Interview with
Nik Weston
words: Pete Isaac - February 2011

Over the last 14 years anyone in the jazzy funky broken beat stylee club scene worldwide should have seen the name Nik Weston by now. The Mukatsuku label boss and globe trotting DJ has been hard at work plastering his stickers and slipmats almost everywhere, as well as drip-feeding vinyl lovers with quality 12"s time after time!

The Mukatsuku label is one of the best selling independent vinyl labels in the UK, and it is ONLY vinyl. Nik hasn't and will not put his music out as downloads which will please some and irritate others. But as a vinyl stalwart this doesn't matter to Nik, it's all about the aesthetics of the black stuff and there's no arguing that vinyl is best. With loads of releases under his belt, including some slabs of dancefloor gold like the rare Muro mix of Grant Green's 'Let The Music Take Your Mind' and the killer Kaleta cut 'The Spirit of Fela Is Alive and Well', Mukatsuku has developed a fierce reputation for exceptional music. More recently Nik has teamed up with producer Guynamite to put out some chunky disco edits so we thought we'd catch up with Nik to get the low down on Mukatsuku.

Kaleta & Akoya Afrobeat 'The Spirit of Fela...'

Hi Nik, first off I have to ask about the name. I did a quick search and in one Japanese-English translation, Mukatsuku is translated as 'to feel sick, irritated or offended'! Is that how you feel or there another meaning to it?!
Not really... it was just us having fun... myself and two other friends started a club night in Soho called Mukatsuku in 1997. It was put on so both we and our japanese friends, producers could spin at. One of my partners had a Japanese wife at the time and she was always saying Mukatsuku! Basically its a phrase which translates as frustrated/pissed off, annoyed... We thought it would be quite funny as japanese people would just think its strange and europeans would possibly not know the meaning but could feel it might be a japanese word...

When and where did that begin?
We ran for 2 years from 1997 - 1999 in an upsairs two floor room in China Town in London. We were nominated by London Evening Standard Newspaper as 'club night of the year'. We didn't win but hey!

Who were you DJing with in those early years?
Apart from me and the residents (Marlon Celestine & Mikkel Togsverd) we hosted everyone from Peanut Butter Wolf, DJ Cam, Patrick Forge, Alex Attias, Outside, Smash Hunter, The Wiseguys, Ali B amongst others and DJ Vadim played for us several times. I was resident warm up for Gilles Peterson and Jazzanova at Jazz Cafe and over the years I've played with everyone from Tricky, Tania Maria, Pharoah Sanders, Koop, DJ Mitsu, United Future Organisation, Nicola Conte and many more. After the club night finished we continued DJ together and separately as Mukatsuku DJ's and then I started up a promotional company called Mukatsuku PR in 2001 doing Music Consultancy and promotion for labels such as Verve, Impulse, Sonar Kollektiv, Schema and Ricky Tick amongst others.

Grant Green 'Let The Music Take Your Mind' DJ Muro edit

How did your love affair with Japan come about?
From the music really in the late 1980's and then with the whole Mo Wax thing in the mid 1990's which I got really into and Japanese Jazz whose album covers always looked gorgeous.

When did you first visit Japan? Was it a DJ trip?
I've done almost 20 tours there over the years and I'm back there in May 2011. First trip was in late 1990's and the biggest Japanese tour was with Victor Davies in 2001. I've played with most of my favourite Japanese bands and DJ's; UFO, Yukihiro Fukutomi, Jazztronik, Soil & Pimp Sessions, Quasimode, Sleep Walker, KJM, Tatsuo Sunaga, Calm, etc etc etc.

At what point did you decide to start a record label? What was the original ethos behind it and was it very definitely to bring Japanese music to the UK?
I was A&Ring for Exceptional Records and as a label we couldn't sign something just for a one off release so I thought well.... maybe I can start avinyl only, singles only label. I think some artists haven't got a whole album in them of fantastic material but they might have some odd killertracks. Not enough for an album but certainly enough for a single. It wasn't really only to do with putting out japanese music but it was always an angle. I was reasonably well connected in japan and because of the compilations and japanese releases I had been putting out since 2001 it was possibly easier for me to contact those Japanese artists rather than labels perhaps. I was also facinated that many japanese tracks never saw much exposure outside of japan. I wanted to change that.

Orcestra De La Luz 'Carnaval'

But not everything you've released is from Japan though…
Thats correct. We have put out English, Scandanavian and even New Zealand tracks.. not just Japanese.

What do you look for for when planning releases? What is the 'Mukatsuku' sound in your mind?
It has to be something that in my eyes is better than the average release. Being good is not good enough. It has to be something that I personally get excited over and not put it out for the sake of it. If it excites me and I think it's special I try and licence and put out.

What record been the biggest success for the label?
Probably the Kaleta release. Its always in the top sales charts and most liked release across the label.

And what is your personal favourite release, and why?
I think the Kaleta release because it seems to get the best reaction all over the world and the audience tend to sing the melody. It was a real labour of love getting the release out from the initial negotiations and to eventually open the 650 different files with the help of Frankie at Sofrito before we could dissect the musical parts and get to work on the remix.

Guynamukat Vol. 3. TUNE!

Big Horns Bee 'Vamp'

One of the biggest aspects of the label is that it is vinyl ONLY, why have you chosen to do it this way?
First and foremost I love vinyl... the artwork.. sleeves... info.. going through a shop and discovering fantastic sleeves. Having a vinyl only label was trying to make a stand for something that has given me so much pleasure over the last 30 years of digging. We have no plans to go digital.

