FatCat Records is set to return to its electronic roots with the launch of a new label, titled FCR, with releases scheduled from Cottam, Mall Grab, DJJ, Ali Berger, Grain, E&D, Lee Grainge, and Steve Bicknell.

Long before FatCat was the renowned independent label it is today, it was a hallowed record shop specializing primarily in Detroit and Chicago-based techno and house.

Run by Alex Knight and Dave Cawley (still at the helm of FatCat and FCR), plus Andy Martin and Lee InSync, the shop opened in Crawley during 1988, then moved to Covent Garden in 1990. Jeff Mills, Andrew Weatherall, Richie Hawtin, DJ Rush, Steve Bicknell, Robert Hood, DJ Funk, DJ Dion, and Slam were just a few keen shoppers who’d buy 12”s whenever in town.

The store closed in 1997, and the record label was born in its place, initially releasing electronic music by To Rococo Rot, Matmos, V/VVM, POLE, Insync vs. Mysteron, Gescom and more, before Alex and Dave’s tastes broadened and moved away from tracks aimed at a club environment.

“When we started the label we didn’t want to be pigeonholed into one style, sound or genre; it was this freedom to move freely that we sought,” explains Dave Cawley. “We spent so many years surrounded by dance music that we needed to explore other threads (whilst still maintaining an electronic and experimental element to much of FatCat’s output over the years).”

Now in its 19th year, FatCat has a firm ethos of championing new and undiscovered artists. With offshoot imprints 130701 Records, Split Series, Splinter Series, and Palmist Records, the label has cultivated a diverse and rich catalogue of releases from talent including Max Richter, C Duncan, Sigur Ros, Ian William Craig, Animal Collective, Frightened Rabbit, Vashti Bunyan, Múm, The Twilight Sad, Honeyblood, Hauschka, Dustin O’Halloran, and Nina Nastasia.

Now the FatCat records story has come full circle. With dates for 12”s featuring Mall Grab, DJJ, Ali Berger, Grain, E&D, Lee Grainge, and Steve Bicknell to be announced, FCR’s first release is scheduled for September 22nd—the deep future classic “I Can’t Carry On” by Cottam, accompanied by a remix from Detroit’s Todd Modes on the flip.

Tracklisting — I Can’t Carry On

01. I Can’t Carry On
02. I Can’t Carry On (Todd Modes Remix)

I Can’t Carry On by Cottam is scheduled for September 22 release on 12” vinyl.