Independent labels have always been risky ventures, marred by uncertainty; you never know how long they'll last for.
Yet, for more than 15 years, Cosmo Vitelli has kept I'm a Cliché going. During this time, his label, its releases, and the artists behind them have found their place in the musical landscape, standing proudly and defiantly in the margins, a place where music is always more interesting and fluid than right in the middle of the spotlight.
After countless EPs, several albums and a compilation, a new chapter in I’m a Cliché’s story begins, one with a greatly reduced release schedule. To mark this turning point, the label releases Bongo Beats & Bankruptcy, its second compilation ever.
Aesthetically coherent and simultaneously diverse in its expressions, Bongo Beats & Bankruptcy is a celebration of the label (and the label manager’s) quirks and eccentricities and a tongue-in-cheek snapshot that brilliantly captures the label’s DNA, featuring friends and allies along with newer faces on 13 exclusive tracks scattered over 3 LPs.
Whether they are downtempo, uptempo or ambient like Orestt's contribution, each tune on this compilation distills in its own idiosyncratic way I’m a Cliché’s essence: electronic music influenced by club culture but in no way constrained to the dancefloor. Ivan Smagghe & Marc Collin’s analog synth track by their acclaimed Volga Select project, June’s dreamy tune at the crossroads between wave and kraut influences, Coy’s mutant synth arpeggios, and an old-school wave cut by Oliver Decrow mixed by Dunkeltier are all tracks boldly standing on the dancefloor's margins.
For those looking for club-ready tracks that with I’m a Cliché’s one-of-a-kind atmosphere will surely find what they are after in an downtempo edit of Awkward Corners, a bouncy and melodic IDM not IDM number by Rouge Mécanique, a bleeps & pan-pipes affair by Benoît B, an esoteric dance-rock number with stated Lynch influences by Fantastic Twins, a freaky electro cut by Linja, a melancholic 707 driven banger by Krikor and finally an anxious and forward-thinking half-stepper by label head Cosmo Vitelli.
