limited edition

1 extra unreleased track from 93

s. mccutcheon (syko) & r. haigh (omni-trio) aka persons unknown

limited.

the 1980s. neo-liberal excess. crumbling communism. military juntas ruling with an iron fist. and of course, freaked out music. contort yourself are turning back the clock and returning to an unholy fount of inspiration with -80s underground cassette culture volume 1. a buffet of beaten up and brutalised tracks are on offer from unknown outfits and respected experimenters. across two lps expect to find noise reductions, post punk bitterness, no wave grunts, distortion soaked strings and vocals lost in a hail of pain. a road map into the weird and wild world of diy back alley artists who, armed with only a tape and an idea, gave the established music norms a sharp fist to the throat.

ricardo jefferson is a producer and dj based in manchester, england. the four tracks on this ep demonstrate a distinctive style. the roots of his sound are in funk, disco, space rock, prog rock, but he has melded them into a sound that is more than just the sum of these elements. this is funky, bass-heavy, trippy techno for the dance floor. a1 a brutal truth. this is a big tune that builds relentlessly. the track has an inclusive, celebrational, feel which simply invites everyone to lose it on the dance floor. 124bpm. a2 persons unknown. this tune doesn t have the relentless build of a brutal truth. instead, this is a tune to drop when everyone on the dancefloor is in the zone and locked into the groove. a finely crafted trip created with multiple delays skittering around the sound field, anchored by the funky bass heavy groove. 123 bpm. b1 the egg part one. a track employing a tight kick drum of differing weights to propel the groove, overlayed with a circular keyboard motif. on the off-beat, add the processed sound of someone hitting a metal sheet, and viola! - one aggressively funky dance floor bomb! 123 bpm. b2 god of the machine. this track has a simple 4x4 kick and handclap pattern pinning down a delicious oscillating bass line, under a classic descending four chord circular chord progression. off kilter ride cymbals give the track its backbone, and fluidity. ricocheting handclap delays add dimension. sly stone would be proud of this groove. now get on the dance floor and strut your stuff! 119 bpm. the cover shows a still image from the music video a brutal truth directed by ricardo jefferson and laura lee.