchmark mix from Rozzo that is a stone cold classic! 2. Peace Division 'The Lab' EP - a four tracker of house & techno from the dons. 3. Kevin Griffiths 'Cantona Kung Fu' (Sascha Dive Mix) - an edgy house mix from my favourite DJ that ticks all the boxes for me - deep, groovy and trippy. What projects do you have coming up for the rest of 2011? There are 3-4 remixes coming out over the next couple of months and I've just finished two tracks that will be my next Tsuba single. At some point soon I’ll be doing some more stuff with Justin which is always a lot of fun to do. What inspires/excites you outside of music? Food (sushi especially), sunshine, good wine, great TV like Mad Men, but most of all my 4 year old daughter Anabel who says the funniest things ever! Finally, with the Tsuba party at fabric taking place just before Valentines Day, we want to know what’s the most romantic thing you’ve done for someone? With little time to recover from Fabric I’m taking my wife and daughter to Australia for a month for a combined tour/holiday leaving on Monday 14th Feb. That’s quite romantic. Tracklist: 1. Bearweasel 'Time To Start Again' (Tsuba) 2. BLM 'Garage Is Back' (Matthew Styles Mix) (Fear Of Flying) 3. Christian Burkhardt & Federico Molinari 'Tamala' (Tsuba) 4. Jordan Peak 'Friday' (One Records) 5. Jordan Peak 'Mama's Boy' (Tsuba) 6. Jef K & Gwen Maize 'Want You Back' (Silver Network) 7. Nina Kraviz 'Okain's Scream' (Sebo K Mix) (Tsuba) 8. Ethyl & Huxley 'Reflexions' (Tsuba) 9. Justin Drake & Kevin Griffiths 'Midnight Special' (Tsuba) We're celebrating 5 years of Tsuba on 12th February in Room Three, for more info and tickets go here.