S & D :. underground resistance

i can take or leave the rest

UR 020: "World 2 World" which contains the sublime 'Jupiter Jazz'

UR 025: "Galaxy 2 Galaxy" which is pretty much a full length and has 'Hi Tech Jazz', 'Journey of the Dragons' and 'Deep Space 9 (a brother runs this ship)' [which I like more for the title than the actual song. heh!]

UR 033: "Electronic Warfare" which is pretty full-length and contains 'Illuminator' which is also uh...sublime.

more single oriented, My faves are the 'Aztlan', 'Codebreaker' 'Knights of the Jaguar' 'The Swarm' and 'Bubble Metropolis (By Drexciya)' EP's

There is also a Red Planet compilation, which is pretty much UR.

Acid Rain III double pack.

'Inspiration' is a must. (as are Jupiter Jazz and Illuminator)

and again that Nocturbulous Behaviour mix-cd by Suburban Knight is excellent, collects a lot of U.R. classics in one mix.

oh yeah, and 'Afro-Germanic'

UR-The Seawolf
UR-Sonic Destroyer
UR-X102-Groundzero (The Planet)

william you're talking about "The Aztec Mystic" by DJ Rolando (of "Knights of the Jaguar" fame). I don't know much about full lengths but I believe Rolando has made a mix of his stuff that includes both those songs on it.

"Transition" is pretty good too innit!

andy,the box set isn't for real,right?

Look for Submerge compilations too, as they always have many offerings past and present from the UR crew.

nocturbulous behavior mix - suburban knight
depth charge 1 - v/a
revolution for change - underground resistance

aztec mystic mix - dj rolando
vibrations - dj rolando
interstellar fugitives - underground resistance
LBH-6251876 - the martian
depth charge 2 - v/a

the first three i can't recommend enough. the nocturbulous mix is rough, jacking, militant, scary and uplifting. depth charge 1 has the cream of the mid-period UR tracks, when mike started to go a bit jazzy and they started to incorporate a bit of a ghetto-tech sound. likewise, the "revolution" comp has all the great early tracks, which are a bit dated and samey compared to the tracks on the other comps but still awesome.

the rolando mixes are also quite good, they get a little bit more spacey/deep in parts than the suburban knight mix but they also drift a bit and can lose some momentum. the "vibrations" mix is squelchy breakbeat techno and electro so your mileage will vary on how much you crave/dislike the 4/4. the "fugitives" comp is a bit too gloomy and monochrome for my taste, the "martian" gets a bit goofy with the afromystic positivity. depth charge 2 delves into trancey acid techno, you may like it quite a bit if you like belgian techno (paramatrix, r&s, etc.)

though i'd say that'd make a pretty good 7cd box set.

also: depth charge vols 3-5 are great but not 100% UR, frankly the non-UR stuff steals the show a bit.

APOLOGIES

see also Andre Holland's Abstract EP on SID records.

Also, listing releases by catalog number is for pretentious jackasses.

UR003- The Final Frontier
Mad Mike Banks production.
tracklisting-
A1- THE FINAL FRONTIER
A2- ENTERING QUADRANT 5
B- BASE CAMP ALPHA 808. the stinger!!!the ringdy dingdy!!!

All decent UR releases seem to get reissued every six months, so there should be no problem picking them up (you could also probably order them direct from www.submerge.com).

You're in NYC, non? Try Sonicgroove or Satellite. One of them is bound to have a copy of Waveform Transmissions Vol 1 for under $20.

Somewhere In Detroit (S.I.D.)

Underground Resistance
Sweat Electric (12")
SID-001
A. Sweat Electric (vocal)
B. Sweat Electric (inst.)

NOTE: Side A has vocals by "Droid"; side B is an instrumental.

