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Hospital Records is the brainchild of Tony Colman and Chris Goss, aka London Elektricity. The label was started in early 1996 from their West London studio / HQ as a vehicle for their own music.
A brief pre-history Tony's last band was the London street-soul/jazzfunk combo IZIT, which funked it's way round the world's live clubs + decks from 1988 to 1995. Chris used to work in Soho's Soul Jazz record shop. Tony started the label Tongue and Groove in 1992, and Chris joined the... Read more
Hospital Records is the brainchild of Tony Colman and Chris Goss, aka London Elektricity. The label was started in early 1996 from their West London studio / HQ as a vehicle for their own music.
A brief pre-history Tony's last band was the London street-soul/jazzfunk combo IZIT, which funked it's way round the world's live clubs + decks from 1988 to 1995. Chris used to work in Soho's Soul Jazz record shop. Tony started the label Tongue and Groove in 1992, and Chris joined the label in 1993 as label manager, following a freelance sleeve-design job. Chris + Tony didn't make any music together until 1994, when they produced the eccentric 'Caterpillar', accredited to Mustardspoon. They closed T+G in 95 and formed two labels, Hospital and Galactic Disco Music. GDM was a London house/funk label and home of Future Homosapiens, Orkestra Galactica and Funky Nasa - all monikers for Tony + Chris's prolific house output between the years 1996 and 1998. However, when Hospital took off in 1998, GDM was put on hold.
Hospital's early drum and bass output earned the label an undeground fanbase, but it was London Elektricity's "Song In The Key of Knife", released in Spring 1998 that really captured the imagination of the whole scene. London Elektricity's first long player "Pull The Plug" released in the summer of 99, received much critical acclaim and is still widely regarded as a classic album, far removed from the overlong and pretentious drum and bass albums of the time.
In 2000 the label shifted up a gear. Tony and Chris compiled and released the first in a series of freestyle compilations, Out Patients, signalling the fact that Hospital was no longer "just" a drum and bass label. This was followed by the debut album from their prodigal son, Tim Land aka Landslide, whose Drum+Bossa' set attracted a whole new audience from the jazz, breakbeat and 2-step scenes. That summer saw the signing of Danny Byrd, whose vocal r+b stylings found immediate favour with Fabio, and the year finished with another done deal for Welsh wunderkid Link Barrat, aka High Contrast - yet another 20 year old star of the new school.
London Elektricity's soundclashes with Origin Unknown ("Round The Corner") and Robert Owens ("My Dreams") have taken their music to an even wider audience, from the hardcore junglists to housed-up ravers and retro-soul fans. Into the year 2001, and Hospital have produced what will no doubt be the first in a long line of deep, soulful drum+bass projects which highlight the fresh sound of the UK. Plastic Surgery combines Hospital artists with choice players such as Total Science and John B, to create a dynamic compilation that sets the mould for drum+bass in this year and beyond.
Along with the signing of junglist wunderkids Danny Byrd and High Contrast, Hospital has evolved into one of the most original and innovative D&B labels; a serious player in the current scene, while it continues to make deep impressions on other scenes via Landslide and the Out Patients series.
The mission statement has remained the same - to put out good, optimistic music "we love music that is live, warm, deep, soulful and original - we hate music that has waves, seaguls and dodgy sax solos. respect is due to the drummers, vocalists, string and horn players who make the Hospital sound possible".
Sublabels: Casualty, Galactic Disco, M*A*S*H, Med School Show less
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