Outré was an idea for a shared creative outlet between Kike Mayor & Amanda Pazian, a husband and wife who share a passion for music.

They initially set out to create a vinyl-only label to release artists whose music they both loved and respected. That idea changed drastically in May of 2020 when George Floyd died tragically at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers. He was definitely not the first, and sadly will not be the last, black man to be murdered by police. His death sparked something extraordinary throughout the world that both Kike and Amanda felt on a visceral level. They began to join in on learning about antiracism, police brutality, and racial disparities seen in America and throughout the world. They wanted a tangible way to use every platform they have to contribute to fighting these injustices. Through this feeling and their passion for music, their plan for a vinyl-only label became so much more, and Outré’s first release was born.

House & Techno, like so many genres of music, were born from the black community. Black artists from Chicago, Detroit, and New York created the heart and soul of the genres we feel so passionate about. Releasing an electronic compilation and giving all proceeds to a charity supporting the black community was a way to pay homage to that and do our part to help end racism and police brutality.

Rasheed Samuels, a close friend of the couple, lent his voice to this project. He was simply asked to share whatever was on his mind about being a black man in America surrounded by all of these atrocities. His words hit hard; they are a powerful reflection of the realities of Rasheed’s experience as a black man in our society. A good reminder, that this is a project to us, but for him & every black person—this is their life, their thoughts, and their feelings day in and day out.

We reached out to various producers that we knew shared our viewpoint and asked them to donate their art and their creativity to this project. This release is so special because the message of solidarity resonates between everyone who is a part of it. These artists are from different races, different countries, and completely different walks of life who have all come together to support the same message.

Outré thanks Rasheed Samuels, Chacon Huari, S.A.M., Roger Gerressen, Maher Daniel, Pheek, Kike Mayor, Chklte, Coriesu, He Did, Amo, Ruslan, M.P.C., and Zian for graciously and without question sharing their art for this cause. The release will be exclusively on Bandcamp so all supporters can choose their donation amount.

We chose Black Visions Collective as the charity to which we will contribute 100% of the proceeds of this release. What they stand for and what they are working towards we support fully. In their own words from their website, “Black Visions Collective (BLVC) believes in a future where all Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems.” They are an organization dedicated to Black liberation and to collective liberation. “We need a radical and ongoing investment in our own healing. By claiming love for our own bodies, our own psyches, our own experiences, and by building the resources we need to integrate healing justice into all that we do, we are insisting on conditions that can carry us towards the next generation of work, and towards a deeper place of freedom for all of us.”