"First and foremost, ~scape denotes openness. The tilde, this little squiggle and place marker preceding the label's designation, hints at a wide variety of possible appendices, it leaves the listener free to conjure up his own interpretational addition. Everything starts at the basic, open premise of ~scape, to be filled with a huge variety of sounds, rhythms, styles and ideas. But openness must not be confused with complete, unregulated freedom, does not stand for random choices. ~scape is defined and shaped by its basic premises: inimitability, minimalism, electronics and the influence of certain musical styles are the maxims under which ~scape will always operate.

development
At the same time ~scape is part of a continual process, always evolving and developing, scorning inertia. Since its inception in the spring of 1999 ~scape has moved on and demonstrated what its postulated openness can translate into. The label's compilation series "Staedtizism" exemplifies this evolutionary process. While the first edition was mainly influenced by electronic dub, artist releases from this period, too, reflected this with records by Kit Clayton and Burnt Friedman. No 2 paved the way for jazz-suffused electronica, spearheaded by Jan Jelinek and label founder and A&R Pole. With "Staedtizism 3", to be released in early summer 2002, the soundscapes now acknowledge hip hop influences, strikingly contrasted by the Danish minimalist electronica of System as well as Heidelberg-based Californian Andrew Pekler with his electronic take on the jazz tradition. Throughout all this, ~scape remains an open forum, a platform for all kinds of unique, extraordinary (electronic) music. Nothing is off-limits - without this open-minded approach vital developments could be missed, relinquishing any opportunities for the label's own evolution.

passion
It remains ~scape's declared aim to approach music and all of its releases with a passion: an important difference to the otherwise fast-moving and anonymous realm of electronic music. It is all about taking the time to focus on each and every release. At ~scape quality remains decisive as the one criterion which will prevent the release of something obvious and one-dimensional. All work is determined by the search for the exceptional."

www.scape-music.de