You might remember I wrote a while back (this time last year, in fact) about selling a load of my old records, and wanting my own little record shop to do so from.
My wife always tells me “nothing happens if nothing happens”, so with her encouragement, and the realisation that I have too many records sitting around taking up space in our home I’ve taken the plunge and decided to set up an online record shop.
So, without further ado I’d like to present to you In Strict Tempo Records.
It’s going to be a mixture of second hand titles and some selected new stock that I really like. I’m never going to compete with the established giants but I hope to be able to add that personal touch, like you’d get when going into an actual, physical record shop. I want it to be like all the best record shops I’ve ever visited, and I want it to be a place where out-there and overlooked music can find a champion. You might not find all the big-hitters here, but I trust my taste and judgement enough to really get behind the records I’m stocking. As I hope you enjoy the record reviews here I hope you’ll find something there.
I’ve given it the slightly tongue-in-cheek tagline ‘interesting music for interesting people’ because that’s what I want it to stock.
Will it be a moderate success or a resounding failure? Only time will tell, but I’m going to really enjoy doing it. Selling music has been in my blood for a long time, behind the counter at Music & Video Exchange and HMV, and working at labels and distributors selling in to DSPs and shops alike, so why not give it a go, eh?
Any feedback (good and bad) will be really gratefully received!
New Music
This week I’m going to share a few selected titles that are in stock now, hope you find something you enjoy! Normal service will resume next week!
Andy Stott - Late Loop [Modern Love]
Andy Stott returns to his spiritual home of Modern Love after a five year hiatus and a poppier outlook on things. Still drawing from the cold, concrete-romantic palate he’s known for, this album sees Stott bring a new vocal collaborator to the fold, in Elanie Howey, who’s voice joins long-time muse Alison Skidmore in providing a softness to Stott’s sometimes hard-edged music.
Late Loop sees another change in tack for Stott, as he experiments with recording through a microphone rather than the tried-and-tested straight into the machine format - this has the effect of adding a dreamlike sheen to the whole thing, bringing more life to the drums, and allowing Howey & Skidmore’s vocals to hover above in the ether. Really, you have to be in the mood to sit and listen to this one, it’s something that’s going to work best when you’re in the headspace to really give it your full attention as it embeds itself in your senses one by one. Stereo up, lights down, sit back and enjoy.
Miles J Paralysis - Fell & Fen [Long Gone]
Okay, now this something special. Heavier than a tonne of rocks pressing down upon your chest, the pressure on this one has to be heard to be believed. Roughcut elements of dub, post-punk and what the end of the world is gonna sound like we might just have a new contender for all yr end of year lists.
DJ Old Rat - China Underground 2002-2011 [Accidental Meetings]
DJ Old Rat - aka music aficionado extraordinaire Steve Barker (host of the long-running On The Wire radio show) compiles this hour and a half long trip through underground Chinese music from earlier this century. We kind of forget that despite the ease of access we have to seemingly everything in the world these days, that there's still a huge cultural underground out there, existing offline and in the margins. For most of us, and indeed for many Chinese people, this stuff is destined to remain unheard by all but the most committed sonic adventurers. To be honest, there's nothing (other than the language) that explicitly marks these tunes out as having come from China, with Western influences spanning from SF to Naarm and everywhere in between combining with the kind of free expression you can only get from a local scene operating entirely within it's own boundaries.
Eric Kramer - Where The Fish Are As Fine As The Color of Colors [Not on Label]
This is one of those tapes you wish you had discovered yonks ago - I certainly do, wishing that the comforting abstract folk of this tape could have seen me through some of the tougher points of this charmed life. Although based in the US, Eric Kramer is part of the All Night Flight extended universe, so you know you're only getting the highest-grade in delightful, mind-altering music here. Shout out indeed.
The Wolfgang Press - Asylum Variations [Downwards]
It took everyone by surprise when Downwards announced the return of The Wolfgang Press a year or so ago, but really if anyone was gonna tempt the 4AD OG’s out of retirement it was Karl O’Connor.
Well, he’s done it again, coaxing a second album out of the post-punk legends, and you could quite easily believe this had been sitting in the vaults for 40 odd years such is the way they’ve picked up exactly as they were at their peak. You know when certain albums have that “aura”? Well this has it in spades. Sleazier and sexier than Jarvis at his sleaziest and sexiest it’s never going to have you running for the dancefloor, but will have you reaching for your phone to find out what it is whilst ordering another can of Red Stripe at the bar.