The Greco-Roman Soundsystem and partnered label were started by Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard in 2007, alongside friends Alex ’Full Nelson’ Waldron and Dom Mentsh. The Soundsystem itself is made up of not just these 3 friends but also Jeremy Dade aka ‘The Boston Crab’ and Ross Allen & Raff Daddy (who currently have a Thursday night residency at The City Art and Music Project in Shoreditch, London).

 
The rules of a Greco-Roman party are quite simple:
 
No sponsors
No guestlist
No music policy
No listings
No photographers
 
… Which is convenient, because essentially it appears there is little to No organisation either, but that all seems to be part of the fun of it! Acknowledged by the Greco-Roman ‘wrestlers’ themselves, these parties are ‘sporadic, chaotic and organised at the last minute in random venues in different cities’ and consist of ‘rooms of less than 30 people’ with ‘two decks working at the same time’ being ‘merely a bonus’. That said, the Greco-Roman Olympians have attracted internationally renowned artists from all over the DJ Empire. With the likes of Four Tet, Jesse Rose, Busy P, Jack Penate, Late of the Pier, Little Boots, Roll Deep, Metronomy and Noze (to name but a few…) just ‘dropping in’.
 
The Greco-Roman label reflects their only music policy, ‘everything except deep house and minimal’. Releases are available from David E. Sugar (who became the label’s first release with Oi New York, This is London), Buraka Som Sistema, Drums of Death, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Cassette Boy and Grovesnor. Joe Goddard also released his debut album Harvest, and later EP Apple Bobbing, on the label in 2009.

               
 
With the above in mind, you may not be surprised to hear that there are no dates for official parties to get yourselves to just at the moment. Greco-Roman say ‘such are our skills of communication that you will probably hear about each party after it has already happened, but you will still tell all your friends you were there’. The only way to find out about their parties is via Myspace, email or SMS… 
 
So, with the odds stacked against us for getting to the right place at the right time to witness these guys in action we thought we’d bring some of their glory, both past and present, to your iPods instead. Below is a collection of mixes from the Greco-Roman Soundsystem themselves and from the artists of the Greco-Roman label…

Greco-Roman Mixtape – March 2010 [via Contort Yourself]
1. Cassetteboy – Greco-Roman intro – Greco-Roman
2. Hot Chip – I Feel Bonnie – EMI
3. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Friend – Greco-Roman
4. Debruit – Nigeria What – Civil Music
5. Mosca – Square One (Rosca mix) – Night Slugs
6. Green Velvet – Bathroom – Relief Records
7. Mosca – Square One (Julio Bashmore mix) – Night Slugs
8. Fast Eddie – Git On Up – DJ International
9. 2 Bears – Be Strong – Southern Fried
10. Pearson Sound – Wad – Hessle Audio
11. Joe Goddard – Apple Bobbing (Four Tet remix) – Greco-Roman
12. Joe Goddard – Apple Bobbing – Greco-Roman

Buraka Som Sistema Essential Mix (10.04.2010) 

Joe Goddard RA Podcast 179 Nov 09

Drums of Death Mix for IDJ magazine

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Bournemouth [via NME]

FACT Mix 40 by Full Nelson – 20 best hip hop records of all time April 09 

Joe Hot Chip vs. Full Nelson GRECOROMANIA Oct 06