Andre Holland
Abstract EP
SID-002
A1. Invisible Pathways
A2. Intangible
B. Journey to Knowhere

Underground Resistance
Soundpictures EP
SID-003
A. Lunar Rhythms
B. Spirits Speak

Scan 7
Invisible Thoughts EP
SID-004
A. Decoder
B. Transparent

Drexciya
Uncharted EP
SID-005
A. Hi-Tide
B. Dr. Blowfins Experiment

Gerard Mitchell / UR SID-006
A. Soulsaver by Gerald Mitchell
B. E.R.P-Enhanced Rhythm Perception by Underground Resistance

Underground Resistance
SID-007
A. Radioactive Rhythms
B. Subversive Communications / A Thousand Questions

Those two comps remind me of being 18 and blasting techno out of the tape deck of my old Buick Century. I had both of them on cassette and I used to just jam the hell out of them back in 95. One thing I wish I could go back for was all the mix tapes you could buy at parties back in the day. What I would do to get all those old tapes back. They were not like records or CD's, you never owned a mix tape, you just bought it and held on to it for awhile. I wish there was a Soul Jazz Records for old pre-internet mix tapes.

I think techno was so great back then because it was so hard to find out about. You get ahold of mixes and perhaps a xerox zine like Massive every once in a while and you read every single article 20 times because it was all you could get your hands on. It is sad in a way because mid-90's rave was the last pre-internet scene. I can understand exactly what the UK punks felt in 77, or indie in the 80's because the physical media was exactly the same. I guess the medium really is the message in this case. TS ubiquity vs scarcity. Hate to say it but ignorance was a lot more fun.

I wonder how long it will take before somebody comes in here and cleverly tries to inform me that they are smarter than I am.

Try the Tresor records site. Their online store stocks a lot of the back cat and Mills is bound to be a reliable seller for them.

The was another guy from San Fran who was called DJ Sho and he was a fucking maniac. He just had these really weird minimal art tracks that banged. I cannot really explain it because I am not exactly where he fit into dance music at that time. I guess you could call it some weird inbetween 1998 post-minimal tech / proto-microhouse art dance music. He used to run with Jon Santos so I would guess by extension he probably knew Kit Clayton, Sutekh and Twerk before they were KC, Sutekh, and Twerk. Nobody has any idea who he is these days, but he made one of the all time best mix tapes of the 90's.
For real tho, if I won the lotto I would totally start a Soul Jazz Reissue label for forgotten DJ mixes, It is like the lost blues 78's of the 90's.

alright, I am going to go to bed and listen to random sublime frequencies cdr that one of my housemates made for me. I so cannot wait.

also, where is Sherburne when you need him?

anyways:
wpa - kamikaze = sick belgian/detroit stylee with harrowing vocal pads in the middle and a cool vocal sample too.

I want the 'Soul Power' Z-track on vinyl so so so so bad. I made myself a CD-R edit (off the Aztech Mystic mix cd) to play on the CDJ but it's just not the same. Maybe at the next movement I'll mug a UR dj and steal his copy. And then hope Mad Mike doesn't sic his UR sonic killer bee commandos on me.

Ha ha. Fuck you.

sadly slsk is down. not that I'd have much fun of tracking this stuff down anyway.

Alot of this stuff got repressed a few months back.

Also, Avoid the dodgy electro records in the 30's of the UR catalogue.

result!

i was wondering where the hi tech jazz love was - i was listening to that and Galaxy2Galaxy today. never tires.

http://sonicfloor.astropolis.org/video/blog29.ram
http://sonicfloor.astropolis.org/video/blog31.ram

Pops up on amazon used frequently enough for around £10 (put it in your wishlist, check every so often, works for me).

that ur mc is awful! somebody gag him

They finally got around to releasing this to the general public. I got my copy and didn't even have to commit any crimes to do it! Stoked.

Umm... sorta on the P Funk tip? WTF.

What WILL the HC fans think???

and UH at this mix. God ... DAMN!

Just finished listening to Galaxy 2 Galaxy. I don't like everything on the records, but when it hits, it hits like a ton of bricks.

I have to give it up for Hi-Tech Jazz. It takes the whole deep house sound set and takes the form and lays down a sampler horn part than just screams I am somebody. Everything on that track is perfect, programming, writing, arrangements. Love the 808 perc breaks and the acidline break has to be one of the best acid lines in dance music. I loved the way he used it to play a jazz solo that was a bitch to program.

Star Sailing and Metamorposis are great as well.

You have to respect Mike Banks. UR isn't consistent, but when it is good it is the best ever.

