Visionquest are a dynamic, charismatic and unstoppable force that have quietly crept up and grasped the horns of dance music in 2011. Comprising of Seth Troxler, Lee Curtiss, Ryan Crosson and Shaun Reeves, four Detroit refugees who each have their solo careers in their own right, together they career through barren terrain and mystical energies becoming one of the hottest collectives right now.

We sat down to learn a little more about what's going on behind the scenes at the Visionquest Label HQ with Lee Curtiss:

When did you start the label ?

This year 2011 back in January with a Benoit & Sergio anthem 'Walk and Talk'

Why ?

We felt it was the perfect time in dance music's evolution for us to showcase the music that we felt was cutting edge and important. We had music from close friends that was a perfect fit for what we envisioned our label to sound like, so the process was very natural and rewarding from the start.

Who or what was your biggest influence ?

We have all been influenced by dance music on both sides of the ocean for over a decade but beyond that we all have broad tastes and deep appreciations for music of all styles. When we launched the label we agreed that though dance music would be our stronghold, that we would remain open to any music that collectively moved us. People would think that getting 4 to agree on things would be difficult but it's been quite the opposite. Every release, insert, artwork, remixer etc has been agreed upon as a unit and it's crazy to see how much we recognize something that is done well artistically when it's presented to us.

What was your biggest record ?

Our biggest sellers have been "Walk and talk" by Benoit and Sergio followed by "Falling" by Maceo Plex.

And your best ?

I think all of the eps, compilations and remixes have equal chances to be our "best" record depending on the listener.

Can you make a living running a label ?

I don't know, none of us make a living off of this label. We all have performance careers that we make our main income from and try to put profit from that back into the label.

If you could sign any artist, who would you go for ? And why ?

I'd like to sign Ian Brown from the Stone Roses and do the Visionquest album with him.

Upcoming plans ?

We have a busy upcoming release schedule with releases from Life and Death, Lee Curtiss, Ryan Crosson and Cesar Mervielle, Benoit and Sergio and a long awaited album from Footprintz

Visionquest are behind the release of Fabric61 & here's some more info on their approach to putting that mix together:

In Native American cultures, a Visionquest is a spiritual quest associated with new beginnings and revelatory journeys. Meeting as teenagers in the collapsed city of Detroit, these four young creatives embarked on their own voyage together that has brought them to the forefront of the electronic music community. Surrounded by the explosion of techno in their home city, they each connected deeply with its heartbeat. The youngest of the pack, Seth Troxler’s stepfather was himself a DJ and they each began playing and promoting local events. Keen to etch their own mark as DJs and producers in the wider world, they eloped to Berlin and forged successful solo careers, before coming together again to form the Visionquest production collective responsible for crossover remixes such as Tracey Thorn ‘Swimming’ and Kiki ‘Good Voodoo’. In 2011 they formed the Visionquest label that houses a rising circle of talent such as Footprintz, Laura Jones, Tale Of Us and the biggest track of the year from Benoit & Sergio ‘Walk and Talk’.

“When deciding together which tracks we wanted to go with we took into consideration the timelessness of the songs, tracks from our past and our present and presented them to tell our story. The start is very representative of the Visionquest DJ sound and the end shows the eclectic sound of our label. It goes from music for clubs to music for life.” Shaun Reeves

The meditative ‘Wasteland’ from Tin Man commences this almost supernatural journey, urging you to relax and sit back for the ride. Throughout the subsequent seventy minutes, Visionquest sweep gently from light atmospherics through into warm grooves and hypnotic basslines, embodying a spellbinding sound that seems suspended in time. The close circle from their early days such as Konrad Black and Toronto’s My Favorite Robot are represented in the mix as well as early heroes such as Green Velvet and Carl Craig. Iconic records such as the Cassius ‘The Sound Of Violence’ and this year’s anthemic Aquarius Heaven ‘Can’t Buy Love’ are sandwiched between esoteric jewels. The end spirals deeper into Visionquest’s dreams and pop infused hallucinations as the auras of the young Montreal duo Footprintz merge with Italian duo Tale Of Us. The playful close on Wildcookie’s ‘The Song With No Ending’ is an archetypal Visionquest twist as they bow out in style.

Keep up to the date with all things Visionquest at the following linkage:

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