It’s safe to say that Tomas Fraser is a busy man. Besides working in music PR and being the dubstep and grime editor for Mixmag, he runs the label Coyote Records. Coyote has cut its teeth releasing stone-cold instrumental grime gems from previously unknown artists. Fraser cites the lack of a platform for these unknown artists as motivation for starting the label. “The label was born out of having so much music that had nowhere to go. Back in 2011 or 2012, there were so many producers around who didn’t have an outlet for their music, so I thought I’d provide one.”  Talking about starting out Fraser explains that the learning curve with the label was unforgiving and that it “wasn’t until the summer of 2014 that I really knew what I was doing and knew how to release records as a one man band.” Frazier says that “getting people to listen to the music was hard”. Part of the difficulty might have stemmed both from Fraser’s commitment to releasing undiscovered producers and the fact the he rarely DJs himself. While Fraser himself admits that it is probably the one thing that’s missing, he contends that “it helps me not being the figurehead, it gives the music more space to shine and in some ways it gives the label itself a stronger identity.” Fraser, in previous interviews, has spoken about his desire to create a kind of microscene around Coyote Records and his return to some of the producers, such as Last Japan, who have already debuted on the label is testament to that goal. Fraser elucidates: “I think it’s crucial building an identity. As much as I like releasing music no one’s ever heard before, I think it’s important when you’ve got a group as talented as I have [. . .] who are good enough to be more than one-off releases and can be part of a wider project. It’s good to have a roster of people who others can identify with and say ‘yeah, that’s Coyote Records’.”

Fraser discusses how he selects artists to release on the label and the role he plays in the creation of the music. He explains that the majority of the artists have come to him. “There’s very few artists I’ve approached and they’ve usually been signed already. So I’ve found that people coming to you with stuff is a better way of working because it means they want to be a part of what you’re doing.” Fraser’s part in the creation of the music is largely unseen and can vary quite a bit. “What I’ll do is just give them a bit direction, just plant the seed. They’ll send me a batch of tracks and I’ll say, ‘to be honest the majority I’m not into but there’s one I like’ and they’ll work around that.” Fraser, refutes the existence of a Coyote sound which the artists would have to adhere to before they could release on the label. “I don’t say this needs to happen to make it more Coyote, it’s more natural.” To date, Coyote has only released one studio album, Testimony by Letta, and it speaks to Fraser’s commitment to little-known acts. Letta, aka Tony Nicoletta, hails from LA and has dealt with homelessness and drug addiction in his life. Testimony as an album is at once both an intensely personal confession and defiant stance against the manifold hardships of the world. Fraser elaborates on his experiences with Letta and the making of Testimony, “He just sent me some tracks one day, his name at the time was scum life and I was like wow this is a really terrible artist’s name [. . .] but his stuff was amazing. We had a back-and-forth and he opened up about his life, then I said you know you could write an album. Eventually the trust started to come and we constructed the album together. For him to trust me with it and to make the album the way we did, it’s probably the thing I’m most proud of in my professional career.”

While Coyote’s output has been predominantly instrumental grime, their latest offering, Ascend by Last Japan, features vocals from AJ Tracey. When asked whether this represents a shift in focus, Fraser explains “That record all fell together, but it doesn’t mark a massive shift in focus for me, no. Vocal grime is important, you can’t really advertise yourself as a grime label without having any sort of relation to where the music came from. If the music sounds better with a vocal, we’ll do it, but if not, then no worries.” Before Coyote was an established landmark on the instrumental grime landscape, Fraser says that it was almost impossible to predict how successful the records would be. While some releases, such as Future Perfect by Tom E. Vercetti sold well, others were less sought after. “There’s no guarantee that what I like will translate to the rest of the world. A lot of it has to do with timing and what people are into when it’s released. With some of the earlier records, I wasn’t as established as I am now [. . .] I was just some guy on the internet putting out records that no one’s ever heard of. It’s always a bit of a worry, but if you worry about things like that you’ll never put interesting records out.”

The artwork of all Coyote’s releases is done by Elliot Holbrow. His minimalist geometric designs really add to the purchase of the vinyl releases and make the extra expense worth it. Fraser explained his connection to Holbrow, “I met him through Mella Dee, who was our first release. I just took a punt on him and he built this whole geometric thing. I don’t push him, sometimes I just suggest colours or themes. I’ll send him the EP and say run wild.” Apart from the release of Ascend in May, Coyote’s calendar is bursting with releases. “There’s a new Spokes records which is pretty much done, Tom E. Vercetti is writing again, Letta has completed his next thing and Last Japan is working on a full EP.” Fraser would be the first to admit that it has been a “long journey” to this full calendar and his newly found high-profile, but since starting Coyote, Fraser has largely stuck to his guns by continuing to release some of the best new instrumental grime as well creating a community of artists linked, not by any prevailing sound, but by a forward thinking and experimental mindset. Coyote Records has now cemented its place at the cutting edge of grime and is a must-watch for anyone with an interest in the genre .

 

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Watch out for the vinyl release of Ascend on June 3rd.