Galaxy to Galaxy - the most beautiful, emotive, otherworldly record I have ever heard
-- Spreadlove, Wednesday, September 4, 2002 7:47 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark Link

I don't know if it is the greatest, but it is near the top of the list.

i would like to say that "Backroad to Nirvana" off the waveforms EP is probably one of the best techno songs ever.

I have never sewn my precious UR patch ("sonic warfare division", motherfuckers!) anywhere but the day I find the right garment you can be sure I'll be wearing it front & center every day I can!

I think it was mentioned above (or somewhere) but this newest one by Mad Mike also finds him in great form.

anybody else at the water txi beach sets this past saturday? fucking sick shit. i was covered in sweat and sand and marijuana smoke by the end of the night.

UR on the cover of "the wire"??

WTF

great. now my UR feature in the crappy DJ magazine i write for will be seen as pathetic.

is the article any good?

also, not that surprising. UR is name-dropped A LOT nowadays.

(btw, i don't think my article's pathetic)

What crappy DJ magazine is your article in table? I'm interested in it.

yeah, i'd rather hear what you have to say than someone on the cover of wire. keep writing!

should be out on news-stands within 2 weeks. anyway, it is called Big Shot Magazine (you can buy it online at bigshotmag.com, or if you happen to be in NYC, i know that Kim's, Turntable Lab and Halcyon usually carry new issues).

my article is more an introduction to the group for those uninitiated, and then a long-ass interview with Nomadico (aka DJ Dex), who is really one of the sickest DJs i've ever seen. the interview is where the good shit is.

anyway, yeah.

UR on the cover of the Wire is a nice turnaround for that magazine.

what is unfortunate is that the rest of the magazine is still kinda meh. the UR feature is pretty well-written, tho.

oh, also, i'm just going to post the interview part of my article here right now. enjoy.

Today, UR is on its seventy-second release, with a back catalogue running the gamut along genres, including electro-funk, techno, and what UR has termed 'hi-tech jazz.' Among the newer arrivals at UR headquarters is Nomadico (aka DJ Dex), an LA transplant whose skills on the decks are unparalleled and whose productions range from breakbeats to hard techno. Big Shot correspondant Thomas Rees caught up with Nomadico at two recent sets in New York City, and a few weeks later, the following conversation took place via e-mail.

BIG SHOT: First off, how did you get into DJing and producing, and how did you eventually come to be a member of the UR crew?

NOMADICO: I got into DJing from an interest in recording audio growing up as a kid in Los Angeles. I was about 11 or 12 years old when I got my first tape recorder, and my interest in recording sounds started from there. I remember being really excited about being able to capture songs from the radio, recording conversations and also taking apart the tape recorder to understand how it worked.

In high school I joined a DJ crew with some horrible name... I think we were called "High Fidelity" or something corny like that. We did birthday parties, wedding receptions, high school dances, and of course our own backyard house parties. I got into collecting and studying all types of music from the hip-hop, house and techno records I bought for DJing. I also listened to jazz, classical, and rock. I worked at a record store for 3 or 4 years while in college.

I first heard Detroit hits like "Clear", "Technicolor", "Good Life" and "Big Fun" on 1580 KDAY in L.A. The KDAY Mixmasters were like Detroit's MOJO or The Wizard.

As I got older I was aware of the second and third generation of Detroit producers. By the time I was in my early 20s I was collecting UR, Planet-E, M-Plant, KMS and so on. I was also part of what seemed like only a handful of people in L.A. that really knew anything about Detroit Techno. Another guy was Santiago Salazar (aka DJ S2, a UR member). Santiago had been ordering directly from Submerge Records for a few years by the time I met him. Santiago had talked to Mad Mike and stayed in touch with him after looking out for some Detroiters who were visiting L.A.

About a year after getting my university degree, Santiago told me he was moving to Detroit to help Submerge start up at a new building they had bought in Detroit and wondered if I was interested in going as well.

By this time I'd had several internships and jobs at record labels, music magazines and radio stations. I knew enough about the mainstream music business to know that it wasn't for me. After these experiences, the opportunity to work for an inner city business with musicians I respected was the right move for me. So, in early 2002 I packed up and left L.A. and went to Detroit to work at Submerge and enrolled in UR techno theory 101 instructed by Mad Mike.

