Pasquale Ascione, Davide Carbone & Lucindo Cutolo seem to move as a pack. The trio of Italians were originally brought up in the same area, as they put it across “Vesuvian towns in Naples at the foot of the volcano". As many do, the group have since migrated to Berlin, seeking a more healthy techno scene and a location where their work might be more fully appreciated. The move appears to have been a clever one - through their productions Ascione and Carbone have made some rather significant movements over the last few years. Between their respective aliases (Ascion and D. Carbone) they have appeared on labels such as Sleaze, Drumcode, Black Sun and Modularz, and are also curators of the acclaimed Repitch Recordings along with another fellow Italian, Nino Pedone aka Shapednoise.
However, despite the grounding Ascione and Carbone have built up for themselves over recent years, as they state when we caught up with them earlier this month it was Cutolo who stimulated their most recent project, 3TH Records. “Lucindo was already DJing in the local scene when we were about to start producing” they begin. “After several years, our paths crossed again. After spending time together, playing records and hanging out, we found some common interests and ideas. Lucindo started to write down some tracks showing us his ability with rhythms and so on. After a few months (this was three years ago now) the idea of starting another label was up in the air so we didn’t think twice before starting 3TH and building up its sound.”
Since its establishment last year 3TH has acted as a platform to host the trios own music – the furthest deviation from that coming in form of an appearance from Carbone’s alter-ego Honzo. Despite being only five releases deep, 3TH have already built a reputation for crafting dark, brutish techno, the jarring industrial timbres frequented by the trio giving the label a rough-edged, almost punk feel. The curation of the label may be tight, but 3TH are keen to stress their releases are spontaneous rather than meticulously planned. “We don’t have any kind of scheme, it just happens” they begin. “For both [3TH and Repitch] there’s a kind of fusion of our tastes and this leads us to decisions. Basically we all already know what would work for the others.”
Their contribution to our podcast series acts as a kind of guide to the label’s progression. In their words it: “tells the story of the label embracing different styles that characterize [its] sound, from experimental to dance-floor music, passing through industrial patterns and trippy textures.” The mix is crammed with 3TH’s own material, covering from the first release right up to the label’s next 12", ‘Public Head by Ascion’, due out at the end of May.
Tracklist
0047 // 3TH by Stray Landings on Mixcloud