Proximal Records finds the beat of L.A. on ‘Narrative’

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[Buzzbeats is an occasional feature on Buzz Bands LA authored by Rich Thomas, whose work you can find at his Mining the Landfill blog. Past entries here.]

By Rich Thomas

Los Angeles’ indie rock and electronic music scenes have always managed to play well with one another. Artists float from label to label, dropping a little of their peanut butter in someone else’s chocolate when the moment suits them, but the end result always benefits the listening public. Take for instance new label Proximal Records, whose forthcoming compilation “Proximity One: Narrative of a City” (Aug. 11) features tracks by homegrown standouts like Daedelus and DâM-FunK, as well as a wealth of new talent the label calls home.

Label co-owner Carl Madison Burgin (aka Sahy Uhns) enlightened us on the future of Proximal, and why L.A. is such a damn special place for beatmakers.

How long has Proximal been around?

Carl Madison Burgin: Jeff (Elmassian) and I started Proximal last summer, so we just had our first birthday.

What other labels or LA institutions do you look toward for inspiration? There’s something unique about this city’s independent spirit. Like minds tend to support each other.

CMB: There are some really great labels in LA that I definitely draw inspiration from: BRAINFEEDER, Alpha Pup, Leaving Records, Friends of Friends and Stones Throw, to name a few. One space in L.A. that always blows me away is the Downtown Independent. Two spots where I can always be found are Funkmosphere on Mondays and Low End Theory on Wednesdays. Low End will actually be hosting a Proximal night celebrating the release of Proximity One on Aug. 11, the day after the record drops.

How would you describe the way in which the city’s energy manifests itself in your tracks? What vibes do you draw from?

CMB: I think the parts of the city that affect my music most are the people and the weather. I am lucky to have a really awesome group of friends. We have a constant stream of all kinds of music playing that we share with each other, both music of our own and things we are interested in, so that is obviously influential. I’ve also always been very affected by the weather, which is kind of weird since I spend so much time indoors in front of my computer. Living in the Valley, I definitely get my fair share of heat and sometimes I just wanna chill out and make some beats. That’s sort of what was what happening when I made “Fire Music,” my track on “Proximity One: Narrative of a City.” It was during the time of the Station Fire last September that was just north of L.A. There was some ash rain and the smoke in the sky made it look like Blade Runner or an alien world, so I took that inspiration and made a track for a fictitious alien Ice Cube and “Fire Music” was born.

The nighttime picture on the album cover, where was that shot from? Almost looks like over towards Dodger Stadium.

CMB: Yeah. It’s pretty close to Dodger Stadium. It in a part of town that I think is called Angelino Heights. It’s on the cliff right above Stadium Way. It is definitely the best view of downtown that I’ve found.

Which of the artists on the compilation are part of the Proximal label, and what can we look forward to hearing from other artists in terms of albums or singles and EPs?

CMB: The guys we have on Proximal are Sahy Uhns (me), Benedek, Lawrence Grey, Wake and BearClaw, and there are a lot of big things in the works. You can expect releases from all of the artists, but the ones that are happening the soonest are my album, “An Intolerant Disdain of Underlings,” and Benedek’s, “That’s My Jam!” single, featuring remixes by Lawrence Grey, Knife City and myself. The release dates for those are TBA. We are also probably gonna do another Beat Stew before the year is up, perhaps a delicious holiday stew. But don’t sleep ’cause you never know what’s gonna happen around here.

||| Also: Download the “Beat Stew” mixtapes via XLR8R.