SLAPPED Records returns with À Fleur de Son, a seven-track various artist release curated by label head Mitch Oliver (@mitch.oliver_dj) and built around refined, DJ-focused club records. The compilation brings together Borak, FREEEMAN, Hi Milio, Manu (CA) & Peter Damian, DUZA, plv, and TheClaw, with each track approaching the floor through groove, restraint, and long-form movement rather than obvious peak-time pressure. It is out now via SLAPPED and arrives during one of the label’s busiest summers so far.
Founded by Mitch Oliver in 2023, SLAPPED Records has grown from a release platform into a wider club-facing project with an expanding event series and international dates across Ibiza, Los Angeles, Miami, Amsterdam, and Montréal.
That context is important to think about here because À Fleur de Son feels connected to the label’s approach to the room. The records are functional but not disposable, and the compilation keeps returning to detail, pacing, and the kind of music that gives DJs room to work.
In the interview below, Oliver talks about the visual side of DJ culture, the limits of online content, and how SLAPPED preserves the in-room experience while still providing artists and events with the assets they need to grow. His answers feel especially relevant now, when every set can become a carousel, a reel, or a recap before the night has even ended. For Oliver, the priority is clear: if the people on the dancefloor are fully present and connected to the music, the content will take care of itself.
Interview With Mitch Oliver
How do you think about the visual side of a set in an era where so much lives online afterward?
I honestly think too much lives online nowadays. To me, the whole essence of a proper house music party is to let loose, connect with the people around you, and fully live the moment. I think we have lost a bit of that now that everyone knows they can be filmed at any point in time.
I also think it is really hard to truly communicate what a party felt like through a 10-video carousel on Instagram. You can capture moments and energy, but you can never fully recreate the feeling of actually being there.
That being said, content is obviously important. In an era where everyone is fighting for attention, it is essential for artists and brands to have strong visuals that show the energy behind their sets and the atmosphere they are creating.
The way I approach it is by making sure the people attending the event always come first. If we have nailed the experience in the room, then I will make sure there is enough lighting on the DJ and enough opportunities for our content team to capture it properly.
Our parties in Montreal actually have a no-phone policy. Instead of relying on hundreds of people filming, we invest in professional videographers who capture the event in a way that helps promote future parties while also creating great content for the artists we book, because let’s face it, they need that content just as much as anyone else.
We would much rather have one professional team documenting the night while everyone else stays fully present and connected to the music.
Interestingly, we did not even enforce that policy during our first international SLAPPED tour, and it happened naturally. People were so invested in the music and the moment that hardly anyone felt the need to pull out their phones. That was probably one of the biggest compliments we could receive.
We also spent a lot of time developing branding that feels impactful without taking away from the experience itself. I think the SLAPPED logo does a great job of that. It is instantly recognizable, but it never gets in the way of the connection between the DJ and the crowd.
What has your experience been with being filmed or having moments from your sets travel far beyond the room?
I am fortunately very comfortable on camera, so I am always happy when content of me playing starts making the rounds online. At the end of the day, it is showing my energy, the love I pour into what I do, and my vision has always been to reach and connect with as many people as possible through that energy.
That being said, I think it is so much easier to work with professional videographers who know how to capture genuine moments during a DJ set without pushing you to act or exaggerate anything. That is when the magic happens. The best clips are the ones where you almost forget the cameras are even there.
I filmed a live set on a rooftop in Montreal over two years ago where I played only my own original music, and I still have people telling me they come across clips from that set online.
I think those videos really captured my energy, how much I genuinely love what I do, and the connection I get to build with people dancing to my music. They have also opened a lot of great opportunities for me.
The only caveat is when people start expecting you to become more of an entertainer than a DJ. That is where I struggle a bit.
Sometimes I am completely locked in, focused, and probably look serious because I am sharing a really deep moment with the crowd. Other times I am smiling, laughing, and being playful. It all depends on the mood, the music, and the setting.
I never want to force a reaction just because there is a camera pointed at me. I think the best moments are always the authentic ones.
How do you approach the balance between capturing content during a set and preserving what makes live club music so special?
I touched on this a bit in my first answer, but for me, it all comes down to making sure the content being captured, and the way it is captured, never takes away from the experience of the people on the dancefloor.
At SLAPPED, we always say, “Without you, there is no us.” A party is only as good as its people, so protecting that energy always comes first.
If we create a truly special moment in the room, the content will naturally reflect that. I would much rather have authentic footage of a real connection than force moments just because there is a camera around.
Can you recall a big moment behind the decks that lived entirely in the room and could never be recreated or captured online or in content? What made it stay with you?
There have been many moments like that throughout my career, and I think that is exactly because they do not translate the same way through a phone screen. A short video can capture what happened, but it can never recreate what it actually felt like to be there.
One moment I remember clearly was getting to play my first all-night-long set at Stereo in Montreal, one of the best clubs in the world.
I played for nine hours in May 2024, and throughout the night there were so many moments where I would let a long, emotional breakdown breathe before bringing the energy back. The crowd would start whistling, cheering, and applauding, almost as if we were all experiencing that moment together.
Those are the kinds of memories that stay with me because they could only happen in a place like Stereo. It is a true sound temple. There is no phone policy, no ego, no distractions, just people completely immersed in the music.
You simply cannot recreate that feeling through content, and that is what made it one of the most powerful sets I have ever played.
When you reflect on a great set, what matters most to you about how it went down?
I always evaluate how well a set went based on how connected I felt with the crowd. If I was able to take them through the night and we navigated that moment together, then it is mission accomplished.
It can be tricky because every culture responds and connects differently, and that is one of the beautiful things about traveling the world as a DJ.
But whenever I feel like we are all on the same wavelength, and people are able to let go of everything they have going on in their lives and simply let the music and the people around them carry them for a few hours, that is pure magic to me.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
