1999- Montreal’ minimal lost link, hautec label reboots with 2 EP’s
With its roots in mid 80’s underground cassette culture, Montreal’ hautec label five year lifespan, nurtured the fertile influential Montreal minimal techno scene. Diminutive minimal sister label to the more house oriented haute couture, it laid down the first wax releases of prolific micro house originator Marc Leclair (Akufen, Reno Disco, Juicebox), as well as future techno stars, DJ Champion, Deadbeat, Mateo Murphy, Pheek. Also the first home to label head Martin Dumais’ pioneering award winning ‘Les Jardiniers’, which also featured the talents of DJs Jean-François Charette and Sylvain Houde of the famed Foufounes Electriques club.
With its sister labels, the catalog of two dozen plus releases proved an important stepping stone to its entire roster, all attaining international status and still currently active in their respective labels and projects.
The stripped down sounds from the then unknown artists, proved difficult to find its audience at first, but gained steam as minimal became a dominant strain of club music. Fueled by several record shops, the expanding reach Mutek festival, and official minimal techno central the lamented dj and artist hangout LAIKA, where partners in crime DJ Maus (haute couture) and DJ Mighty Kat (hautec) held longtime residencies. Label highlights of the period include performances by DJ Maus and Les Jardiniers at the massive Sonar 2000 festival in Barcelona, which opened up to many years of adventures and ensuing chaos.
Existing during the tumultuous and disturbing early 2000’s, a time at which consumers taste shifted towards new digital formats, sending many record distributors into bankruptcy, leaving hautec and many others in dire financial situations, with large quantities of vinyl simply lost. These now rare slabs of wax often fetch hefty discogs prices.