Ed Banger: the story of the electronic label in 10 songs – as told by label founder Busy P

Managing Daft Punk was just the beginning for Pedro Winter, AKA Busy P. In 2003, the French music biz mastermind – who had guided the robots to global superstardom – was approached by an upcoming artist, Mr Flash, requesting that Winter manage him. Winter said no. Instead, he founded Ed Banger Records to release the producer’s music.

In the 20 years since, acts such as Justice, Breakbot, Uffie, and SebastiAn have left their mark on the label’s diverse, 350-release-strong catalogue, and have become cultural titans. And next year’s release schedule is already looking hectic – not least thanks to Justice’s upcoming album, which Winter tells NME gives him the same goosebumps he had upon hearing the duo’s eponymous 2007 debut, ‘Cross’.

But there’s always more for Winter to be working on. “It’s a full-time job being Busy P,” he says. With 20th anniversary events still being planned at Ed Banger HQ in Paris, Winter talks NME through the label’s history in 10 essential tracks.

Mr Flash – ‘Radar Rider’ / ‘F.I.S.T’ – A Bass Day (2003) 

Ed Banger’s inaugural release was a double-single inspired by 90s trip-hop. Laid-back and lazy beats paired with wonky, off-beat synths and samples, the two tracks are a far cry from the polished sounds of contemporary Ed Banger tracks – but they’re crucial to the label’s origins. 

Busy P: “I started Ed Banger [records] at the worst time. Between 2001 and 2005, French touch [music] wasn’t trendy anymore. [And] starting a label when digital music is coming; distributors of vinyl are closing; record stores are closing…What was the point of starting a label? I did it, completely, in a spontaneous way without thinking too much – in a pure moment of joy and excitement.”

“Mr. Flash came to my office and said, ‘I want you to be my manager.’ And I said, ‘No.’ But I loved his music. So I said: ‘Okay, you know what? I’m going to start a label and I’m going to release your music. It wasn’t club music. It was more cinematic – I often relate it to DJ Shadow or Unkle.

“One month after I signed Mr Flash, I met Justice. And ‘We Are Your Friends’ became the second release of Ed Banger…”

Justice – ‘Genesis’ (2007)

‘Genesis’ might be one of the most dramatic album openers of all time. Its menacing brass section thunders into your ears from the off, building to a spine-tingling drop that is still undefeated,16 years on. EDM stars Zedd, Skrillex and Madeon, cite the duo’s album, ‘Cross’ as inspiration for their bass-heavy productions of the 2010s.

Busy P: “We can now look back and agree, there was definitely a change [in electronic music]. People were like, ‘What’s going on with this distortion? These heavy metal visuals with these funky basslines; [Justice] are affiliated with Daft Punk – who are these guys?’

“Ed Banger wouldn’t be as it is without them. And I believe they wouldn’t be as big either if Ed Banger wasn’t there. Listening to ‘Cross,’ I had goosebumps – I loved each and every note of this record, and I have goosebumps when I’m listening to the forthcoming [2024] Justice album, too.

“I can only be proud as a manager to work with a band that is pushing the boundaries and innovating like them. We are celebrating the 20 years of Ed Banger, but we are also celebrating 20 years of Justice.”

DJ Mehdi – ‘Signatune’ (Thomas Bangalter remix) (2007)

Winter praises 2006 and 2007 as “the perfect years for Ed Banger.” He recalls a new generation of club-goers itching for dancefloor bangers. DJ Mehdi’s ‘Signatune’ – and, notably, Thomas Bangalter’s remix – quickly became a go-to for DJs.

Busy P: “‘Signatune’ became kind of an anthem of this era of club music. The song uses a sample in a repetitive, dynamic way, and, of course, adding the Thomas Bangalter’s touch was the cherry on the cake.

“‘Signatune’ was a snippet; it was a one-minute song and Thomas listened to it and said, ‘No, you need to have a longer version to play in clubs.’”

DJ Mehdi died in a freak accident at a party in 2011. But, as Busy P says, DJ Mehdi, ‘Signatune’ and the rest of his discography is “definitely an important part of Ed Banger’s history.”

Mr Oizo – ‘Positif’ (2008)

If you were at a festival this year, you probably heard Mr Oizo’s ‘Positif.’ Or, at least, you heard its intro. In February, superstar producer Skrillex sampled the track’s main synth hook in ‘RATATA’ a Missy Elliot collab that’s racked up millions of plays. And Mr Oizo’s original is still making crowds go wild, too.

Busy P: “When Skrillex asked us to sample [‘Positif’] for ‘RATATA’,  we immediately said yes. I’ve known Skrillex for a long time, so he’d send me different versions when he was working on it. And, honestly, I knew it would become a hit.

“Working with him is amazing. He always surprises me with crazy concepts. And the lyrics [on ‘Positif’] are “you are animals, you’re gonna die” in France and Belgium, people go crazy for it. You’re getting crazy in a rave and then – “you are all animals” – that’s the craziness of the song.”

