Birmingham-born producer and label head Shawn Davis has been a dedicated force in underground electronic music since the early ’90s, with deep roots in rave culture, Detroit techno, and experimental sound design.
Through his label Futurist Recordings, and its bold new sub-label Ikonic Futurist, he’s built a reputation for forward-thinking, genre-blurring releases that push boundaries and challenge expectations. Now working with MN2S Label Services, he’s gearing up for a wave of new projects. We caught up with him to talk about his journey, his vision for the label, and what’s next for one of the UK’s most eclectic electronic minds.
How did you get into music originally?
I used to take a keyboard home from school at the weekend and I was just getting into house music. When I left school, I studied media studies and trained on a big 24-track mixing desk. I was listening to Detroit techno and acid house, going to clubs in the early ’90s in Birmingham and around the Midlands. Then I started going to rave clubs in Birmingham and attending big raves like Fantasia. I also worked there as security. I was only 18. I would also go to the Institute in Birmingham, where my friends would MC. Some still MC now—that was around 1993. I was a serious raver; we all were from my area, which was south Birmingham. Then I did a few more courses in production and started making tracks and got a deal selling ringtones in Japan in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
Tell us about your label Futurist Recordings and this new sub-label Ikonic Futurist.
Futurist came around in 2017 as an outlet for my own productions, and it’s always been on the cutting-edge side of underground music, with a big following among other artists and labels from all over the globe—but especially in Detroit. Being a Black artist, they tended to gravitate towards my sound, as it’s uniquely British, and I think they like how I mix my tracks. The name label will give me more scope to be even more expansive and possibly veer into drum and bass, as well as glitch electro, IDM, and of course techno, which people associate me with. It will be very experimental.
Tell us about your first release – what was special about that one?
The first release on Futurist; I’d have to go back into the archives. I tend to release and move on and don’t really dwell on it. It’s for others to decide if it’s special or not.
Tell us about the latest record you’ve released.
Zeal is the latest one. It’s very deep, very electro, and experimental—beautifully mixed—and shows how my sound has developed over the years. Deep ambient synths, music to lose yourself in.
Check out Futurist Recordings on Traxsource.
Could you sum up your label’s philosophy and creative vision?
Forward-thinking, deep, and no style is off-limits. It’s very eclectic. I don’t like to pigeonhole the label, it will appeal to different heads: some acid, some electro, some techno, some IDM glitch – but always groundbreaking, new, experimental sounds. It’s about pushing the music forward. I’d say that’s the creative vision.
What advice would you give to anyone thinking of setting up their own imprint?
HAVE AN IDENTITY. Always be original. Try and push the boundaries and do something new and fresh. Also, make sure your artwork stands out visually. Have your own sound.
What are your plans for the rest of the year and beyond?
To get more music out, and I’d also like to play live more—doing DJ sets. I get sent so many promos, and I want to get out there to play to some serious heads that love the music.
What have you enjoyed about working with MN2S?
I like the closeness; you feel part of something. Some distributors can be quite distant, but this feels like a family already.