Undersound Recordings has been at the fore of forward-thinking music for well over a decade, and their next release is something rather special. USR040 is a sprawling 3 x 12” VA featuring thirteen artists, all packaged in a lush gatefold sleeve.
There are many top tracks to be found across USR040, but perhaps the one with the biggest dancefloor nous is that of Teral’s “Uv Projectors”. Fizzing hats and crisp snares set the tone, and the undulating bassline and rolling breakbeats hit home a powerful message that typifies the legacy of Undersound Recordings. Euphoric, yet packed full of sonics capable of decimating the club.
As well as looking at the music contained within this landmark release, co-founder Giovanni was able to give insight into what goes into crafting such an influential label, “Before starting the label, in 2012 in London, we launched Undersound, a series of events devoted to a specific type of electronic dance music. We aimed to be free from any politics or policies and to be able to invite relatively unknown and/or young artists, giving them a spot to perform and share their musical tastes. Throughout the years, we were able to organise a variety of events, from illegal raves to working with venues such as Fabric, The Pickle Factory, The Cause and many more.
“Undersound Recordings was born only three years later, in 2015. One of the main goals was to give even more visibility to producers whom we’d met over the years in one way or another, and with whom we shared the same vision. Another reason was that we wanted to leave something real and tangible for people like us, vinyl lovers. People who might discover the label in the future, and who, by listening to the music we have released, might be drawn into this world.”
Now getting ready to unveil their fortieth release, Undersound Recordings have had many highlights since launching in 2012 and have given space for perhaps unheard artists a platform. Giovanni goes on to explain how he went about creating such a wide-ranging and expansive record, “After realising that Undersound Recordings would reach its 40th release, the idea of making a special collection came into my mind. The process has been very long, probably around three years, to finally have it clear and completed. I wanted to release a collection of tracks, but at the same time a sort of “memory book” with pictures from the past and more recent ones, showing the history of Undersound. To make that happen, a special triple gatefold sleeve was carefully designed, including many printed pictures on the inside that I was able to retrieve from hard disks and friends.
“From Vision To Reality” will include 13 tracks from 13 different producers, divided across 3 discs. Opening and closing the compilation are the first two hip-hop instrumental tracks ever released on the label, by Chester Watson and Dean Denali. In between is a selection of tracks made by a mix of up-and-coming artists, established ones, and dear friends, many of whom are making their first appearance on the label, ranging from melodic Broken Beat and Ambient to Electro, passing through Acid Techno and Goa Trance, and featuring artists such as Josh Abrahams (from FSOM), Wedding Acid Group, Sohrab, ADSR, Enrica Falqui, and Parand, to name a few.
On top of that, a 30 × 60 cm poster will be included, printed on both sides. The full artwork of the release will appear on one side, while the other will feature pictures of the 13 artists along with their biographies — making it the biggest project released so far on the label, and a true collector’s item.”
You can get your hands on USR040 via Bandcamp now.
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