There is a long list of Dipped in Dollars projects that never saw the light of day, and one of them was an Astro Nautico party we were going to throw in DC last spring. This Substitute Teachers mix by Obey City was going to drop the day of the party, and we are finally able to bring it to you online. I shot the guys a couple of questions this week to see how things were going.

What made you start Astro Nautico? Was there a particular tune or artist?

It wasn’t so much one particular artist or tune that inspired the birth of Astro Nautico, but a collection of people from around the world – especially in LA, Europe and Japan – who were making the most interesting experimental hip-hop and dance music, influenced heavily by Dilla and the legacy he left behind. Additionally, Astro Nautico was intended to be a sort of gateway between futuristic, soulful beats of tomorrow and influential artists of days past whose reverberations are still being felt today – a ‘future roots’ aesthetic that we took note of from our brothers and sisters at Dublab radio.

You’ve been making some big waves with your monthly parties at Free Candy. What’s been your favorite show thus far?

Our first three shows all went well and were each defined differently by the artists performing and the crowds attending those nights. Our first one in July was probably the favorite, however, just because it was such a long time coming of throwing our own night with all Astro Nautico artists in an amazing space, and big crowd peppered with some big names came out to celebrate the kick-off with us.

I noticed you’ve just signed with LuckyMe. How did that come about? When’s the first thing you’ll release through them going to come out?

I (Obey City) do have an EP coming out with LuckyMe. You can probably expect it somewhere early in 2013. I got in touch with them through my friend Travis (who is better known as Machinedrum and 1/2 of Sepalcure) and just kept sending demos. Eventually they brought up the idea of working together on a release and I was down!

Does it have a name yet?

No name for the EP yet.

What’s in this mix?

This is a mix of Astro Nautico artists (some of whom we’ve put out releases by, others who will be working with us in the future), contemporary producers we’re into at the moment and some classics we love (most notably R. Kelly).

Are there anymore shows/releases planned for the rest of the year?

Our next release is an LP by a soon to be NYC via LA producer called Dreams. We’re releasing it on October 6th, the same day as our next event which he will be headlining. It should be a rare and special occasion.

Any advice for someone trying to start a digital imprint?

Make connections and dig. Don’t shy away from listening to as many submissions/recommendations/links/youtube bootlegs as possible. The internet is a vast ocean of images and sounds and it can take many hours of sifting through garbage to find something worthwhile, but there are tons of amazing producers out there waiting to be discovered, and their numbers are increasing exponentially every day.

Official Astro Nautico Sound
123Mrk – Untroubled
REKchampa – Forever
OL – Missy Remix
Abel – Girls
Lapti – First Date
Chits – Hustlerz Ambition
Dane Chadwick – O, Flying Disk
The Rippingtons – Tourist In Paradise
S-Type – Bairns
Two Inch Punch – Love You Up
M.I.A. – Galang (Spaceghost Edit)
RAJA – Doug E Pillz
Morri$- Rashida Jones
Tom Richman – Dro Montana
Sampha – Track 05
Lone – Approaching Rainbow
R. Kelly – Leave Your Name