Uffie – ‘Difficult’ (2010) 

Stripped-back, a little weird, and full of attitude, Uffie’s ‘Difficult’ from 2010 debut album ‘Sex dreams and denim jeans’ sounds like a precursor to 2020s hyperpop. Busy P wishes he could’ve done more to give the album the recognition he thought it deserved at the time – even if it did already feature the likes of Pharrell.

Busy P: “I love the record. I was so happy to build a producer team around her with Mr Oizo, Feadz and Sebastian. But the album wasn’t successful. Sadly, we didn’t manage to make it bigger – that’s one of my regrets. It was complicated to work with her, because she’s a pretty rock and roll artist and it wasn’t as spontaneous as I like things to be. But that’s life!

“It makes me happy when Katy Perry or Charlie XCX send love back to Uffie. I think I’ll take the opportunity when it’s the album’s birthday to do a re-release; musically, it’s definitely still relevant.”

Breakbot – ‘Baby I’m Yours’ (2010)

You definitely know this one. If not, you’ll at least know Bruno Mars’, er, ‘Treasure’. Breakbot’s 2010 hit ‘Baby I’m Yours’ hit the internet jackpot when it went viral in a typically bizzaro fashion, and is Ed Banger’s biggest hit ever, says Winter.

Busy P: “Bruno Mars’ team reached out to me in 2010 to work with Breakbot on a ‘Baby I’m Yours’ kind of song. And I remember saying to them, ‘thank you for the request, but Breakbot is working on his own album’. And a few months later, we’re listening to ‘Treasure’! Everybody emailed us like, ‘Pedro, did you listen? it’s a ripoff of ‘Baby I’m Yours’!’

“I tried to cool it down; I said, ‘French and electronic music has been based on sampled music – we are not going to jump on Bruno for being influenced by Breakbot. That’s part of the game.’ And one day, Bruno Mars came to Paris, had dinner with Breakbot, and they shook hands; it was nice! [Breakbot was awarded a writing credit on the song post-release]

“I’m saying that with a lot of love and peace but, of course, if I could redo it, I would have loved Breakbot to be involved [in ‘Treasure’] and to enjoy worldwide success. But it’s never too late – if Bruno wants to work with Breakbot, he can call us!”

SebAstian – ‘Embody’ (2011)

SebAstian’s album, ‘Total’ has gone down as an Ed Banger classic, with ‘Embody’ being the fan favourite – it’s one of many tracks that set SebAstian up for collabs with the likes of Frank Ocean and Kavinsky. 

Busy P: “SebAstian’s dream was to become the new Neptunes. He came to my office with an American rapper and a CD, and I loved it. But I was straight with him – I said, ‘It’s incredible, but what you’re doing is not new’.

“But he gives me another CD saying, ‘I’m also trying to make electronic music’, and I signed him right away. We can’t really say [‘Embody’] was a success; we didn’t have a big club track or radio song. But when you listen back to this record, I think it’s a good marker of the time.”

Busy P – ‘Genie’ feat. Mayer Hawthorne (2017)

Busy P isn’t too bad of a producer himself. He’s been releasing music since 2004, but cites his 2017 track with Mayer Hawthorne, ‘Genie’, as his first “proper song,” Boasting big, punchy drums, funky synth stabs and Hawthorne’s soulful vocals, ‘Genie’ just oozes Ed Banger. 

Busy P: “‘Genie’ was the first time I worked with a team of people in the studio – not just me alone behind my Akai MPC.”

“I was lucky to work with Hawthorne – it was killer. And, honestly, I sent Mayer the instrumental, he sent back the track one week later and it was just perfect.”

Myd – ‘The Sun’ (2021)

Myd’s jangly nu-disco is certainly a departure from the synth-heavy sounds of Justice and Mr Oizo. But, somehow, Myd’s bright and laid-back 2017 ‘The Sun’ fits perfectly into the Ed Banger catalogue – and the artist’s sound has enticed collabs from the likes of Mac DeMarco. 

Busy P: “The Ed Banger sound is easily recognisable but, at the same time, it’s so broad. Ed Banger is one of the most free-flowing labels – there is no limit and no boundaries. It’s all my personal taste. I love when Ed Banger is a bit darker and I love when it’s more sunny you know, like with Myd.”

DJ Mehdi & Busy P – ‘MPC 2021’ (2021) 

DJ Mehdi’s hip-hop influence on Ed Banger is still palpable. In 2021, Winter dug out a track that he and Mehdi worked on in 2001 in New York, and, in true Ed Banger fashion, the track’s final form took shape “in a very spontaneous way.”,

Busy P: “It’s a track we started in 2001 in New York; the cover of the record is the photo of our two samplers back to back: Mehdi’s MPC 3000, my MPC 2000. I kept the floppy disk in my basement, and one day I realised it had been 20 years [since we made it]. So I called French MC Benjamin Epps and Santigold, a good friend of DJ Mehdi. Of course, she replied right away that she was up for it, and dropped her vocals on the song immediately.”

“And again, [It came out] in a very spontaneous way. It was just something that felt right to do at the time.”

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