Not Not Fun

Smooth as silk on RBMA Radio

From an inauspicious home office overlooking a tranquil backyard on the east side of Los Angeles, Amanda Brown and her husband Britt have been quietly releasing records for a good seven-plus years now. Actually, strike that; using the terms "quietly" and "inauspicious" in the first sentence here sets the wrong tone for grasping the volume of their output and the influence of their efforts. The pair have accrued well over 200 releases on their flagship Not Not Fun label and are on their twentieth release with their 100% SILK dance imprint at the time of this writing. Nor have their efforts gone unnoticed - as NNF and 100% SILK have developed into some of the premier musical purveyors of cool in the post-everything age. Aesthetically, the labels have epitomized the romantically-inclined independent approach to music distribution, often hand-crafting album jackets in the Kinko's school of thought, releasing music for love not commerce, recording straight to cassette and other out-moded mediums, and at times, (gasp) shunning the Internet altogether.

What started as basically a glorified mixtape and live-recording label amongst friends quickly developed into a rapidly mutating roster of noise, free-folk, pop, dub, drone, psych, and all the dots in between. Releases from artists like Sun Araw, Ducktails, Peaking Lights, High Wolf, and Topaz Rags, as well as Amanda's own projects Pocahaunted and LA Vampires, basically read as a who's-who of year end lists by music nerds - a notoriously fickle crowd.

In the past year, the Not Not Fun family tree has expanded with the 100% SILK imprint - dedicated to the fine art of dance, yet oozing with the same hazy sensibility as the parent label. Artists like Maria Minerva, Dylan Ettinger, Ital and Innergaze meld 4/4 kicks, DMX drums and acid basslines with immense washes of reverb, echo-laden voices and just enough cassette hiss to please both the indie dive-bar crowds and Berghain.

All this comes from a backbone that Amanda describes as follows: "We work out of our house. There’s an extra room with French doors overlooking our backyard that we’ve turned into an office. Britt sits on one side of a big desk at his computer, I face him on the other side at mine. Messy mail station, papers, pens, Post-It notes with email addresses, a giant Feel Wheel on the wall so we can chart our daily emotions with options like “SUPERIORITY” and “REPULSION”…

An average day is mega-hectic. Working from both computers, on both cells, listening to countless demos, taking some shit, giving some shit, making packages, going deep on artist relations, detailing jacket art, updating both of our sites. I think we eat kale chips and drink oolong tea somewhere in there, and then fall into the kitchen at six for dinner."

Head over to redbullmusicacademy.com for the full interview if you like to have something to read as you sit back and enjoy the shows below. Oolong tea optional.

Not Not Fun
Smooth as silk on RBMA Radio

Martial Law
A Ninja Tune Special on RBMA Radio

2011 Round-Up
Rewind the past twelve months with some of our favourite music from Academy alumni around the globe

Springtime in Fall
Highlights from Primavera Club 2011

15 years of Versatile Records
The quintessential Paris label celebrates its anniversary

Gracias Por Todo, Madrid
Total Recall: Red Bull Music Academy 2011

Merry Go Sound
Madrid 2011 - Term One

Más Matadero
Red Bull Music Academy 2011 - Week One

Amplified Beyond The Beat
Radio highlights from the RBMA World Tour 2011

Deep Fried Dap
Highlights from the Daptone family tree on RBMA Radio

Under The Westway
RBMA x Major Lazer sets from Notting Hill Carnival now on air

No Sleep Till Olganitz
Highlights from Germany's Nachtdigital fest on RBMA Radio

In The City
Festivalwatch: Stadtmusik.FM, Basel

LA Parklife
RBMA Radio goes HARD Summer

Neo Neo
Neopop Festival special on RBMA Radio

Croatia Calling
Hartera special on RBMA Radio

Sète You Free
RBMA Radio goes Worldwide

Another Place, Another Time
Sónar in review on RBMA Radio

Move, D!
Movement Detroit highlights on RBMA Radio

Heatmakers
Boiler Room one-year anniversary and special on RBMA Radio

Nuits Up
Les Nuits Sonores Special on RBMA Radio

Les Yper Sound
Festivalwatch #2: La Villette Sonique, May 27 - June 1

Making Wavves
Young Turks special on RBMA Radio

Far East Movement
Highlights from SónarSound Tokyo on RBMA Radio

The Royal Catalonian
An audio recap of the A Taste of Sonár event in London

Hörvergnügen
A German Sound Exploration

The Devil's Dancers
New Wave + Industrial highlights on Red Bull Music Academy Radio

