Philos: in Greek, it meant love, but more specifically, a brotherly love. This “love” could be applied to objects and ideas, like philosophia, which meant “lover of wisdom”. A collective of musicians and artists have now emerged, calling themselves Philos Records, and with their music, aim to spread, through music, the ideas of passion, emotion, love, and above all else, good times and happiness. Headed by founder Jordan Wengler, Philos Records is a small but very up-and-coming group of electro-soul and future funk artists, producing unique and innovative tracks in this small but promising sub-genre of electronic music. With six artists officially on the label, WRR aims to showcase each producer’s style, diversity, and musical prowess that makes Philos Records a label to keep an eye on.

“Philos originally started as simply an outlet for me to share a bunch of new takes on music I’d been listening to my whole life. Like a lot of people, I grew up listening to old soul and funk with my parents, and hearing those same sounds in a brand new light recalls a lot of good memories and great periods in my life. I’ve got such a great group of guys to work with and owe the entire success of this project to them. While Philos is still a “label” at heart, I think it’s more becoming a collective of like-minded people every day, in which we can share our love of good music and excitement for life…I don’t know that Philos Records will ever really mean one particular thing for me, but if the friends and memories we’ve made so far are any indication I think we’re in for a fun ride.” – Jordan Wengler, Founder of Philos Records

Ageless

From New York City, Wesley Paioff is no stranger to the core elements of electro-soul. In 2004, he formed a hip-hop/soul duo with collaborator King Solomon’s Temple called “Original Mastaz”, and they released two albums. At the same time, he was performing with a funk/reggae/hip-hop fusion band known as “Knights by Night”. These influences, plus much else, led him to becoming Ageless. He began playing with drum machines and synthesizers, and in 2012 he released “Beginner’s Mind”, a full-length electro-soul/future-funk album. Ageless’ influences are all over the place, pulling on elements of dubstep, drum’n’bass, trance, electro, hip-hop and more. His style is characterized by energized beats, an amalgamation of sampling, and production that seems rough and clean at the same time. His new album will be out on November 6th!

Artifakts

A WRR favorite, Garret Meyer, better known as Artifakts, has made a name for himself as a unique producer specializing in electro hip-hop. Different than most artists on Philos, you won’t find a lot of heavy-bass and slicing synths in Artifakts’ music. Instead, he goes for a smooth, downtempo approach, carefully melding hip-hop and trip-hop with electronic production for tracks that vary from the incredibly relaxing to hip-shaking madness. From Newton, Wisconsin, Artifakts began as a duo in February 2012 with fellow member William Thompson, during which they released the 11-track “Like This If” beat tape. Artifakts as since become soley Meyer. His unique form of production sets him apart from most other producers today, and he’s set to release an EP before the end of 2013.

B!unt Force

B!unt Force, the brainchild of Brian Gustafon, has been performing for a few years now and has already made quite a name for himself, sharing the stage with the likes of Kill Paris, Archnemesis, SuperVision, Robotic Pirate Monkey and more. B!unt Force began as a reggae band Gustafon was apart of back in 2009, but once the group disbanded, Gustafon took on the moniker himself when he began making beats out of his parent’s garage basement. His style is very uptempo hip-hop and funk/jazz driven, with electronic elements of glitch, electro and even trance at times evident.

SwAy

Jamie Rudrum and Andrew Malnic of Vernon, British Colombia, Canada, began their musical ventures together in 2006, when they formed a rock groove/hip-hop group called Know Tomorrow. After disbanding in 2011, the two remaining members teamed up to form the progressive electro-soul duo now known as SwAy. They describe their own music as “progressive electronic soul rock – whatever that is”. With Malnic having a background as a saxophonist, and as a lead guitar player in the folk rock band The Jungle Cats, and Rudrum having produced hip-hop beats, emceed under the name Ominous and released two albums as the electronic artist CLRFLXRY, the two bring a wide array of talent and influences into SwAy. Funky, soul-driving guitar, heavy-bass grooves, jazzy piano, textured synths and more make SwAy one of the most unique groups in the scene today.

T.Wilde

Since moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2009, Tucker Wilde has become fully immersed in the live music scene. He began his career as a DJ, forming an electro-house duo with fellow CU student Hunter Phillips known as THiCK CHiCK. This gig had him supporting huge names like Skrillex, Porter Robinson, Zedd and more. Addtionally, the pair played at Global Dance Festival and Snowball Festival, and even supported Robotic Pirate Monkey on an 18-stop tour along the west coast. However, due to creative differences, the pair has since split, and T.Wilde has become Wilde’s solo-project as he ventures into the realm of electro-soul. Wilde has been spent the last year and a half in the studio, perfecting his production, leading to the major release of his newest EP, “Through The Ways” which just dropped August 28. His style is very melodic, bass-laden grooves with piercing, buzzing synths and intricately placed samples.

TechNoddo

Nick Oddo describes the music of TechNoddo as “weird”, but with influences in his music ranging from hip-hop, to psychedelia, to glitch, funk, blues, and more, this is not a bad thing at all. Oddo began producing at age 14 but after attending Rothbury in 2009 (now Electric Forest) he knew his calling. With now over 10 years of production under his belt, and three studio albums, this “space-hop” producer aims to introduce a unique and innovative approach to electronic music that hasn’t been delved into by many others. It’s future funk, space-hop, whatever you want to call it- TechNoddo makes groovy, genre-pushing tracks that seem so out of place, yet so right.

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