BIG SHOT: You do a lot of work in various sub-genres of electronic music. How do you feel about the stratification that sometimes happens along genre lines, like a techno head dismissing all d'nb, or the opposite? Do you feel like one of your goals is to open listeners' ears a bit?

NOMADICO: Music serves a different purpose for everybody, so if they choose to fixate on one genre over another that is their choice. I've always found more inspiration in listening to all types of music. As a DJ, I love mixing up various genres, but when I'm producing, I usually think in terms of song structure and tempo, not genres. If its gets classified as electro, detroit techno or technohophouse - it really doesn't matter to me.

BIG SHOT: Techno, as a music, certainly plays a huge role in contemporary music history, but at times, it seems like its roots in the black community aren't recognized enough. How do you feel about this?

NOMADICO: That is a difficult situation for the originators and it is important to correct within the realm of academic music history. Fortunately, some of these guys are still around and making a point to let people know what's up. Juan Atkins is now touring with Model 500 and working on new music. Derrick May is out promoting his "High Tech Soul" vision of Techno. Larry Heard still drops a record or two a year that lets everybody know he's the man.

It has always been easy for anyone to point fingers and say the American mainstream music business is biased towards minorities that don't want to be thugs or spend 40 hours a week in the gym so that someone else can produce the music. That's all true, but I don't believe artists should wait for big business to catch on to what we are doing. I mean look at them now. The majors are pissing their pants now because a little mp3 file has corrupted their operating system. They made a fatal error by thinking it wasn't a threat 10 years ago. They can keep trying to figure that out.

As an independent artist in 2007, I'm concerned with producing for existing supporters who are already on the cutting edge and growing from there. That is actually what really interested me about UR to begin with. In 20 years UR has established a swarm of intelligent supporters that look beyond archaic stereotypes. We've known this for years, so there isn't this ridiculous detachment between celebrity artist and the unknown fan.

The irony in all of this is that technology is on our side. Anyone interested can read about Web 2.0 and longtail theory and they'll understand what I'm talking about.

BIG SHOT: Do you feel like there's been an upswing in interest in techno in the past couple of years? Obviously all such things comes in waves, but where do you see/hear techno in a few years? What about UR?

NOMADICO: Yeah, there is definitely an upswing and it is naturally part of another wave.

At the moment the business is in utter chaos, everyone is excited and scared of technology at the same time. This idea of a "finished track" is disappearing for a lot of people.

In 10 years DJs won't buy tracks anymore, they'll belong to virtual communities that exchange music based on stylistic preferences.
An artist's economic value won't be tied to individual songs anymore, but rather the ability to consistently satisfy the listener's limitless demand for music that is simultaneously new yet familiar.

BIG SHOT: Any new projects for you and UR coming up?

NOMADICO: My Nomadico EP was just released on UR this summer. I have a remix for New York's NuBlu Orchestra that will be released in November 2007. I just moved apartments and need to get my studio back in working order!! As for UR, it's a moving target-- only Mad Mike knows what is next.

i had some space constraints so i had to edit parts of the interview out, but...

if you don't know Dex's work, his records on UR are very very ill.

is it really only 72?

In 10 years DJs won't buy tracks anymore, they'll belong to virtual communities that exchange music based on stylistic preferences. An artist's economic value won't be tied to individual songs anymore, but rather the ability to consistently satisfy the listener's limitless demand for music that is simultaneously new yet familiar.

What does this mean?? arrgh so tantalizing

as of when the article was written, yep. they just came out with a string of new releases.

like the new skurge record, which is also quite ill. very in sync with his djing style, too.

so, i've been thinking about UR a lot recently, and i think that one of the more major developments is that their newer talent/crew members are repping the group just as much as the older heads, putting out great records and spinning masterfully. not to rep my interview too much, but S2, Skurge and particularly Dex are tearing it up like the best of the UR heads. the 'invisible showcase' mix that Dex put out is evidence of this.

anyway, i was talking about it with one of the dudes at halcyon, and i thought it kind of an interesting shift in the UR catalog/culture.

