Oftentimes in this busy and chaotic world it’s challenging to draw a parallel between two congruent events. In this case drawing its inspiration from Detroit’s recent meteoric rise from the ruins of the past, BerettaMusic a label founded in Detroit in 2002 who took a several year hiatus is back in a big way, also rising from the ashes like it’s birth city has done.

Airport Society are the Detroit duo of Brian Kage and Ryan Sadorus who founded the label BerettaMusic together nearly 20 years ago. They have recently teamed back up to bring us some great dancefloor friendly tunes.

The title track “Life Like” is sure to be an instant classic with a welcoming and inclusive, positive message for all lovers of dance music and Detroit culture. Demetrius Carrington’s vocals lift the track and carry it throughout with shout outs to many iconic Detroit dance music legends. Already getting rotations on the dancefloors of Detroit, every time it’s played it has received praise with people wondering what this track is and when its coming out!

On remix duties, Brian Kage (BerettaMusic/Michigander) takes the mix down to the depths with his signature driving style. The mix dives into the abyss as an ode to those legendary late night, dark Detroit warehouse parties. Drawing inspiration from Basic Channel, Echo Space and Terry Lee Brown Jr., this mix will fit great into those deep dark german style house sets. The label continues to build momentum through 2022 with some great releases and some fantastic upcoming material that they are eager to share with the world.

Written and Produced by Ryan Sadorus and Brian Kage at Beretta HQ and the Bear Cave in Detroit, mixed by Brian Kage, mastered by Dietrich Schoenemann. Label art by Adam Khabibi.

Releases May 20, 2022 – buy / listen at Bandcamp

Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Brian Kage: Whatupdoe! My name is Brian, I love analog gear, I have a puppy named Bello, and like to make ze hits!

 
Ryan Sadorus: Hey there, I’m Ryan and I live here in Detroit, love music, old cars, and long walks on the beach…

Who are the artists that have inspired you musically?

Brian: The Police, Boards of Canada, Thom Yorke, Juan Atkins, Carl Craig

Ryan: In terms of electronic music, The Timewriter, Kerri Chandler, and many many others… but I’m also into many other genres, like new wave and indie too.

There is clearly a sound that is Airport Society. How would you define that sound?

Brian: Funky ass house music with a touch of soulful techno.

Ryan: I’d say it’s a solid combination of each of our sounds but somewhere between funky house and sometimes deeper techno.

Talk us through your new release.

Brian : I had written the string section for another song and sent that part to Ryan. Ryan had received some vocals from Demetrius, and married the strings I had written with the vocals. Ryan showed me what he had done, and I immediately recognized the potential. I quickly wrote a bassline part, and fleshed out the arrangement and we had the song! I also contributed a deeper, dubbier mix to round out the EP.    

Ryan: I had written most of the arrangement for the tune in terms of the drums and hats, and combined that with a vocal that I got from my buddy Demetrius.  Kage has previously sent me the strings to play with for another track and they were laying around, so I put that on top and was playing with it in raw form. I sent that over to Kage and he wrote the bassline and tightened up the vocals and the entire arrangement.  It was a series of different events that led to the track being complete.

This release is for lovers of..

Brian: The Timewriter, Terry Lee Brown, Chez Damier, Pepe Bradock, Laurent Garnier.

Ryan: what Kage said for sure… and I’d say anyone who is into deep house music or vocal house music will be into it hopefully. 🙂

What is the most important piece of kit you used in the production of this release and why do you love it?

Kage: The most important part for me was probably Ableton. Being able to get ideas down quick and send things back and forth has been really great for doing collabs.

Ryan Sadorus: Yea, I would agree…. Ableton live makes it pretty easy to send tracks back and forth…

If someone wanted to get to know you better, what album would be a good representation of you?

Kage: I think there are too many to name! Boards Of Canada’s – Campfire Headphase, Aril Brikha – Depature in Time, Tycho -Dive,  Radiohead – In Rainbows, The Police – Ghost in the Machine.

Sadorus: I’d lean more towards Daft Punk – Homework, Armand Van Helden – 2 Future 4 U, Danny Tenaglia’s Live in Athens Global Underground mix.

What do you like to do when you are not making music?

Brian: Hanging with the family, Camping, and video games!  I’ve been doing the twitch thing more and more for gaming: http://twitch.tv/djbriankage/

Ryan: Hanging with my family too, working on old cars and motorcycles, off roading and also doing the Twitch thing on our labels channel: http://twitch.tv/berettamusic

What have you got coming up in 2022?

Kage: Lots of cool releases happening on Beretta!  Plus, I have my solo EP coming on my label Michigander. It’s called “808 in the Great Lakes State” and it pays homage to 808 State and the 808 Drum machine.

Sadorus: We have some great releases coming up on BerettaMusic and are making a big push this year to re-launch the label as we celebrate our 20th year.