SECURE SHOPPING
We live in a rampant reissue culture: it’s more or less impossible to keep up with the number of historical curios being dug up, dusted down and re-released on a weekly basis, with labels becoming increasingly adventurous and thorough in their restoration of past material. The best reissues, of course, are the ones that go the extra yard, with an obsessive level of attention to detail. A common trait of the people behind these select releases is an unquenchable enthusiasm for bringing old sounds to new ears that seeps through the records and into the music.
There are a few labels who specialise in releasing quality reissues alongside their new output, with Dutch imprints Clone and Rush Hour both releasing seminal material from the vaults of New York and Detroit’s electronic music canon this year. Others, such as Veronica Vasicka’s Minimal Wave and Spencer Hickman’s Death Waltz, exist with a stated focus on (re)releasing overlooked, seminal and obscure material from the past. Musically our top 10 is varied selection, ranging from Drexciya’s underwater electro to Donnie & Joe Emerson’s funk-infused bedroom pop and remastered material from musique concrète progenitor Pierre Schaeffer. Alan Howarth and John Carpenter’s seminal score for Escape From New York also makes the list, as does French outfit In Aeternam Vale’s criminally under-appreciated 1980s proto techno opus Dust Under Brightness.
Long time Drexciya affiliate Sherard Ingram will release his second album under the DJ Stingray moniker, F.T.N.W.O, next month on Belgian imprint WéMè Records.
The journey beneath continues as Clone prepare to unleash the third round of remastered and reissued material from the Drexciya discography, including two previously unreleased tracks.
