Sandwell District are notoriously shrouded in mystery. An antithesis to the western world’s culture of celebrity which has even managed to get its claws into electronic music, the label has for some years now avoided the limelight and stuck to putting good records out. Famously without a website, myspace or any web presence, the only way to get hold of them is via a fax number etched on to their records. That’s pretty cool.

Still, much as I’m all for sticking it to the man, that would all count for the square root of fuck all, were it not for the fact that the music Sandwell District release is of the highest order. With the label stable housing Regis, Function, Female, Vandross, Female and Silent Servent, they make haunting, uncompromising, industrial techno, that is at once a throwback and totally futuristic.

Get a little taste of their sound here. Given away free on Clash Music a few months back, it’s a Regis remix of Female’s ‘Blood Tide’. It’s an extraordinary track, with shades of Appleblim and Martyn, as it leans towards the dub techno swung percussion-y vibe. Check it.

Look out also for the samplers for the label’s group album that have been dropping this month. The album apparently comes out later this year, and the samplers take in a broad spectrum of the group’s artists. Check the tracks (and buy them) at the Boomkat link below, quality gear, ranges from full on creepy bleeps, to beautiful beatless atmospherics.


Read full review of Sampler Single 2 – Silent Servant / Female on Boomkat.com ©

Oh, and lastly, after posting a James Ruskin mix on Monday, he promptly drops a brand new one for Fact and it’s a bit good. Another 100 minute plus mix, the tracklist includes Aphex, Scuba, Autechre, Marcel Dettmann, Robert Hood, Kenny Larkin, Mike Dehnert and so many more. So good. Get it here.