This Ain’t Bristol, the once defunct tech-house imprint, announced a relaunch with fresh music releases under new management. The label once known for being the platform that showcased dancefloor staples for artists such as Kyle Watson, Bart B More, Josh Brown, Proxy and more, states a return is in order that marks “a new era” for the brand.
Following a year that saw original cofounder and disgraced human being Billy Kenny accused of rape and sexual assault, the label gutted much of Kenny’s discography from their catalogue and began to slow down business to grinding halt. This Ain’t Bristol eventually released a statement addressing their indefinite cease of operations and enlightened their audience with the reality that most if not all of their catalogue would be disappearing due to legal/contractual issues.
One year later and it looks like This Ain’t Bristol is ready for a comeback with newfound determination. Their post from last month details a general idea of what their leadership will consist of moving forward. Maximono, tech house DJ and another cofounder of the label, will be working alongside digital distribution/label management group Label Worx to try and resurrect the brand, bring back artists to the label and curate newer acts as well.
One thing the did not make clear, however, is the status of some of the older releases on This Ain’t Bristol. Excluding Billy Kenny’s work, tracks from Kyle Watson, Maximono, Worthy, Dillon Nathaniel, Bruno Furlan, Kry Wolf, Josh Brown, GAWP, and more have been removed. Despite the fact that the label already took a hit by separating Kenny’s massive involvement in released material for the label, it seems that the punishment extended into other music Kenny didn’t even touch.
Now, record labels are a tricky business. Between networking, contract negotiations, distribution, promotion, and more, making sure a song is released officially goes through a myriad of hands outside of the artist’s. Plus the deals that were negotiated then may have been renegotiated more recently and following the fallout of something as substantial as what befell This Ain’t Bristol, it makes sense why they didn’t fight to save every song. They even touch on some of these notes in the statement announcing their original hiatus.
Perhaps, this is the best the label’s fans and third parties can expect from this situation. We’re never getting some of those older tracks back, but new music is on its way with the latest release coming from Marc Spence. Maybe there’s more we can salvage
You can see the announcement from This Ain’t Bristol below.
Photo credit: This Ain’t Bristol @Weidendamm – Hanover, Germany 2017
