Sydney-born music label Future Classic has become synonymous with the biggest artists on its roster. You know the names: Flume, Chet Faker, Flight Facilities... in the past few years, they've all broken big. And it would be easy to assume that Future Classic's ascent to the top of the Aussie music heap was just as quick.
In fact, the label just celebrated a decade in business. In late 2004, Nathan McLay and his then-partner Jay Ryves – now his wife and the company's artistic director – began Future Classic as side project run from their Alexandria terrace. "We started it as a vehicle to do our own things" says McLay. Soon enough, the brother of Jay's best friend, Chad Gillard, came aboard. "I quit my job saying that I was going to go work in music," recalls Gillard. "I had no idea what I was going to do, but I was in the right place at the right time."
Future Classic initially toured mostly soul- and jazz-oriented acts, while skewing towards house and techno on the records it released. "Over time," explains McLay, "the label started dovetailing with the touring. There was some community forming around that."
As he was establishing Future Classic, McLay also kept up DJ gigs around Sydney. And once again, Gillard found himself playing wingman – this time behind the decks. "At one point Chad wasn't earning enough money at Future Classic," says McLay. "He learned how to DJ on the fly." The pair began hosting regular parties at the Tilbury and the Civic Underground, all under the Future Classic name.
Tours, record releases and those gigs helped establish the label's name; by 2011, they were ready to start signing artists. A young Harley Streten – you know him as Flume – was discovered through a demos competition in which he was the runner up. He would become the first official artist signed to their roster. Says McLay, "It was a unique situation. We had everyone under the same roof deciding which shows [he'd] play and who to collaborate with. It was the first time where instead of picking up the phone, we had everyone in the office where we could bounce ideas off each other."
The team worked hard to be reactive, and it paid off. They rolled out his tours and releases utilising a strategy that clearly worked, because Flume is now among the biggest electronic artists in the world. "It was Harley's performance at Splendour in the Grass in 2012 that was the first illustration to us the music was really working," says Gillard. "Stats on Soundcloud are informative and impressive, but they're not as immediate as actually being there and seeing a response." Last year, Flume sold out three shows at New York's mammoth Terminal 5, and punters reportedly offered up to eight times the ticket price outside the venue on the final night of the run.
Roster mates Flight Facilities have also taken off, selling out shows throughout the USA off the back of a rapturous response to their self-titled debut last year. "We started working with Flight Facilities quite early on," says McLay. "We put out ‘Foreign Language' featuring George Maple six years ago." The duo went the independent route for a spell after and self-released 2012's ‘Clair De Lune', in that time. Says McLay, "They wanted to do their own thing for a bit. That was really healthy – it's like if you have a partner, have a bit of time away and find the attributes of that relationship you really value. Fortunately we both came back with open arms."
It's a fitting analogy, given the fact Future Classic was started by, well, family. And it's apparent in the collaborative nature of the entire enterprise.One of their first releases, ‘Body Stop' by Touch Sensitive (real name: Michael Di Francesco), came out in 2004; he's still with the label, and has played keys for fellow FC signee George Maple and toured with Flight Facilities.
Each of these artists – along with the likes of Seekae, Jagwar Ma and Wave Racer – reflect Future Classic's peerless ability not just to recognise talent, but also foster it. Gillard makes it sound simple: "If we think something is good, we support it – and give it the best legs." McLay says it all comes down to instinct. "It has to feel right. You can have your ear to the ground, but it's impossible to fabricate hype."
With ten years passed, dozens of golden tracks released and some of Australia's favourite artists in their keep, where do they see the label in another decade? "In Jamaica!" jokes McLay. "Statistically we didn't have much of a chance – being a small business and a record label." Echoes Gillard, "That's the exciting part – not knowing where it's going to go."