Kojak Giant Sound Feature

Those of you that have reading up on all things disco for a few years must have stumbled upon the now defunct Kojak Giant Sounds blog at some point. Finnish veteran Ionik (who also runs things over at Traveller Records) pulled the plug on the blog back in February 2010 and set up a label under the Kojak flag instead. In a few months time, Kojak has established itself as one of the most-hyped edit imprints around, and deservedly so: with rising talents like Nicholas, Rayko, Blacklodge and Leftside Wobble expertly wielding the editing blade, you know you can expect nothing but quality leftfield disco and boogie beats. The five 12"s Kojak put out all sold out in a matter of days and go for silly amounts on discogs now. About time we got in touch with Kojak label boss Ionik for a quick Q&A (see below). Have a listen to some of Kojak and Traveller's best bits below while reading up on upcoming represses and Finland's vibrant disco scene.

Nicholas - "Slick Groove" by Kojak Giant Sounds™

Alphabet City Edits - "Poyson" by Kojak Giant Sounds™

Alphabet City - "Turn Me Up" by Traveller Records

SB: So far the releases have been very limited. How do you feel about people selling Kojak records on Discogs for over 30 pounds?

I only press what I think is necessary. Obviously the demand is bigger these days compared to the beginning of the year with the first release, so there will be represses coming soon. I generally press up what I can ship quickly and then move on to the next release, I like to keep busy with it. Having said that, I´m pressing up more Kojak stuff from now on due to hooking up with a worldwide distribution. As far as the earlier Kojak titles being expensive, I don´t have a problem with it - Discogs is definitely a buyers market these days.

SB: Traveller has been going for a while now, what sound are you pushing with

this imprint at the moment?

Yeah man, it´s been a great 7-year ride so far! We just dropped the two summer anthems with Alphabet City and Rayko, both are still doing very well. Next up is a long overdue dream of mine coming into reality and that´s the Rhythm Kings compilation - it´s looking to be something to be really proud of, that´s all I can say at the moment. I also have the first reissue on Traveller lined up for early 2011 - stay tuned folks!

SB: You run things out of Finland, is there a deephouse/disco scene to speak of?

Most definitely. Having djed here for over 15 years I´ve seen the musical trends come & go like in any other place but disco/deep house has always prevailed. The most discerning & respected clubs here will always keep the vibe alive. The downside is the lack of bigger cities but the choice of quality nights on any given weekend more than makes up for it.

SB: How do you feel about everyone and their mum making edits these days? A good thing, or the beginning of the end?

I guess the freedom of nobody actually producing (in the traditional sense) as an artist can lead to unnecessary tracks being released as an mp3 or whatever but as long as there are actual labels putting in the work of overseeing the substance of a final product I guess the overall good/bad ratio doesn´t really differ from any other music genre. It´s always a good thing when you can express yourself through music.

SB: What do you have lined up for both labels (read: when do we have to cancel
all previous engagements, whip out the credit card and scan the horizon for
a new Kojak release)

Kool DJ Dust 12" plus more disco/boogie heat on Kojak, we´re dipping into some
merchandise as well. Traveller will bust out the Rhythm Kings compilation plus more disco/house 12" for the floor. We´re witcha!
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Head over to Kojak's soundcloud page for full-length samples of all releases and buy those 12"s on sight