There are many things that mark Hospital Records out from the scores of rival drum & bass labels on the market. The sheer size of its catalogue is one. Another is the label's breadth, having grown to include its own publishing company, merchandising and the wildly successful Hospitality club night franchise.
 
But perhaps the thing that offers the best insight into the London-based label is its focus on artist albums. This was a unique ingredient when Hospital started out in 1996. As label stalwart High Contrast prepares his fourth album and newcomer Netsky gets ready to launch his first, it is clear Hospital is as committed as ever to giving its artists space to develop their ideas.
 
"One of the aspects of jungle / drum & bass in the mid-90s was it was really a track or dubplate culture," says Chris Goss, Hospital co-founder (pictured). "It was not artist-focused, it was tune-focused."
 
This was something Chris wanted to do differently when he founded the label with Tony Colman. At the time, the pair were making music together as London Elektricity and wanted a vehicle to release their tracks. But even in the early days they had their eyes on making albums.
 
Chris says this was because they were older than many in the drum & bass scene and had experience of the music industry. Tony had been in a band before and the pair had already run an acid jazz label together, Tongue and Groove. "Being slightly older and having some experience between us, our approach to it was always going to be about artist development," he explains.
 
The pair's efforts led, after a number of singles, to the first London Elektricity album, Pull The Plug. Three years later, Chris decided to concentrate on running the label, leaving Tony in control of London Elektricity. The project has gone from strength to strength and Tony is now working on a fifth album.
 
As the label grew, Hospital sought to expand and signed Danny Byrd in 2000. High Contrast followed, as did Logistics. Alongside this in-house talent, the label put out singles from some of Chris and Tony's favourite producers such as Marcus Intalex and Klute.
 
Over time, a recognisable 'Hospital sound' developed. The label's tracks tend to have strong melodies and vocals, and feature rich samples and live instruments. Many of the early tunes owe a lot to Chris and Tony's background in acid jazz and sound quite different to the gritty jungle that came out of labels such as Metalheadz around the same period. However, Chris insists the music is also tough and powerful.
 
"We like to release things that have soul, that have warmth," says Chris, "but by that I don't mean they have to have trumpets in them and girls doing backing vocals. Soul music for me can be extremely lush and quite light; it can also be hard as nails."
 
Chris likes the term 'fast soul' to describe Hospital's catalogue, disdaining the more popular 'liquid funk'. Even worse, in his eyes, is the phrase 'jazzy drum & bass'. As Hospital has developed, he says, as has the sound – and he's right.
 
Many of the tracks released in the last few years are experimental and largely electronic, especially those on Hospital's offshoot label, Med School. This has released music by artists including Bop, Randomer and S.P.Y at a variety of different tempos.
 
However, Hospital is still rightly associated with drum & bass that has mainstream appeal, and several of its tracks have made it on to Radio 1's coveted play lists. For many, Hospital was a gateway to drum & bass. It offers an inroad that's less off-putting than the darker and more aggressive sounds to be found elsewhere in the scene.
 
Many things have changed during Hospital's life to date, and the label has always sought to adapt. A key change is the increasingly global nature of drum & bass. It is clear from compilations such as The Future Sound of Tokyo and The Future Sound of Russia that Hospital has its eyes on producers in foreign countries.
 
"A lot of the time you have absolutely no idea where this music has come from," says Chris. "That reminds you it's a level playing field. Whether your tune has come from some rude boy in Hackney or some college student in the Ukraine, they arrive in the same way and they're judged in the same way."
 
Of course, dealing with producers in every corner of the globe presents complications. There are language barriers to overcome, and it can be difficult to transfer royalties to artists in places like Russia. "I think we've had to pay some artists in Juno Download vouchers," jokes Chris.
 
But Hospital always rises to the challenge, and it is the team's emphasis on professionalism in all things that has ensured its survival through the last two decades. In conversation, Chris continually refers to the mundane but necessary tasks of accounting, managing contracts and paying royalties.
 
"Given the bewildering number of drum & bass record labels there are these days, I think it's very important to remind people just how significant the business side is. If you're not prepared to put the time in, you really shouldn't be doing it."
 
Hospital is now 14 years old, and its maturity seems to reflect the maturity of the wider drum & bass scene. Chris happily admits that "95%" of Hospital's output is drum & bass. Despite the tendency of the mainstream press to claim the genre is dead or dying, the music is as strong and healthy as ever.
 
"In the past decade, a number of genres have come and gone. Step forward big beat or electroclash," he says. "Drum & bass has proved itself. I truly believe it's an accepted form of music."

Words: Colin Steven

 

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• Hospital Records

Related Links:

• London Elektricity Readies New LP Yikes!
• Review: Hospitality @ Fabric
• Incidents & Reflection Exhibition
• The Agony and Ecstasy Of High Contrast
• London Elektricity Interview

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