Stasis is death?

2012 has only just begun, but this weekend sees 2 of techno's biggest names playing the subclub. Function and Regis bring their Sandwell District live act to Glasgow again (fingers crossed Function makes it into the country this time) for the very first Animal Farm party of this year and what a party it will be.

There is absolutely no doubting the quality of the 2 artists, when Regis played here in July the recording of his set got mix of the day at Resident Advisor and it is still one of our most popular blog posts, their debut album sold out almost instantly a year ago and goes for silly money on Discogs, Regis' 3 x CD collection of his works sold out before any of us even saw it for sale and with news of an album in 2012 from Function - the hype surrounding them is huge, yet they manage to deliver every time and still maintain their credibility while doing so.

However, the big news surrounding them is that the label is no more - 'stasis is death' apparently. Personally, I think it was a matter of 'when' rather than 'if' they would end SD as a label, but the timing of it has surprised me - it was only in July last year when I put forward the idea of it finishing to Regis and he was quick to dismiss it, but perhaps phase3 didn't carry the same weight as phase 1 or 2. Certainly, towards the end of the year they were releasing music a lot more frequently and with a couple of their EPs being nothing other than standard techno, perhaps they were just another label going through the motions.

You can add to that the more abstract projects from Bob Ostertag & Yves De Mey, which will have certainly appealed to the purist of Sandwell fans, but would have definitely split opinion amongst the more casual techno fan. But, as always with Sandwell, details on their plans will be scarce and everyone will be left to form their own ideas and opinions on what will happen next - but instead of pondering what will happen to techno's most influential label & collective, why not celebrate? Considering it's only a fiver before 12 it would be pretty rude not to. A fiver to celebrate the brief yet distinguished reign of Sandwell District, the first Animal Farm party of 2012 and one of those rare occasions where you can hear techno in the Sub Club. Bargain.

January Picks

I plan on putting together a small post every now and then, updating you on some of the records I have been buying, it gives you an idea what to expect if you come to one of our parties, or download one of the mixes from the blog.

It's not a chart,I won't be putting up anything that is unreleased and I am not using this to hype up certain records, it's just an insight into my record bag.

If you like the music, then please support the artists and buy it.

Iain


Demdike Stare - Liberation Through Hearing [Modern Love]

This is the latest album from british duo Sean Canty & Miles Whittaker and it is excellent, if you are not aware of these guys then you should be, ambient/droning techno cuts of the highest quality.

Function - Variance 1 - 3 [Sandwell District]

I was a bit skeptical when I saw this was getting released, there is only so many times you can sell people the same track right? But, after Adam told me to check out the EP I must admit I was pleasantly surprised.

A lot of hype(too much?) surrounding Sandwell, and I think that their popularity and success puts them in a difficult situation regarding the ideals and ethos behind the label.

Still, killer EP and I recommend getting this if you can... It's not in stock at Rubadub yet so I imagine they will have plenty of copies within the next few weeks.

V/A - Superlongevity 5 [Perlon]

Sure, it's £60+ and yes the samples for the tracks were not great, but this is a killer compilation and IMO is better than Funf. Perlon had a good year in 2010, Cassy had a strong EP and the Portable EP was a nailer, they also released Ark's album and the Harmonie Park EP that I really wasn't feeling, but RA had some nice things to say about it. So I'm really looking forward to hearing what Perlon do this year.

Giorgio Gigli - Skulking In The Shadow [Zooloft]

Great atmospheric techno from Gigli here on a pretty cool gold vinyl, limited to 250 so your best bet is probably Discogs. Perfect for fans of Prologue, Dozzy etc...

There is also a new Zooloft coming out shortly with a remix from Mike Parker! Really looking forward to that!

A few more tips regarding Mike Parker - he has a new record coming out on Prologue with a Donato Dozzy remix, which is probably going to be massive, also he has a record coming out on Semantica later on in the year.

Semantica is a label that is really worth checking out, all the records are limited so move quickly - if you can I would recommend picking up the Silent Servant EP - El Mar