HOUSEUM (FR) - PARIS
Exclusive interview with Gregoire (owner of Houseum), before the SD event in Levenslang Amsterdam on the 1st of February.
Line-up curated by Houseum:
- Black Loops (IT)
- Ricky Razu (BE)
- DJ Houseum (FR)
Founding and Origins
1) How did Houseum come to life?
It all started in May 2016 for Houseum, digging, especially on YouTube, had been a passion for years, so it made sense at the time to create my own YouTube channel. I first started first with another channel named Pretiosum which quickly did very well so I decided to create a new one for House music. I did all of this on my own and I definitely don’t regret my choices today!
2) What were the early days like for Houseum?
I launched the label Houseum Records in 2018 2 years after the channel, and I also started the event series this year. It was a big year because I’ve added 2 major challenges to my Houseum work, so obviously very exciting but at the same time a bit frightening. I started partying and listening to electronic music before 18 and doing my proper fiestas. Before that I was just listening to the big amount of music requests I was receiving, so it was like before Houseum was alive but with a purpose behind it, it changed my life.
3) How did the name “Houseum” come about?
There’s not really a story behind the name, but people like to say it is the YouTube museum of House music or a play on words with “Awesome” and “House”.
4) What was the music scene in Paris like when Houseum started?
It was definitely different from today, less competitive and still House events were still something new at the time. It was more all the artists and labels that were contacting me every day than the local scene that influenced the label. I had a bunch of artists to work with, and it's true that the channel helped make house music better known and not only in Paris but internationally. Even today, many producers tell me that they started producing house music thanks to the channel, it’s clearly the best thing I can hear!
5) Who were some of the label’s first artists and releases?
Thanks to the channel, it was quite easy to start the label as it was already known in a way so I’ve started the label with a Various with artists I was uploading a lot on the channel. After that, I’ve started releasing solo EPs with artists whose music I really liked and wanted to work with for the future. We’re talking about artists like Gavinco, Ricky Razu or Marc Brauner.
Vision
1) What is Houseum’s core vision?
What I’m going to say is subjective but for me the tracks have to have a soul. That’s also why Houseum Records don’t have many releases, all the tracks are chosen together for a reason and every EPs/LPs have to tell a story.
2) Is there a specific genre or style that defines Houseum’s sound?
Let’s talk about the channel first, Houseum encompasses the whole spectrum of House music. It is very large, I never limited myself to one subgenre of House music as you can find on other channels, but I didn’t upload other genres than House music.
For the label, Houseum Records is mostly focussed on House and Deep House.
There is also the sub-label Ellipse Records, this one is more niche. You can find 4 releases today and it’s more focused on electro, breaks and other electronic sounds.
3) What role does visual identity play in Houseum’s brand?
From my vision, not only music is important. I love collaborating as much as with designers than music producers, it’s great to combine visual artwork with music.
A cat used to be the main element of the artworks in the first releases, but I didn’t want to block myself with that so I enlarged the idea with the next visuals but you always find a cat somewhere in the illustration, hidden or not.
Community and Influence
1) What role has digital media and platforms like YouTube played in your growth?
Besides YouTube and Soundcloud, I am not the best when it’s about digital media. It is important to have an Instagram account to share the next releases or events but it might be the only one I’m using today. Of course, nowadays the more you share on social media the better, because we're very focused on that, but it's not easy for everyone to be consistent in this area.
2) Who are some artists or labels that have influenced Houseum?
The next two releases on Houseum Records and Ellipse Records will be with the same artist, a very talented artist that has a very versatile sound. The Houseum release will be dedicated to Deep House and the Ellipse one to Progressive House.
3) How do you see Houseum evolving over the next few years?
There's something I've been wanting to do for years but haven't done for lack of time, and that's filmed DJ sets. You can see today that it's very popular and that it really helps artists to develop their careers. I wanted to do it in an original spot that had never been done before and I've found one. It's coming up very soon!
I’ve been organizing international events with Houseum since 2018, so the idea is to keep going and go to new destinations. I’m just coming back from Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong where we had Houseum events. It was a consecration to be able to play there!
New merch is coming, t-shirts with the two last releases illustrations.
I am also working on the creation of a new label (independent of Houseum) and a new series of events but I can't say much more than that ;)
4) What are your thoughts on the importance of independent labels in today’s music scene?
It's very important to highlight all the talented producers in the world, whether they are already known or not. I think independent labels make things evolve more than we think, and even more so in a field like electronic music. A lot of independent label managers do this work alongside their job, and that's how all the independent labels come into being.
5) What legacy would you like Houseum to leave behind?
For everything Houseum contributed to electronic music, for the fact that it was one of the key players in bringing house music to the public eye, and also all the events and the vibes we have shared with the dancers from all over the world.