Hi, Who are you?
A pleasure to join you. I’m Ashraf and I’m the Label Manager at HE.SHE.THEY. RECORDS… along with many other hats
What’s your ethos?
Let People Be People. I think that cuts well to the core. The world we live in is filled with all types of people: we can think in terms of backgrounds and personalities but also genders, ages, sexualities. Why doesn’t the music industry reflect that? If you looked at most dance record labels, you’d be forgiven for thinking that 90% of DJs are men (who all vaguely look quite similar). Instead of that, we’re trying to reflect the world around us and, in the process, we get to spotlight insanely talented musicians & their music.
Tell us your origin story?
HE.SHE.THEY. really came about as a response to this question about the lack of diversity in clubs & labels. I can’t take credit for that. That goes to Sophia Kearney and Steven Braines who basically got bored of suggesting ways the industry could do better and decided to do the thing: throw a rave where all our mates could party together in one space. As we were gaining momentum internationally (we had events in Amsterdam, Berlin, New York), the pandemic struck and nightlife shut down. We always intended to set up a Label too, and I guess Covid was, in some way, a funny parent in the origin tale: we had space and time to give this baby some nurturing energy.
Where are you based? Tell us about your local scene…
We’re digital. Just kidding. Personally, I’m based in London but the team’s quite scattered across the country so we all work remotely. I feel like London’s made up of lots of small scenes. There’s a sort of niche for everyone. And I know this goes against the grain of what everyone thinks but London clubs can actually be super friendly, especially when you’re in a space like Fold and the community they’ve built. The social side and the chat is as much a part of the clubbing highlights in London as dancing and hearing new music. On the flipside sometimes our music scene can be so segmented and we all just end up meeting people similar to ourselves.
Do you have a specific sound or vibe?
We’re all ravers ourselves so we’re suckers for a big club anthem but we do make an effort to keep a broad umbrella of sounds for the label. We never want people to think we’re just one vibe. If our catalogue could soundtrack the pre’s, the club, the closing, the afters and the morning-after, then I reckon we’re doing what we set out to do.
Do you have a regular artist roster- who can we see releasing with you?
We do have a number of artists that we just can’t stay away from, including SYREETA, Baby Weight, OX7GEN, Boys’ Shorts, Cozmic Cat. We sign independent records so it’s never a given to work regularly with the same people but it’s a real honour that we do get many of our artists returning with their new music.
With Baby Weight, in particular, we have really crossed genre boundaries with her and each release has been totally unique and thrilling. We have a new one coming up with hhunter, who is this utter force within Chicago Techno, and you can just feel he is on a meteoric trajectory. It’s really rewarding to have multiple releases with artists not only to witness their development but, on a personal level, to feel like part of their story.
Tell us about your A&R process…
Can I listen to this track on repeat for months on end? We need to able to answer a resounding YES to sign any track to the label. That is our lived experience of working with our releases so it’s the fundamental base level we need. I want to be fully obsessed. Sometimes I have that on first listen and other times you hear the potential and you need to give a couple notes to see if an artist can push a little further. We’re very honoured to receive a lot of demos but we also reach out to people too. We’re always digging.
What makes you different from other labels?
I wish this didn’t make us so different but probably the number of women that we have releasing music on our labels. Honestly it’s a sad state of affairs out there. And it’s not like the music isn’t any less phenomenal. More labels need to put women in the spotlight, along with trans and non-binary artists too.
What does it take to run a bass music label in 2026?
Caffeine. And graft. There’s a hell of a lot of grafters in this wild industry. And if you don’t know how to do something, you get teaching yourself.
What have you got coming up we should look out for?
We have a massive mega-rave collaboration with the legend Mandidextrous at the Electric Bristol on Saturday 21 March. Curated with Mandi, who is going to be joined on stage by insanely talented MC, Maddy V, it almost feels like a mini festival because the line-up is stacked to the brim. Plus, the brilliant Jungyals And Gays collective will be taking over Arena 2. It’s going to be a special one.
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