Above Board レコード& CD

Review: Ed Cartwright's first compilation, which is landing in two parts (this is the first), celebrates the period between 1992 and '96, when electronic music in Britain was going in a multitude of different directions, and the (ultimately unfulfilled) 'brave new dawn' offered by Blair's New Labour government was still some way off. Cartwright's selections thus flit between gorgeous UK techno (Syzygy's 1992 gem 'Meditation'), sub-heavy post-bleep brilliance (Cabaret Voltaire), classic IDM (the Black Dog's Ken Downie as Xeper), mind-mangling slow acid (Thunderhead's excellent 'True Romance'), anti-Criminal Justice Bill material (Ultramarine's 'Happy Land') and some early Matthew Herbert brilliance ('Housewife'). Throw in extensive liner notes from dance music historian Matt Anniss, and you have a fantastic package.