Chapter 44: Fool's Gold

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Publisher		Stephen Malbon
Guest Curator		Fool's Gold Records
Editor In Chief		Adam Pasulka
Associate Editor		Caitlin Levison Collins
Illustrations and Title Design		Dust La Rock
Art Director		Nicholas Acemoglu
Photo Editor		Craig Wetherby
Production Director		Anton Schlesinger

Contributors		A-Trak, Asian Dan, Elliot Aronow, Kirill Bichutsky, Angela Boatwright, Brook Bobbins, Justin Briggs, Nick Catchdubs, Mel D Cole, Doug Coombe, Felipe Delerme, EIKNARF, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, Mancy Gant, Mr. Goldbar, Lizi Gross, Erika Jarvis, Sesema Lokerman, Texas Malika Toussaint-Baptiste, Ian Meyer, Andrew Noz, Ysa Perez, Matthew Reeves, Dax “Dirty Dr.” Rudnak, Guy Shipp, Nate “Igor” Smith, So-Me, Josh Wehle
Interns		Benjamin Boas, Siva Haffenden, TzuCheng Ho, George Leonidou, Ryan Mayle, Hanako Sasaki, Shaquille Serieaux-Halls

Legal Affairs		Brian J. Marvin, Dan Tochterman
FRANKRADIO		Domingo Neris
US/Japan Ambassador		Daisuke Shiromoto
Far East Operations Directors		Lyntaro Wajima, Takayuki Shibaki
Far East Logistics		Yosuke Nakata, Tomonori Mitsuo

The Brooklyn-based record label Fool’s Gold was founded in 2007 by DJs A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs and quickly established itself with a non-stop series of releases bridging hip-hop and electronic music, introducing artists like Kid Sister, Kid Cudi, and Duck Sauce, while being dubbed an "indie innovator" by Billboard and a "tastemaker label" by the New York Times. With acclaimed graphic artist Dust La Rock providing a clever and constantly evolving aesthetic for all Fool’s Gold visuals, the company has become more than an independent music powerhouse, but a trendsetting lifestyle brand putting a unique stamp on events, collaborations, and much more.
This year, the Fool's Gold crew has been more visible than ever, pasted up giant-size on subway walls and billboards, and throwing events like the free "Day Off" bash in NYC on Labor Day. Upcoming projects include the label's first full-length album releases (including a compilation LP featuring new songs from all the Fool's Gold artists) alongside a slew of new singles, international touring, art shows, retail, and beyond.

FG has lent their midas touch to Frank Chapter 44 for Spring 2011. This installment showcases the label's roster, family, and friends around the globe—from Canadian techno producers and Japanese girl bands to Oakland rappers and beyond—through exclusive interviews, stories and galleries. It has collected the latest obsessions from founders who are still fans, curators who hope to not only satisfy, but surprise. It's a 3-D look at where Fool's Gold has been and where they're going next, informed by the same anything-goes DJ spirit the label was built upon.

Release Date: Spring 2011

Raising The Bar

Words: Mr. Goldbar
Photo: Josh Wehle

This thing of ours began humbly enough—just some friends putting out their other friends’ records.

About four years, 50 releases, hundreds of shows, millions of MP3s, and one rubber duck later, the song remains exactly the same.

Posted on 03.28.11 4:03 PM by FrankGreen

The Golden Rules

Interview: Felipe Delerme
Photos: Ian Meyer

If you caught Nick Catchdubs on Rivington St. in NYC last summer, day or night, he looked angry. With his brow furrowed and biceps swung open like a doughy Lou Ferrigno, the normally jovial Catchdubs broadcasted an uncharacteristic scowl in a wall-swallowing whiskey ad featuring himself and Fool’s Gold co-founders Dust La Rock and A-Trak. The latter two struck poses resembling prison lifers or maybe retired breakdancing coaches, while Catchdubs sported a pair of enormous toy gloves modeled after “Thing” from the Fantastic Four.

Though he’d like us to believe he has a mean streak, the reality is that outside of this billboard, I’ve never actually seen Nick Catchdubs angry. The man is in a perpetually good mood, ready and willing to talk about his job or the music he’s currently feeling—which are one and the same. As a world-renowned DJ, burgeoning producer, and Fool’s Gold executive, Catchdubs is as happy as you’d expect someone to be whose giant superhero hands are currently arranging next year’s sound.

Posted on 08.16.11 4:15 PM by FrankGreen

Girl Tawk

Interview: Julianne Escobedo Shepherd
Intro photo: Angela Boatwright

On the continuum of bad bitches, Kid Sister sits somewhere in the “global best friend” section—her sharp-tongued raps are full-on celebrations of everygirl, spanning relatable topics from power-chilling to party cheers. When she’s not sounding like the kind of chick you wanna kick it with at the mall, she’s beasting on beats that’ll convince you she’d have your back if it came down to fisticuffs.

In short, Kid Sis, née Melisa Young, is awesome. Her latest release, the Nick Catchdubs-helmed Kiss Kiss Kiss mixtape, is full of her best tracks yet, including an indefatigable down-South bass banger in which she trades bars with Gucci Mane (“Gucci Rag Top”), and a dance jammer (“Do! Do! Do!”) on which she flashes her diva pass and forays into French house.

On a rare night-off between a never-ending stream of shows and working on her new album with ill young power-producer Scoop Deville, Kid Sister came through the crib, where my roommates and I were watching a Celtics game. We drank Schaefers and talked about sports, strip clubs, and real estate. You know…girl shit.

Posted on 08.15.11 9:30 AM by FrankGreen

In My House

Moderator: Asian Dan

In the mid-’90s, Todd Edwards began devising new ways to cut up vocal house tracks in his Bloomfield, New Jersey home studio. At the same time, a barely teenage turntablist named Alain Macklovitch was attempting his first scratches as DJ A-Trak in Montreal. The two would continue to experiment with—and ultimately redefine—their respective genres over the course of the decade, only to change trajectory and defy the expectations of their fans by exploring new creative directions years later.

Todd and Alain first met in the Fool’s Gold offices, where they bonded over a shared love: early experiences with house music.

Posted on 08.15.11 5:48 PM by FrankGreen