Angel Attack
DJ | Producer | Creative Director
‘Tools to perfect your instinct. Plotting the destruction of borders. Setting fire to the rage of acceptance. Sonic Medicine.’ This is the confident, almost cut-throat vision of House of Reptile Records and the two founders of the imprint — Angel Attack and Polanski —embody this force of creativity, both as individual artists and through their collaborative efforts in House of Reptile Records.
With a background in photography, art and curating fashion-led campaigns with global brands, Rapha aka Angel Attack channels his interest outside of commercial commissions and into electronic music, specifically to the realms of EBM, techno, experimental and post-punk.
Based in London, Angel Attack was a regular at intimate parties pushing this sound — BLANC and KAOS come to mind — before COVID-19 obliterated life as we knew it. While he attended these events as DJ and punter, a set by Angel Attack himself could dip into spiralling techno, industrial and old-skool EBM, always keeping his dancefloor engaged and even slightly scared. Either way, Rapha’s ear is tuned to his own beat. That confidence in sound, art and breaking sonic boundaries shines through and will undoubtedly be the prototype of House of Reptile Records.
Rapha shares what’s in store for the platform, the incredible team of talented artists who contributed their work so far and a stack of plans lined up for the label this year. Below, he recalls a memory from KAOS and the new friend he made that night; the start of many more connections to come…
Rapha aka Angel Attack & Arthur 🖤Photo: Rapha
Where was this photo taken and why did you choose it? What was the music vibe at the time?
This photo was taken at Electrowerkz in January last year. It was a KAOS night, with Kris Baha playing all night long (taking a deep breath to let that memory sink in for a moment...)
Right OK — this photo.
For me this photo symbolises what our scene is all about and of course what we all really miss—but I won’t dwell on the lost feelings and instead use this memory to inform my actions everyday, until we can finally live those moments together again.
Kris Baha was doing his thing — another deep breath — the vibe was truly magical and in hindsight, filled with a sense of freedom and naivety to what was about to come. I was sitting down by the bar area, having a chat with friends and just generally observing all the beautiful people around us.
That’s when I noticed Arthur, opposite me, sitting alone and not looking very happy — actually looking quite sad (haven’t we all been there? The location is perfect, the music is divine, people around us are beautiful — yet sometimes we just can’t shake life off our shoulders). The image really touched me so I called him up and said ‘Hey! I’m Rapha, how are you?’
Long story short, Arthur and I ended up having a lovely conversation about a bunch of things, including the ‘alternative education’ him and my kids had in common — we laughed about it, the good and bad — he told me about his scene, party and label in Bristol called SPINNY NIGHTS, we exchanged contacts and carried on with the party. I dropped him a message the next day and he thanked me for helping him enjoy the rest of the party. And that’s what those moments are truly about.
The party itself was truly special, I remember Kimi aka faux naïf jumping and saying hello from out of the shadows in front of me like the witch she is then meeting Polanski on the dancefloor later on (little we knew we would become artistic collaborators and label partners in the months to come). Despite not being able to have those close connections with people for over a year now, our music can still bring that sense of unity and support to each other and this thought has been a major driver of resilience for myself lately.
How have you been lately and what's life currently like in London?
Needless to say, it has not been easy. But that has been the case for everyone else around us. In times like this, I like to express gratitude. A lot of people around us had their entire lives taken away from them. So I’m also fully aware of my privilege of having stable work, my kids whom I spend some time with and the label to push me hard every day. In my case, afterhours have turned into running 10ks powered by the sorts of Ancient Methods and Unhuman ha! Too much energy leftover...
Tell us about the projects you are working on with House of Reptile Records and any other work that falls under a creative category?
Omg there is a lot of work. This is a true labour of love. We do it because we need it to feel alive. In a scene that is super crowded, our mission and our challenge is to bring something new — that being artistically through the music, through new artists or new collaborations between established artists, or emotionally through the message we want to deliver, explained in our manifesto:
Tools to perfect your instinct. Setting fire to the rage of acceptance. Plotting the Destruction of Borders. Sonic Medicine.
The name of the label itself [House of Reptile Records] is about us working on bettering ourselves and being united in those differences. ‘Reptile’ is about our relationship with the reptilian brain and our efforts to understand what truly means to be human (tools to perfect your instinct), becoming aware of ourselves and the others around us. ‘House of’ is a direct allusion to the ‘house and ball culture’ movements in NYC in the early 80s. The sense of a family.
This is the reason why the label exists. The manifesto itself is a brief and a reality-check for everything we aim to achieve with every release.
We just had our first instalment of the Instinct Series out with another 4 releases already either with the press plant for production or being finalized (I would like to take this opportunity to thank Polanski, KURSK, Volsent, Bastian Horro, Burden, Rick Vayo, Rommek, Filmmaker, Duellist, Antechamber and Samot/NX1 for their art that has either come out or will be coming out on the label in the coming months).
Our next big project is our first VA — Sublime Creatures Vol I. Polanski and myself are working hard to close the repertoire while we try to create more ways to express our manifesto message through audio/visual, prints, merchandising and so on.
Another founding member of our label who needs to be known is Malte Gruhl our Artistic Director in Berlin having created logos, artworks (one of them handmade with 13 thousand beads), a bespoke typeface, animations, design templates and for also pushing me hard to launch the label back when it was just a dream. We would not be here if it wasn’t for his continued support and dedication.
As Angel Attack, I’m working hard on new music with 5 new tracks on the way, aiming to release on different labels and writing an album in the few hours left I have every week. Teaching myself how to properly sing (beyond screaming ha).
I have a music video currently in creative development — working with a bunch of talented friends, including my own kids who will work on storyboards, animatics, some animation scenes, lino prints and photography. I’m super excited and can’t wait to share everything.
Where are you finding new talent to sign to the label?
This is entirely the work of my label partner and A&R Polanski who is picking up the ‘proverbial phone’ and scouting new artists to give them a platform to express themselves while pitching and convincing established artists about our ambitions and our relevance. It is a labour of love and we are here for the longterm. It will take some time to build this community but we are devoted to it.
How are you currently feeling about the future?
Pragmatically hopeful. I think we will never go back to exactly the same as we were before and that might be a good thing in some ways. My hope is that we can use this heightened sense of empathy to build something even more powerful than before.
All those restrictions have taught me I have no time to lose. The future is happening now, I can’t just wait for it.
Back to the present moment. Tell us how the photo below is something that brings you happiness in your day-to-day life right now?
This photo sums up everything I mentioned above.
It was taken mid-week, during a work lunch break at home. It shows one of my teenage kids, helping me pack our orders to be shipped to our supporters. Seeing the list of people from different countries who are supporting us fills me with hope and extra energy. Despite all of the stress, despite all of the things that have been taken away from us, I am filled with gratitude and determination to keep going, building the House of Reptile family — together with my label partner Polanski, Malte Gruhl and yes, my kids who are for sure, my biggest supporters.
Life admin 💥 Photo: Rapha