Underground Resistance “Sweat Electric”
Can’t remember exactly how I became hipped to this series, but in short, Underground Resistance (the label) started the idea in the mid-Nineties that they would make a line of records (called Somewhere in Detroit) that were only available in their Somewhere in Detroit physical retail space. Pre-internet easy access this idea seems obliteratingly brilliant. Especially because that store itself is STILL difficult to find twenty years later. As I still consider myself pretty new to Detroit techno music it’s taken me a minute to get this far…but I’m loving it. I have a hard time contextualizing or even judging techno music (the difference between a “good” and “bad” techno song seems completely arbitrary and subjective) but I do know when something compels me.
Anyway, I’ve maybe been aware of these releases for a year or two. About a month ago a handful appeared on Discogs at quite an affordable price. From a new overseas seller with zero feedback. OH THE CONUNDRUM. Generally having faith in humanity and knowing that if I paid via PayPal I should be protected, I bit and bought a handful of the S.I.D. titles. There was a little bit too much back and forth from the seller…they hadn’t mailed records before, needed to find a mailer, weren’t sure what the shipping charge was going to be so they had to go to the post office, get everything weighed and THEN get back to me with the price. And I was cool with that. When the seller asked me to pay them before their weekend trip to Barcelona that’s when I felt uneasy. I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN BARCELONA! IT’S NOT GOOD! They write back saying if you can pay NOW I can get them out before the trip. The time zone difference makes “now” an abstract idea, so I think I paid too late and am just mentally preparing to file the PayPal complaint.
So yesterday shipping department Karl comes up with a 12” package from the UK and I’ll be damned if it’s not all four of the S.I.D. records I’d bought on Discogs. Just as described. HO-LEE SHIT. I put on “Sweat Electric” and Karl says “Alright, I’ve had enough techno for 2017” but I’m looking forward to tracking down the rest of the titles in the series and crawling even deeper down the rabbit hole.
Promote Karl immediately
by the by ….. barcelona may be a huge bootleg economy of sorts…. i recall the near riot during the JWIll tour as a part of increasing proatests associate with’imperialist sanctions globally’ that might have been some G12 government talks which usually crack down on pirate radio and diy arts communities as a general rule…. rogue pressing plants inBARCELONA? White Stripes Bootleggers??? i would have to say that none of it would shock me given Spains turbulent history as pertains to the transitional and provisional government issues ranging from religious tyranny to monarchy and pure fascist decay of socialistic experiments … See the film Guernica or pick up a book on Gabriel Garcia Lorca for a taste of the madness … yes yes…im dropping in my third comment but the subject and content carry big portends in times like these… know who your dollar supports i say
wow…possible correction of content…." just can fake " or " just cant fake " beauty like that…. take your pick and think what you like……… i wont judge …..
the premise of electronica and its best/worst qualities can surely be called ‘temporal’ in nature but its also fascinating to me that this label has taken on the ‘spacial’ aspects of audio dynamics … at least in its naming and possibly in its “temporary autonomous status” persay…. glad to see something like this surface and crest in the hive mind to be certain…. as for what makes it hot or not…. welll….. if i could share a few things that turn me on about electronically generated sound it would te the textures and their ability to define a spacial sense of place that maybe contrasts with some sense of pattern or theme …. those kinds of dynamics are appreciable for both listener and dance appeal but also for the architectual and mathematical capacities associated with some of the more interesting elements of designsuch as loops/phaseshift frequencies/seemless transitions in modulation etc. …. as a life long fan of ambient and industrial sound as well as sampling medium/media techniques i can say that the best artists in this arena are defined by their freedom and compassion which lends itself to dope access points spanning culture/stylistic signatures/full on invention which connects listener and dancer alike …. best music i ever heard like this was played outdoors and had birds instinctually flying a moebius strip like pattern… fact is you just can fake beauty like that!!! does the astroloop wave at blackwell for one again delivering the goods … put some of these tracks on a playlist fam!!!
There is one on Discogs now for only like $800! What a steal!
Ok, now I want to hear the stories about Barcelona.
Great story keep them coming.