When the history of 2000s techno is eventually written, Sandwell District will loom very large indeed.
Centred around Regis, Function and Silent Servant, the Sandwell District project was a deliberately amorphous conceit, encompassing a live ensemble, a record label and a studio recording project. The group put out a slew of 12″s in the latter half of the last decade, synthesising post-punk, Birmingham techno and minimal; for a fine primer, see 2009’s widely revered Feed-Forward. Their chemistry was productive but volatile, with “audio communications” terminated by the turn of 2012, although the collective have performed live in various permutations since.
Following on from Petre Inspirescu’s offering, Sandwell District have now been recruited for the next instalment in the long running Fabric mix CD series. Fabric 69 is the handiwork of Regis and Function, with Silent Servant sitting out. The 30-track session darts from electronic grandees (Carl Craig, Mark Ernestus, Ø, Regis’ fellow British Murder Boy Surgeon) through to younger talents (Untold, Raime, Factory Floor). As one might expect, there are heavy nods to post-punk and noise, with Boyd Rice and Ike Yard both making the cut. The Sandwell District clique are heavily repped throughout: two Regis VCMG remixes feature, Function contributes material, and Silent Servant and anonymous Sandwell affiliate Rrose also make appearances.
Fabric 69 is due on April 22. Function has just released debut album Function, which is available to stream here. Regis, meanwhile, is preparing to issue a new 7″ on Minimal Wave under his Sandra Plays Electronics alias.
Tracklisting:
01 Silent Servant – A Path Eternal [Hospital Productions
02 Function – Voiceprint (Loop/Edit) [Ostgut Ton]
03 VCMG – Spock (Regis Remix) (Loop/Edit) [Mute]
04 Boyd Rice / Frank Tovey – Extraction 7 [Mute]
05 Raime – Exist In The Repeat Of Practice [Blackest Ever Black]
06 Ike Yard – Loss (Regis Version) [Blackest Ever Black / Desire]
07 Vatican Shadow – Church Of All Images (Regis Version) [Blackest Ever Black]
08 Fiedel – Andreas (Bonus Beats) [Fiedelone]
09 Cub – CU2 (UST Funk Mix) [Cub]
10 Mary Velo – Detune [Frozen Border]
11 JPLS – Basis [Minus]
12 Rrose – Wedge [Eaux]
13 Ø – Syväys [Sähkö]
14 Rrose – Wedge [Eaux]
15 Function – Modifier [Ostgut Ton]
16 Carl Craig – Darkness [Planet E
17 Markus Suckut – Hunt [Figure SPC]
18 Samuel Kerridge – Waiting For Love Part 1 [Downwards]
19 Untold – Motion The Dance [Hemlock]
20 Surgeon – As You Breathe Here Now [Semantica]
21 Mark Ernestus – Mark Ernestus Meets BBC [Honest Jon’s]
22 Plastikman – Plasticine [Plus 8]
23 Trevino – Uptight [Klockworks]
24 VCMG – Spock (Regis Remix) [Mute]
25 Planetary Assault Systems – Flat Tire [Mote-Evolver]
26 Factory Floor – 16-2-16-9-20-1-14-9-7 [Blast First Petite]
27 James Ruskin – Into A Circle [Jealous God Music]
28 SS/S – Sicario de Dios: Siglo 2 [Jealous God Music]
29 Laurent Garnier – At Night [F Communications]
30 Function – Voiceprint (Reprise) [Ostgut Ton]
