Label Profile: Ibadan Records

5 Facts about Ibadan Records

• Launched by Jerome Sydenham in 1995
• Played an important role in the careers of Joe Claussell, Dennis Ferrer and Kerri Chandler
• Hugely influential in Latin influenced Deep House, Deep Tech and the early years of Spiritual House.
• Brought Ten City to a new audience.
• Working with new artists such as Dennis Quinn today as well as legends like Kerri Chandler
• Still active and based in Berlin today.

We are tracing the roots of spiritual house, one record label at a time. In the early days, Ibadan focused on Latin, Afro and Jazz influenced Deep House. Early winners such as Escravos De Jo and See Line Woman show that. At the same time, remixes were important from the get go, with Ten City being the act remixed by the likes of Joe Claussell, Kerri Chandler and label boss Jerome Sydenham. Rumours were that Sydenham had access to the original recordings due to his time as A&R at Atlantic. The tougher end of the percussive spectrum led to something else. This perhaps started explicitly with No. 1 of the TIB 10″ series with Jerome Sydenham And Kerri Chandler’s Deep Penetration (or maybe even Tony Watson’s below mentioned Passages?). Deep meets Tech and then some. With time, this would be the general direction of the label, leading to monsters like Sandcastles, Timbuktu and Son Of Raw. And the label moved to Berlin! Ibadan were influential in that Deep shift to Deep Tech in the mid 2000s. They reflected their musical surroundings but they were also important in driving those changes. They released some of the biggest tunes of the whole Deep Tech era. Here, we will explore selected highlights that show the wealth of the label’s catalogue in different Deep directions.

In 1997, Joe Claussell joined forces with Kerri Chandler to cover Escravos de Jo. A Brazilian classic, previously covered by the likes of Milton Nascimento and Dom Um Romão, Claussell and Chandler brought it to an entirely new generation. Released on Ibadan as a doublepack and single 12″, it is the slightly toughened ‘Robust Horns’ version that gained most success and has stood the test of time.

In 1999, Joe Claussell’s Language album was released on Ibadan. The sleeve notes showed the extent of collaborations on this record. The opener Spiritual Insurrection is a textured groover that features guitars and keyboards by Tarus Mateen. It is arguably the flute work of Jay Collins that makes Git Wa one of the most beautiful Claussell cuts ever released. Marco Polo is a jazzy bumper where Marc Cary’s piano and organ work really shine. Kryptic Elements seems to have been originally produced by Kerri Chandler, but the vision of Claussell’s remix comes to fruition with Miri Ben-Ari’s singing violin. Gbedu Resurrection’s Gbedu 1 was the work of Claussell alongside Dele Sosimi and it is a powerful fusion of Jazz, Afro instrumentation and Deep House. Mateen’s Theme is credited to Marc Cary and spun elsewhere entirely thanks to Claussell’s input. Je Ka Jo is Claussell at his most triumphant with violin from Miri Ben-Ari, flute from Talib Kibwe and vocals by Vera Mara. To my ears, the vocal less ‘Demo Dub’, released on a one sided Ibadan 12″ is even better. One of the finest ever Claussell records. Philip Woo contributes organ on Claussell’s dub of Ten City that rounds off the album.

West Coast DJ Tony Watson dropped Passages on Ibadan, which was released in 2000. It bridged the gap between Deep and Tech with an effortless yet relentless groove. Real hypnotic material, both off and on the dancefloor. Very much an example of how simple can be best when done in the right way. After publishing this article, Tony reached out to tell me that he produced Passages on Thanksgiving Day 1999 with an ASR-10 and a Novation Bass Station. Today, Tony is probably better known for being half of Project Sandro with Rollmottle, responsible for the cherished weightless discoid groover, Blazer. However, for those in search of something slightly more uptempo, Passages is still a winner.

If 2002’s Deep Penetration suggested a direction for the label, Sandcastles was very much an arrival at the destination. Jerome Sydenham and Dennis Ferrer combining as Sydenhem & Ferrer Inc with devastating effect. The beats stealthily build little by little, as synth lines start to work their magic. The iconic key refrain adds an extra level before the glorious strings show their worth. The last two minutes is just mayhem of the best possible kind. A million and one remixes followed, but stick with the original and perhaps the Peter Heller Re-Edit.

At the time, I thought Dennis Ferrer’s Son Of Raw (2005) was too derivative. Too close to what else that was out there. Just beats, synths and little else. Although it didn’t take long to prove me wrong. Son Of Raw is an out and out dancefloor classic. The sort of track that I was always trying to ID when I heard a DJ spin it. The keys are funky as hell as well, which makes it a fun listen off the dancefloor. The ‘You Don’t Know’ vocals are the icing on the cake. Despite this being a Dennis Ferrer record, ‘mixed & arranged’ by Jerome Sydenham suggests he also had a hand. And this makes sense considering how this record moves along.

Jerome Sydenham And Mikael Nordgren’s Stockholm Go Bang! (2005) seemed to me to be an extension of Sandcastles. Sort of a different direction that track could have gone in. The melody is pretty similar and it is also a builder. At the same time, Stockholm Go Bang! is that bit more string-tastic AND those strings give it an extra lift. Interestingly enough, the Ibadan bandcamp page references Rolando’s monstrous Jaguar as a potential influence and says nothing about Sandcastles. Regardless, Stockholm Go Bang! is a winner and a highlight of Ibadan’s long catalogue.

Ibadan is still active today, releasing new and classic material. Sydenham and team continue to show that they still have their collective finger on the pulse with the tracks they choose to release and re-release. There is a huge interest in Ibadan’s back catalogue today, because much of it still sounds great! A strong melody never ages!

Ibadan Bandcamp / Ibadan on Discogs

Freer Sounds’ Ibadan Records Playlist