Quintessential Records

Quintessential Records is an independent electronic label. Its own site describes it as a platform set up to help unsigned artists with distribution and exposure, and states that it releases all kinds of electronic music. On Beatport it appears under this exact name, with label id 120382.

It is not the same imprint as Quintessentials, the UK and German deep-house vinyl label associated with 2008. The two names sit close together in search results; the store listing, roster and catalogue are different.

The earliest Beatport release documented here is Quentin SounDrive’s album Simply Shook, dated 7 October 2025 (catalogue 3900818). That year is the conservative date for the digital storefront. The label also presents Where the Party At as its debut album; a separate store date for that title has not been independently pinned down.

The public site is hosted on a Canva domain under Quentin SounDrive, a Johannesburg electronic producer. SoundCloud, Threads and Audiomack associated with that name also carry the Quintessential Records brand. The available sources strongly associate him with the imprint’s public operation. They do not name a legal founder in those terms, and this entry does not invent one.

Johannesburg is therefore the documented geographic anchor, via SounDrive’s own profile, rather than a published corporate headquarters.

On Beatport the catalogue is mixed by design. The largest block sits in Mainstage, with further concentrations in techno, house, electro house and tech house. A smaller but consistent strand is filed as Breaks / Breakbeat / UK Bass.

That breakbeat strand is carried by Hey! This is Brad. From July 2026 the project issued Freek the Beat, a remix of Simply Shook, Leave the Trumpet Alone!, M. D. M. A (A Is for Acid), Dopamean and Vigilante, all on this imprint. Several of those titles already circulate in Optimal Breaks’ New Releases.

Quentin SounDrive accounts for the largest share of the Beatport listing, including Simply Shook and later singles such as The Only Truth and Your Body. Brian H is the other high-volume name, with a run of techno, house and tech-house cuts that includes Make You Sweat, Feel the Bass, Faces of Oblivion and Losing My Mind. Sam Adler appears with Brian H on Get on It.

The official site also points to Spotify, SoundCloud, Beatport, Amazon and elasticStage, and presents albums as available on vinyl. A forthcoming single, Fettuccine by Sativadiva, was advertised for 27 October 2026.

For Optimal Breaks, Quintessential Records matters as a contemporary electronic imprint whose breakbeat window — mainly Hey! This is Brad — sits inside a broader mainstage, techno and house catalogue, rather than as a dedicated breaks label.