The Story Of VTO Records

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a hundred times; we are right on the precipice of an exciting new neuro renaissance. And this time it’s happening in the UK.

We’ve listed the main protagonist labels hundreds of times, too… Neuroheadz, In The Lab, Stonx Music, Brainrave and Root 97 are some of the key UK labels pushing new ideas and fusions right at the very forefront. But one of the earliest imprints in this contemporary movement of UK neuro drum & bass? VTO Records.

Launched in 2021 with a fine-tuned 80s sci-fi aesthetic and a series of releases from the label co-founder TRCD (it’s pronounced ‘Traced’ in case you’re unsure), the label has deep roots that go back to the 90s hardcore scene.

Driven by a very particular vision on how their releases should sound, look and feel, TRCD and label partner Lee UHF’s attention to detail and release concepts has given VTO a unique energy, sense of character and community of artists that ranges from jump-up misfit L3mmy Dubz to neuro new-breed golden boys such as Kaizen Flow and The Fi5th.

For a much deeper introduction check Chapter II. Out Friday April 26, it’s the latest VA from the label that reflects the full VTO sound and roster. Featuring the likes of KRAK’N, Bad Ace, Cyntax, HighThere, MV, Bobby, Kaizen Flow and Dan TRCD himself, it’s a 15 track document that leaves you under no illusion as to what the label stands for… And the levels they want to things to run at.

We caught up with TRCD to find out more about the history of the label, how Ed Optiv (RIP) was a huge source of inspiration and how support from Ed Rush & Optical ensured the label lived up to its name almost instantly. Ready for (vertical) takeoff?

Take us back. What’s the VTO origin story?

We’ve got to go a bit further back than when the label launched. Like Lee UHF who I run the label with, I used to be in the hardcore scene and ran a record label. He booked me for an event which he ran called Total Bedlam in the early 2000s and we’ve been mates ever since.

I gradually moved through the genres, spent quite a bit of time making electrohouse and dubstep then eventually drum & bass. I’d always been into D&B and followed it since I was really young but hadn’t really made much of it before then. I actually used to work in Dance 2 Records with Ed Optiv so I knew him from the age of 16 and had known the C4C boys for a long time.

It was always there

Exactly. So I’d got into D&B production around 2014 and not long after this time Lee had asked me to do some stuff for his label Dirtbox. We started out doing some remixes then Covid hit. I’ve always made neuro stuff and suggested, ‘Why don’t we do an offshoot label from Dirtbox that just focuses on neuro?’ We started throwing ideas around together and started developing how it would look and what the vibe would be. For me, the aesthetic I really wanted was that kinda VHS type of look if you get me?

Yeah totally. It’s that fine line between nostalgia and futurism and DIYness. Bit like rave flyers.

I was going to say about them. Definitely that sort of look. So we had those type of references in our mind and we took a inspiration from Blade Runner for the label name – Vertical Take Off is the nick name for the spinner cars.

Ahhhhh. Blade Runner – the biggest source of inspiration a genre like D&B could ever need!

For me it’s all in that whole neon vibe. I’ve always loved sythwave and soundtracks on John Carpenter movies. That’s what inspires me and it’s the sound and vibe of the label. I did the first release – Paradox and Deep Vision.

They we were received quite well but then the second release was The Beast and that’s when things started to really happen. Ed Rush & Optical played it at Hospitality In The Woods and from there people were like, ‘What’s this tune? What’s this tune?’ It was a mad time really.

That’s how you want to launch a label!

Haha well it was funny really… I’d just come off the back of a release on Prolix’s label Trendkill, and my debut set at Virus, then covid hit and I struggled getting music to labels because labels stopped taking demos during that time because no one knew what to do with the music. VTO was essentially a reaction to all of that. And by the second release I’d already gained the attention of Ed Rush & Optical!

Were you there in the crowd?

No sadly. A mate rang me up and went, ‘Hey listen to this!’ So yeah that was a great start to things and they got behind that tune for quite a while and it attracted some amazing support and interest from great artists. We’ve signed Kaizen Flow. We got Binary who did a release with Transforma, we’ve had Cyntax. There are so many more artists I could mention.

What a mad trajectory. Literally like a vertical take off!

Yeah. It’s proper exciting. And what’s really cool is that we don’t have to go round hunting down artists, they’re coming to us.

No better compliment – someone trusts you with their art.

Definitely and the key thing for us is quality control. We’ll go over everything with fine tooth comb. I A and B with a lot of contemporary tunes out and check it stands up against everything else out there.

There’s a lot out there to reference. Especially in the UK. So many sick neuro labels rising right now.

Oh definitely. Look at the Neuroheadz guys, putting on events and festivals. Brainrave are doing events up and down the country. We do want to do events as well but don’t want to rush into it. Both Lee and I have history in events. We’re in the planning stages

But not rushing into it

That’s it. We’re getting it all together and planning. I’m not a fan of rushing into things.

Only fools rush in! Take some time to big up L3mmy Dubz. He’s played quite a prominent role on the label lately…

Ah I’ve been following him for a long time. I love his style and that cross between neuro and jump-up. I’m not the biggest fan of jump-up at all but his is proper cheeky. It throws people off guard and I love getting that reaction. His music has got that character to it. That’s the VTO signature. It’s hard to explain. I hear it and it’s not like a hook or melody or something. It’s got that ‘yeah this isa the one’ thing about it.

It’s a vibe. It’s a personal thing isn’t it?

Definitely. And if I’m honest I think there’s a lot of chuggers out there. Decent enough DJ fodder but there’s a lot of samey stuff out there. For me people like L3mmy stand out with really interesting sound design that jumps out at you.

Hell yeah. Tell me about the Chapter series

Well most labels do an annual or best of at the end of the year don’t they? But in our first year we didn’t do one and in our second year we thought ‘okay we’ve got enough music but we can’t do it like an annual collection because we never did the first year, so let’s do it more like a movie’.

That’s how the chapters concept came about. When we hit a certain point of having a block of tunes that work together, we can release them.

Oh sick. It’s the evolution of the label. Chapters can be defined by yourselves and not by time. You got the Cells Interlinked series coming up soon, right?

Yeah which is another Blade Runner reference. Cells Interlinked is what they repeat when they’re being interviewed. But the concept behind that is to get new artists involved. Everyone does their up and coming series and that’s ours. Even though the artists on this release are already smashing it anyway.

Yeah it’s a dedicated space for them isn’t it. I wanted to wrap up with the influence of Optiv and your roots…

Oh for sure. Ed opened up a lot of doors for me and taught me so much. I want to pass that on to the next generation now and help artists grow and open doors for them.

Yeah! Did you stay in touch with him?

Yeah we’d stayed in touch online and on social media. Things changed after I’d been through a particular situation with a label where I was going in one direction musically and they were going in another direction so I was in limbo a bit. Then I went to mate’s birthday party and Ed had come over from Switzerland for it. We were chatting and he said he’d heard my stuff through Inflyte promos and asked me to send some stuff over. I did and I ended up on both Red Light and C4C and remain in constant contact with Mark CZA. His passing was tragic, as you know. It was a massive shock and so upsetting.

Rest in peace!

Absolutely. I got a tune on his tribute album which was a huge honour. A very emotional one really. And I have to say that the way Mark has championed him and the way he paid tribute was inspiring. That album sits on monitor and if ever I’m feeling uninspired I look at that.

Sounds like the inspiration isn’t a problem right now though?

Not with all the incredible artists we’re working with! We have some big projects coming up this year including music from Jane Doe, Stonx, Profuze, Bad Ace and The Fi5th as well as a huge remix project in the works. It’s a very exciting time…