SHA News // Mathew Jonson Relaunches Itiswhatitis Recordings
Canadian techno imprint Itiswhatitis Recordings is set to be relaunched this month with the release of an EP of previously unreleased material from new owner Mathew Jonson, whose first releases – including the classics ‘Typerope’ and ‘Love Letter To The Enemy’ – came on the label in the early 2000s. The relaunch will also see reissues for the label’s back catalogue, mostly in digital formats only a handful of releases originally received, and the remastering of all releases by Jonson himself.
Founded in 2001 by Spencer Drennan, Itiswhatitis was responsible for giving starts to Mathew Jonson, Cobblestone Jazz and Hrdvsion, among others artists connected to the Canadian west coast music scene in 2002. Records such as ‘Typerope’, ‘The 5th Element’ and ‘Freedom Engine’ put the label on the map, with support following from acclaimed DJs such as Carl Craig, Ricardo Villalobos and Luciano helping spread the sound around the world. The label changed hands last year to Mathew Jonson, who plans to keep the label and its classic form in track with Spencer’s original vision.
The first release for the relaunch will be ‘Panna Cotta / Passage To The Other Side’, an EP of material recorded by Mathew Jonson during the same period that he made ‘Typerope’. With ‘Panna Cotta’ recently finding its way into Marco Carola’s sets via a ten-year-old demo CD, Jonson decided the synchronicity of the track’s re-emergence made it perfect for the first Itiswhatitis release since 2007. Also getting a digital release for the first time will be the previously vinyl-only Mathew Jonson track ‘New Identity’.