Nomadico is from LA? I wansn't going up there that often in 2002 but I was paying attention to what was going on and I don't remember seeing him on lineups that much. I'll be bummed if he was playing all the time and I missed it. S2 (santiago salazar) has moved back here, though, so I get to see him often now. A great dude and producer.

where's the love for Electronic Warfare 2.0 - The Other Side Of Bling? http://www.discogs.com/release/1003881

Just discovered "Timeline" like a week ago, thanks to this clip of certainly impressive dancing to Timeline sped up to 170 or so BPM.

Wonderful track.

so great

theres no UR compilation you can buy is there?

what are you talking about, there are plenty

take your pick

i highly recommend "depth charge 1", "noctorbulous behavior - the mix" and "a hi tech jazz compilation"

oh and the "aztec mystic mix"

anything mixed by Dex is the bizness, he is fucking awesome.

Or track down the amaaaaaaazing mix The Black Dog did for Resident Advisor that's completely UR. Best RA mix I've ever heard.

that one's free!

i am gonna rep again for the virtually free in any record store THE HOSTILE AMUSH 12", because really, "Ambush" is just one of the deepest techno tracks of all time.

The new WPA record is hot.

ATTN: UR fanatics, can you help me ID a UR song? It's on the all-UR Black Dog RA podcast, at around 18:44 between "In or Out" and "Death Of My Neighborhood", there's some sort of beepy ringing sound going on that sounds reminiscent of a telephone, and I can't figure out if it's a bit from another song or if it's just some weird sound Black Dog added themselves. I'm pretty certain the song in question isn't "Maroon" like all the tracklists say

weird that i'm answering this now, stevie, but could that be Dopplereffekt?

anyway, interviewed Rolando (aka the Aztec Mystic) today. he was very nice, though a bit reluctant to talk about the old times (he's no longer associated with UR or Submerge).

and again that Nocturbulous Behaviour mix-cd by Suburban Knight is excellent, collects a lot of U.R. classics in one mix.

raining acid at my place right about now

Is it worth dropping a whole bunch of money on the galaxy 2 galaxy double cd compilation (I already have the repressed world to world and galaxy 2 galaxy 12" inches for what it's worth)? This is a weird case of seeing it on sale, priced appropriately, but in a country where cds are v. expensive all across the board.

no, not really worth it if you have the 12s

fwiw it's probably my UR "desert island disc" and i listen to it more than any of the other UR CDs i have

Not sure if this was talked about elsewhere, but Violet w/Nancy Whang, Coco Solid, A.M.O.R. & Nightwave recorded a multilingual cover of "Transition" for International Women's Day:
https://soundcloud.com/violet/transition-ft-amor-nightwave-nancy-whang-mamacita-coco-solid-underground-resistance-cover

very cool

Nice idea, so so execution.

agreed. i think it would have been more interesting if it diverged more from the original.

i mean, the original is awesome, and the cover is a really great track too, but i would have liked to hear a fresher spin on it

The photo of Andre Holland at Discogs is rather surprising.

Just been listened to the Laurent Garnier disc from the Kings of Techno 2-CD (with Carl Craig on disc 2) from a few years back.

It ends with a glorious live version of Amazon that opens with a Mike Banks shout-out to various UR friends and affiliates over crowd whoops and some nice slowed-down spacey chords from the track.

Given that the rest of the disc has Garnier dropping in news reports, interviews, other speech sample etc I'm assuming that this "live version" is something he's put together to round the mix out - when the tune properly drops it doesn't sound very live or that different to the studio version. But it's great, and I have to say I'm intrigued - does anyone know anything else about this version and where its constituent parts might come from?

I have been playing the shit out of the Galaxy 2 Galaxy: High Tech Jazz compilation lately. I've scoured this thread and have a pretty good sense of the early UR cannon (like 1990-1998), but what's their best work after that? I think my all-time fav UR track is "Transition" which is from 2002 and makes me think there must be so much good later stuff too

I also want to know the answer to this question

I also do not know the answer to this question. The first Los Hermanos album is the most recent related thing I'm really aware of. submerge.com has been mothballed / in redevelopment for years now.

On the G2G album is that Mike Banks shredding on Momma's Basement (the original, not the very different 12" Mix that's on the European edition)?

Not sure there is that much post 1998. Obviously Rolando's Jaguar, Los Hermanos Quetzal and Birth of 3000. Inspiration - the b side to Transition - was great too.