Whilst this is great for purists and vinyl lovers, it's tough out there for independent labels, do you think you are missing sales via digital channels?
Of course but i get so many messages of support I'll try and keep going. People rip my music releases anyway so not much you can do to stop people downloading poor quality files.

I see Mukatsuku as a label that licenses tracks to put out rather than sign and develop artists. Nothing wrong with that of course, but do you see the label developing to a point where you'd properly sign an act? Would you like Mukatsuku to operate in a more traditional way?
Well Guynamite is an artist we work with very closely. Apart from being a fantastic producer, composer and musician Guy Benton is my partner in GUYNAMUKAT. I have no plans to sign an act although I'm trying to help Twin Cities (one of my artists) to release on another label a full cd.

Have you done any Mukatsuku live shows with artists that have released on the label?
Yes with Twin Cities.

What contemporary labels do you admire?
Jazzman, Tramp, Wah Wah and Lovemonk.

You are very well connected and right in the thick of it, and through your position at Juno must see clearly the reality of what it is like for independent record labels in todays music scene. What are the golden rules for making a label work in your opinion?
Only put out releases you really believe in. Never put a record out that you do not feel 100% about. Set up a release properly. Promote on all forms of media. Make the artist also work for it. Dont assume that the label will do all the work. Mukatsuku success is down to hard work. There are better labels than ours but dont get the physical sales because they dont promote properly. We do and this is why we are the third best selling record label on juno.

What advise would you give to someone who wanted to start a label now?
Probably think about it very hard!

Back to you though! The emergence of Guynamukat is a collaborative thing with Guynamite, how did this come about?
I was helping with Guy (Guynamite) with his releases co ordinating and overseeing production. We worked very well together. We got into production doing edits for djing really and then we took it another step by producing together. We've put out over 20 cheeky edits so far on other labels and of course we do lots of production on the label.

Rootsoul 'Fuselage'

Are you getting into production yourself?
Not solo. Only with Guy as GUYNAMUKAT. It's good to bounce ideas off each other.

What are you/guynamite working on at the moment?
Incognito plus volume 4 and 5 of the GUYNAMUKAT edit series.

Would you like to get to the point of doing an album together?
Not really.... i think the whole idea was just to do singles although Guy himself completed the Twin Cities album last year with Gareth Jones (his partner) and that sounded amazing.

Music & Movement Compiled by Nik Weston

DJing is a big part of the Mukatsuku thing with you regularly traveling all over Europe and beyond. What kind of gigs are you playing?
Well just come back from Prague and in the autumn I was in Kazahkstan with Gilles Peterson, Jazzanova and Soil & Pimp Sessions. I seem to be getting a few bookings in France, Spain and I'm back in Japan on tour in May 2011.

Where's really happening for you abroad?
Not sure... I think anywhere where the promoter has a following for himself/herself as a resident, who loves the music and understands how to promote and understands what I do/play and the label. The best parties are the ones that the promoter is good at making the best use of their space…

What's your favourite country to play in?
I've been lucky enough to spin in 30 countries so difficult to choose. I've had great gigs and terrible gigs like us all.... the next one I do is always my fav as that's the one freshest in my mind! Last year I went to kazahkstan and that was really interesting.

When traveling to DJ do you have other interests apart from the music? Food, architecture etc?
Yes both, especially local food! This is quite important rather than just turning up late at night and then catching the first flight back in the morning.

You've been broadcasting for a long time, how important is radio for you?
I once did a show for Radio 1 and I've actually stopped doing radio shows preferring to just do mixclouds...

Being based in Devon, radio didn't play a big part in my youthful exploration of music (apart from Andy Kershaw). But I was aware of all the pirate radio in London, was this a big influence for you? Who were you listening to?
Kiss fm/jazz fm and specialist shows on Capital Radio.

If you could name 5 things that inspired you the most, what would they be?
(this could be people, records, clubs, DJs, bands or whatever!)
1. Gilles Peterson - been going to see him as a DJ since the early 1980's.
2. Japan culture
3. Yoshihiro & Shuya Okino from Kyoto Jazz Massive. Been working with Yoshi for the last 10 years with his Especial Record label. He is a true gentleman.
4. My first love is jazz and funk so I'm always inspired by records that I don't know about. Over the last 10 years I've really been diggin hard with african and boogie records from 1982.
5. My wife is Japanese and she's a good sounding board for what I put out on the label. if she doesn't like it enough then generally we don't put it out!

How many records do you own now?
I'm always buying and selling but I bought a flat last year so its cut down to about 8,000 now. A big drop from the 20,000 I used to have!

What are your most prized bits of vinyl?
I have some nice Japanese pieces but generally this changes all the time with each new second hand purchase but certainly Onward International 'Foot In The Door' on Paul Muphy's label Palladin has been good to me even though its a cheap record. I have about 6 copies probably becuase if I see one cheap I always pick one up! I played it Saturday in Prague and the promoter asked me what it was!

So what's coming up for you and the label in 2011?
Incognito 12... a GUYNAMUKAT deep house project... some more GUYNAMUKAT afro disco boogie edits and a couple of secret things that we havent quite signed yet!

What would be your dream project?
Sleeping!

And lastly, what would you be doing if your weren't working in music?
Probably working somehow in health foods or in a restuarant as a cook maybe? Maybe a baker! I feel very lucky still to be working in music.