Kouncil Cuts is an independent record label created by Inverness artist Mark Mackenzie, established in 2019. Mark is the co-organiser of ‘OutDores - The Loch Ness Garden Party’, as well as an artist previously releasing on labels such as mau5trap and Fly Boy Records.
The influence for the label comes from over ten years of running parties in the Highlands. With often little or no purpose built nightclubs in the area, it became the norm to convert old function rooms, snooker halls, and loch side locations into makeshift club spaces for a weekend at a time. The ‘DIY nightlife’ culture within the Highland capital helped expand the limits of what could be played in one night. Everything from House to Jungle. It’s this fusion of genres that was behind the motivation for the sound of the label.
The opportunity to create the label came in 2019. After being made redundant in his job as result of national austerity and budget cuts, Mark used his insolvency pay to press the labels first record. The situation inspired the name, Kouncil Cuts (with the ‘K’ for legal reasons!).
The first release - the ‘Homegrown VA’ - featured four emerging Highland artists. It went on to gather support from some of the worlds most renowned DJs such as The Blessed Madonna, Leftfield and Giles Peterson. UK Bass Music described it as ‘one of the best releases of the year’.
Since then the label has grown strength to strength, with further EP releases from artists Stones Taro, BufoBufo, J Wax, Corbi and Gowans, and with many more featuring on the labels VA series ‘Community Cuts’. Regular fans of the label’s releases have included the likes of Skream, Sherelle, Dusky, Maceo Plex and Shadow Child, among many others.