Oh and Santiago Salazar, who was one half of Los Hermanos with Rolando. His Chicanisimo album from 2015 was pretty good iirc

Just remembered Timeline of Millenium To Millenium, that was decent too

All of the stuff from Aquanauts and Nomadico is also really essential. This one came up a lot for me during the early period of Covid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQf5N3dhoa8

Hi-Tech Dreams is also good, anything by Skurge or Jon Collins is good, and the Electronic Warfare 2.0 has some decent stuff, in particular this excellent track by Marc Floyd under his Von Floyd alias.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyCENXBQhfM&t=94s

That Aquanauts track is sick

It is! For a while I would put it on while watching this great vid of cruiseships in heavy storms at sea, and it really did the trick.

Tbh I think there's a lot of great stuff after 98 or 99, it's just that it hasn't been high profile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPlRBcYC45Q

I'd be v happy to be proved wrong and that's not a bad start

This Nomadico track is sick, another example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq_2VK3R9HM

Ooft

Weren’t UR meant to be starting a Bandcamp a while back? I’m sure I saw that they were getting out of vinyl and going all digital.

(Would still love someone to shine some light on that live version of Amazon I mentioned upthread if anyone’s got any clues!)

they were trying to do a Submerge mp3 store, from my remembrance...

tbh, i do wonder what has stopped a more robust mp3 store from emerging. i've always thought it was a lack of resources and a healthy ludditism, but am unsure at this point— they did a collab with Carhartt in Europe, they're still putting out occasional records, so i just feel like there's something happening organizationally?

Think that version of Amazon is off of this https://www.discogs.com/Los-Hermanos-Mr-De-Galaxy-2-Galaxy-Submerge-Live-In-Japan/release/722626

but i might be wrong... doing further investigation,,,,and no, i was wrong, it's from this set at the Rex Club https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4uJuidSj7g

The digital catalogue was sporadically available for a bit - I got Hi Tech Dreams off Emusic - but it’s really hit and miss. I’d spend a LOT of money on a UR Bandcamp.

Thanks for the Amazon lead!

that UR mural was in Oakland on MLK right after MacArthur, and was mostly painted over the last time i passed it. my friend was ANEMAL, who did the big roller above, and he's been dead for 5+ years.

de nada, i probably would, too! a lot of my knowledge is from obsessive searching and just buying any UR records i see.

(i also have been to Detroit and interviewed a bunch of these guys once, i should say, so my bias is very clear lol i love them)

omg @ this Robyn remix by Floorplan (Robert Hood + daughter)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ErkfOrHwug

y'all can I just say

DJ Rolnado's Aztec Mystic mix (which is on Soundcloud now!!!! https://www.discogs.com/DJ-Rolando-The-Aztec-Mystic-Mix/release/47042) is fucking incredible

The Martian's entire output is fucking incredible, particularly the "Ghostdancer" 2x12", PARTICULARLY this one track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q88jgYh-_bg

The Happy Records/Happy Soul sub-labels that are all like, piano-laced diva house but still sound like UR, are fucking INCREDIBLE, particularly these 2 tracks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLvQsvysNwM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brTZ4a1reBY

everything you just posted is great

I wasn’t really into the robyn remix but this is all excellent stuff especially the Martian one

ya the Robyn remix is a different vibe for sure but classic UR cannot be beat imo

PARTICULARLY this one track

Yup.

my pick for the martian series is a boring consensus one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcXG7vnrYGU

the davina record was recently reissued btw

Yes, that one is a sure classic as well.

