Stereo Ferment is an artist-run record label, radio show and events series owned and curated by Brad Weber aka Coy Haste and Cayden Mowbray aka Oreku.
Know for their focus on the multicultural intersections of disco, psych, funk, house and electronica, Stereo Ferment has ten releases to date in collaboration with local and international artists. Since launching in June of 2020, the label has garnered support from a global network of radio hosts and DJs with regular features on PBS 106.7, Worldwide FM, Netil Radio, Soho Radio, CIUT and Kane FM.
Read the interview in full below and catch both Oreku and Co Haste at Angel Music Bar on the 17th December across two levels with us for Dance Your Way, more info here.
OREKU, INTERVIEW By Elle Young
"When all the gigs stopped during the early lockdown days of the pandemic in March 2020, I wanted to keep some kind of momentum going with the music and decided to start a label using the “Stereo Ferment” name.”
Tell us how Stereo Ferment came about?
The original idea came about when I was really into fermenting foods and beverages. I started a monthly event in 2018 called “Stereo Ferment” where I would DJ and host a fermented foods swap meet. That didn’t really kick off in the way I hoped, so I turned it into an online monthly mix series.
When all the gigs stopped during the early lockdown days of the pandemic in March 2020, I wanted to keep some kind of momentum going with the music and decided to start a label using the “Stereo Ferment” name.
I asked Coy Haste, aka Brad Weber, if he wanted to partner up in running the label since we both had a very aligned taste in the kind of sounds we wanted to put out into the world.
How does this kind of sound resonate in Toronto?
It feels like the appetite for this kind of sound has really started to grow over the last couple of years in Toronto. It’s still a hyper niche sound, but Toronto is a huge multicultural hub with a growing appreciation for it.
How do you approach your releases?
“If the music has a dark and moody feel we’ll aim for an autumn / winter release, and if it has a more upbeat and groovy feel we’ll drop it in the spring / summer time.”
Mostly it has been a collaborative process where producers we already have a relationship with will send us tunes they feel might fit the “Stereo Ferment sound”.
Brad and I will have a listen and decide if any of the tracks fit the vibe of the label, then we figure out what season to pair the release with.
If the music has a dark and moody feel we’ll aim for an autumn / winter release, and if it has a more upbeat and groovy feel we’ll drop it in the spring / summer time.
What artists and producers should people be keeping an eye out for if they like these kinds of sounds?
Dacou, Moving Still, Teymori, Parbleu, Anchorsong and Anadol.
How did you become interested in Afrocentric inspired sounds?
Back in 2003 I was walking through a park in Byron Bay and there was a DJ with a sound system pumping out this incredible music that sounded like nothing I’d ever heard before. I rushed over to ask the DJ what kind of music he was playing and he explained it was afrobeat. He gave me a few artist names to check out and next day I went to a record store and bought some Tony Allen and Fela Kuti albums.
That kicked off a curiosity to find out what other musical gems the world has to offer.
