Please note this is an old page and Fly Global Music has now moved. Please follow this link and search for the entry in the new site.

The first few releases tended to be downtempo and atmospheric, while remaining beat driven in the contemporary Trip-Hop fashion. Of late, the same break-beats have become quicker and bolder, most notably cranked up by Headrillaz (who easily match Wall Of Sound's Propeller Heads for hardness in the big-beat department), and expertly harnessed by Dobie, flying the Hip-Hop flag.

While its hugely successful cousins, Ninja Tune, and Mo' Wax, have run amok over the last year, (rightly) bathed in media attention of the kind that has made the music hard to notice amongst the packaging (case in point: Headz 2), Pussyfoot has kept its cards close to its chest, only peering through the musical haze to reveal, over and again, that it holds the aces in this particular pack.

Pussyfoot was started in early 1994:

"as a means of getting Howie (B)'s records heard, and many other great acts that we knew."

Nick Young, who runs the label, describes its inception:
"Howie and I started it as an experiment, we both put £250 each into the label and began with Pussy 001 of which we pressed a massive 500."

"Experiment" is a significant word in this particular musical context. The aforementioned Pussy 001 is not your regular drive-time selection. Howie B's A-side, "Breathe In", is a sonic stew of strings and synth served up on a bed of phatt (and I use the word advisedly) beat-rice. Howie supplied more such delights on all the releases up to Pussy 005 (the first Naked Funk 12"), since when his release rate on Pussyfoot has declined sharply. In 1996, Howie B released the extra-textured, Eno-esque, and criminally-underrated "Music for Babies", not on Pussyfoot, but on Polydor. Raise asked: "Why?"

"Howie's lp was on Polydor because they are a label with much larger resources and can market Howie to a greater extent. However, Howie will be doing an album for Pussyfoot at some stage, as well as a second for Polydor."

Howie B's knob-twiddling exploits have earned him the respect of people of the calibre of U2 and Bjork (much of whose second album, "Post" he engineered, including the huge track "HyperBallad"). One may even suspect him of dissasociating himself from Pussyfoot for the time being in case his celebrity overshadows the Pussyfootness of it all.

Always up for a fight, The Fly asked Pussyfoot when they are going to sell out to a major label.

"We will never sell to a Major!!!"

Sorry I spoke. All indicative of the fact that Pussyfoot defiantly insists on setting its own agenda. Apparently the name itself came about because Nick and Howie:

"were not happy with major labels pussy-footing around and never signing up some of the great acts."

In true DIY tradition, they immediately signed themselves and other musicians they knew, and have since transformed not just Howie B, but also Naked Funk (whose extraterrestrial lp "Valium" was another big 1996 release) and Spacer into musical success stories. When The Fly dangled the thoughtfully crafted question: "What will happen in 1997?" before him, Nick Young showed the extent of his focus, by replying:

"Spacer and Dobie will kick ass."

No mention of the election, the millennium, the Eurovision, nothing.

This is not to say that Pussyfoot are self-obsessed. On the contrary: the relationship that has grown between Pussyfoot and fellow beat-headz, Wall Of Sound demonstrates the extraordinary bonding power that can be brought about through a mutual love of ÷ well ÷ er ÷ footie. Pussyfoot's Nick Young and Wall Of Sound's Mark Jones are both QPR supporters. Following on from last year's, joint "Wall Of Pussy" lp, the two labels will release another collaboration lp this year, with "a slightly different twist to it". We've heard it'll be called "Ball of Pussy" and have a soccer theme, but we can't be sure.

Big fans of altruism, The Fly asked Pussyfoot to help us navigate the hidden dangers of our local independent record store by telling us the names of some labels to ask after so as to appear knowledgeable. And here they are:

"labels recommended by Pussyfoot include Wall of Sound, Ninja Tune, Fragments, Soma and Ultimate Dilemma."

In return, The Fly heartily recommends Pussyfoot to you. Here is what to expect from them in 1997:

"We should see an album from Dobie, Howie B, Kensuke Shiina and second albums from Spacer, Naked Funk and Sie. There will also be a second "Best Foot Forward" (Pussyfoot compilation lp) and a Japanese compilation album. Plus numerous 12"s."