Crossing The Border
James Holden opens his record box for RBMA Radio

Kind Of Blue
Brand new shows from Hercules and Love Affair, and interview with band producer Patrick Pulsinger

Ginga Beat
Portuguese show on RBMA Radio turns 100

Word On The Street
Chairman Mao navigates through old and new on RBMA Radio

In The Moog For Love
Moog music on RBMA Radio

Elevator Music
Elevate Festival on RBMA Radio

Year-End Closing!
The year 2010 in Academyworld

Boogie Wonderland
Boogie past, present and future on RBMA Radio

Night Skanking
Night Slugs Special with Bok Bok on RBMA Radio

Circle Of Dub
RBMA Radio & Tectonic Recordings launch dubstep into outer space

Dusty Fingers
A special selection for vinyl lovers and dollar bin kingpins

Frequency Modulation
RBMA Radio Pop-Up Studio @ Amsterdam Dance Event

Concrete Jungle
RBMA Radio Pop-Up Studio @ Amsterdam Dance Event

Basement Boys
Red Bull Music Academy x Dommune

Flashback
2010 festival highlights on RBMA Radio

Another Revolution
Kirk Degiorgio's Sound Obsession turns fifty

Heat Wave
Major Lazer x Notting Hill Carnival session on RBMA Radio

Lights Down Low
Four hour set from Theo Parrish on RBMA Radio

The Hundreds In The Hands
PanamériKa turns 100

On The Double
Hyperdub Special on RBMA Radio

Green Professors
RBMA Radio at Oxegen Festival

Cabride Reveries
SonarDome x RBMA Radio

Parclife
Primavera Sound Special on RBMA Radio

Move With It
Movement Festival Detroit on RBMA Radio

future roots experiments
dublab focus on RBMA Radio

D10
Dissonanze special on RBMA Radio

Rappin’ All Over
New hip hop shows on RBMA Radio

Zombie Nation
RBMA residency at Fabric kicks off with Brainfeeder

Tech The High Road
RBMA and RA hit the Royal Festival Hall

Sublime Frequencies
RBMA Culture Clash feat. Trojan, Soul ll Soul, Metalheadz and DMZ

Hitek House
Future Garage Special on RBMA Radio

Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah!
Disco special on RBMA Radio

Bubble Metropolis
Detroit Special on RBMA Radio

Listen Death From Above
DFA label spotlight on Red Bull Music Academy Radio

Chords Got Soul
Soul singers tune up on RBMA Radio

Dub Be Good To Me
The London-Kingston love affair on RBMA Radio

Making Waves
Mavericks of an era on Red Bull Music Academy Radio

Africa Center Of The World
Continental Focus on RBMA Radio

I Hear You Singing In The Wire
Wichita Records Label Special on RBMA Radio

Northern Soul
WARP/ED special on RBMA

Be Reasonable, People
Warp Records Label Special on RBMA Radio

No Ice Cream Sounds
Notting Hill Carnival Special on RBMA Radio

Yes We Cannes
Festival Pantiero special on RBMA Radio

Break A Dawn
Nachtdigital Special on RBMA Radio

Pips and Blanks
Domino Special on RBMA Radio

Punchestown Drunk Love
Oxegen festival special on RBMA Radio

Beats It
Beats Special on RBMA Radio

Catalunya Calling (Back)
Red Bull Music Academy presents SónarDôme 2009

Dem A Call Us Pirates…
RBMA Radio takes over Lisbon's airwaves

The Wolf Gang
Stones Throw Records Label Special

Lane Stage
St Jerome's Laneway Festival Special