True dedication is difficult to find these days, as is motivation when digital media has overthrown old school methods, which makes running a label an even more sinuous mission. Despite a wealth of hurdles that increasingly come with the territory, this hasn’t put an end to people’s desire to push out their own imprints. Concurrently, the same digital revolution that has thrown off the industry has also made it possible for many projects to come into the spotlight, and many of these have made a spectacular difference. Whether it’s smaller side projects of well known artists, serving up quirkier, more experimental tracks, enabling further sonic exploration, or newborn collectives doling out fresh takes on contemporary sound, 2017 has been a prolific year for record labels.
But it’s not just the approach related to creating and promoting labels that has shifted recently. In recent times, the way we make and consume music has transformed as well. A label’s role has changed into that of a full on curator, influencing current musical trends based on their selection of outputs. But it’s not a status that is easily achieved, by all means.
Moving at its own pace, ten years in the world of dance music come as a century in real life, as dancefloor trends fluctuate. In such a surrounding, creating timeless pieces is essential when maintaining a high calibre establishment. But thanks to platforms such as Soundcloud or the ever-pervasive social media channels, it’s easy to showcase tracks and kick off labels without needing the once coveted record deal. Nevertheless, record labels serve as beacons in a world where we’re inundated by more and more content.
More than just a release platform, labels are indispensable partners in artists’ careers as the one to curate only the best music, accompany it with according designs, as well as bringing in new marketing ideas or even music videos. Shir Khan’s Exploited label has been a true example of such a label, hand-picking new producers to showcase, nurturing them from early beginnings into popular household names.

Shir Khan’s strong ear for talent has seen him responsible for launching the careers of Claptone, Adana Twins, Joyce Muniz through their releases on Exploited, the label also providing a platform for established remixers and artists such as Siriusmo, Freeform Five, Munk, Modeselektor, John Tejada, Phil Weeks, Cosmin TRG, Locked Groove, Deetron, Detroit Swindle, Acid Pauli, Ralph Lawson...
Now the label Exploited celebrates ten years of releasing amazing eclectic club music with some of the best tracks from its catalogue (from 2007 until 2017). 

Artist: Various Artists
Release: 10 Years Exploited 
Label: Exploited 
Cat: EXPDIGITAL160
Publishing: Exploited Ghetto Music Publishing
Releasedate: 25.12.17 (Beatport) / 25.12.17 (I-Tunes)

10 Years Exploited

Wow (Modeselektor Edit)

Siriusmo - Wow (Modeselektor Edit) | Exploited

Not your run-of-the-mill working-class Eastern European non-binary DJ. The producer, vocalist, but also visual and digital artist strives for innovative sound design and visceral body response, despite (or maybe coupled with) raw emotion that permeates their musical output. They’re a proud member of the Ciężki Brokat crew (with whom they run the annual Warsaw Pride official afterparty), co-creator of Radio Kapitał, Polish ambassador for Keychange and SHAPE Platform 2021 resident.

Their own music has morphed several times throughout the last 15 years – from industrial or purely synthetic timbres, through polyphonic singing with Pleśni to a perplexing fusion of rhythmically and sonically jagged compositions, bass-heavy club tracks on their EPs, 'Gusła (Human Rites)' on Tańce, a limited vinyl release on London-based 51-53 Records, 'Doolska' and the latest, more experimental 'Lamenty' EP.

They presented their music during numerous festivals (Unsound, CTM, Schiev, Up To Date, Tauron Nowa Muzyka, Les Siestes Electroniques, Audioriver) and an assortment of clubs (including the legendary Berghain) in Poland and abroad (Berlin, London, Prague, Oslo, Copenhagen, Ljubljana). They remixed tracks by Kamp and Baasch, recorded mixes for Resident Advisor, DJ Mag, HӦR and CRACK, composed and created impromptu live music for interactive theatre plays: Method of National Constellations, quadraphonic sound for Jawić się, music for a Women’s Strike street theatre Manifesta and original score for Ideologix, a US-written and directed queer opera.

In the club their seventeen-year experience of supporting queer, anti-fascist and underground scenes results in an almost annoyingly disparate selection of the most forward-thinking sound offered by today’s scene. In their series of DJ-sets and club nights they blend unusual rhythmic patterns kicked up a notch with their improvised vocals.

Shir Khan started Exploited in 2007. Exploited Rec now plays host to some wide-ranging and innovative electronic talent - including Adana Twins, Claptone, Budakid, Joyce Muniz, James Curd, Shir Khan (to name a few) - and its artists have been receiving numerous supportive spins from the likes of Solomun, Pete Tong, Soul Clap, Wolf&Lamb, Azari&III, Jesse Rose, Axel Boman and A-Trak.
This is serious dance music at it's most cutting edge with all the juice to really get you going. It's totally contemporary, innovative and has a chunky dirty feel. "Exploited" take you on an invigorating roller coaster ride back to your youth when you first listened to dance music with all the thrills and spills you so enjoyed about clubbing. It's heavy, exciting and special.
'"Exploited Records" is a seamless melting pot of varied styles that simply can't fail to please even the most discerning ears. Highlights here are plentyful. Not to be missed at any cost.' (Clash)
'Musical hybrids are truly the flavour of today, but few have managed to capture the atmosphere of an unpredictable microcosm of a night out on a recordlabel - until now. Shir Khan's label "Exploited" bottles the zeitgeist's giddy thrills with plenty of style and substance. This is dance music hybridism in all its most glorious forms, and Shir Khan is an expert at making square pegs fit round holes.' (DJ-Mag)
'"Exploited Records" boss Shir Khan has been gaining a lot of acclaim recently, and deservedly so - as he has shown us the high quality, diversity and forward-thinking nature of his label. Engaging, riveting and diverse.' (Data Transmission)