Delving into the whole Martian discography has made me realize how much incredible material didn't make it to the LBH Whatever Martian Compilation

Stardancer is one of those that’s almost too exciting to listen to sometimes, like when I have to do anything but pretend to fly a starship powered by chair dancing. probably where the title comes from tbh.

gotta dodge the asteroids!!

get the compilations in this order:
nocturbulous behavior mix - suburban knight
depth charge 1 - v/a
revolution for change - underground resistance

aztec mystic mix - dj rolando
vibrations - dj rolando
interstellar fugitives - underground resistance
LBH-6251876 - the martian
depth charge 2 - v/a

the first three i can't recommend enough. the nocturbulous mix is rough, jacking, militant, scary and uplifting. depth charge 1 has the cream of the mid-period UR tracks, when mike started to go a bit jazzy and they started to incorporate a bit of a ghetto-tech sound. likewise, the "revolution" comp has all the great early tracks, which are a bit dated and samey compared to the tracks on the other comps but still awesome.

the rolando mixes are also quite good, they get a little bit more spacey/deep in parts than the suburban knight mix but they also drift a bit and can lose some momentum. the "vibrations" mix is squelchy breakbeat techno and electro so your mileage will vary on how much you crave/dislike the 4/4. the "fugitives" comp is a bit too gloomy and monochrome for my taste, the "martian" gets a bit goofy with the afromystic positivity. depth charge 2 delves into trancey acid techno, you may like it quite a bit if you like belgian techno (paramatrix, r&s, etc.)

though i'd say that'd make a pretty good 7cd box set.

also: depth charge vols 3-5 are great but not 100% UR, frankly the non-UR stuff steals the show a bit.

― vahid (vahid), Sunday, 15 February 2004 06:52 (sixteen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

This is an OTM post though I would rank the Aztec Mystic mix ahead of Revolution for Change - but I agree all of those 7 are insanely good. Obviously the Galaxy 2 Galaxy comp now belongs in the list.

Aztec Mystic is still my fave and would be my definitive entry point recommendation for someone who’s never heard UR

I have to say, DJ Dex’s 2006 “Invisible Show Case Vol. 01” mix that’s Spotify (it’s split into Part One and Part Two releases) is wildly insanely breathtakingly good, it is v hard and v fast and has quickly become my #2 fav UR mix

I have to say, DJ Dex’s 2006 “Invisible Show Case Vol. 01” mix that’s Spotify (it’s split into Part One and Part Two releases) is wildly insanely breathtakingly good, it is v hard and v fast and has quickly become my #2 fav UR mix

― vision joanna newsom (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 23 September 2020 00:41 (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

This is fantastic, thank u steve! I knew DJ Dex's KMS Records mix but this is new to me and I love it.

OMG at Mr De's "On The Floor"!

holy fuck, I'm working my way thru the Happy/Happy Soul material and these beats hit so hard, this is such an immaculate perfect intersection of Underground Resistance and house music, I cannot believe this is real!!!!!!!!

yeah they need to reissue all that shit

rolando did a mix CD in 2003 of all happy / happy soul records called SWEAT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDMi13F7mC8

https://img.discogs.com/4DOS6WUsDeqCd8sp-sSYDVSY0so=/fit-in/500x438/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-131961-1391503462-6635.jpeg.jpg

https://www.discogs.com/DJ-Rolando-Sweat-Volume-One/release/131961

one of the best mix CD cover arts of all time IMO

davina "don't you want it" has been in print and the marc pharoah just got reissued but the good ones on that label (mad mike's "happy trax" series, the aaron carls, etc) routinely go for $30+

OH SHIT THANK YOU!! He did a cassette mix in 1995 that looks SO GOOD but it's nowhere to be found online (he's uploaded so many of his other mixes to Soundcloud I almost want to like... email him and ask if he has this one too??)

https://www.discogs.com/DJ-Rolando-The-Mix-Of-Happy-Soul-Its-A-House-Thang/release/690861

i've never heard that. please do

that is an extremely tantalizing link.

aztec mystic remains one of the most 'special' records to me.

Dex is one of the UR crew that really just gets the aesthetic and does amazing work, his mixes and productions as Nomadico are all incredible.

ALSO I have been bumping this one a lot recently, it's been filling my deep desire for aggressive, ominous electro.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkJmCD2j09g

W H E W

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR9F5puJE1o

like HONESTLY ppl, oh my god

They're doing some stuff in New York soon at the New School, sort of hard to find good info about it but I might try to go up for it!

https://veralistcenter.org/network/underground-resistance

https://www.bam.org/crowd
I saw this this year and this opens the show. Went on heavy rotation for the rest of the year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz0npX_ajzc

yeah, dj dex aka nomadico is great
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq_2VK3R9HM

Used to throw that one into live sets all the time, great track