Emotional Rescue delves deep in to the past with the release of the first ever recordings by UK post-industrial, ambient pioneers O Yuki Conjugate (OYC). Recorded in Nottingham in 1983, the EP’s four tracks showcase OYC’s early sound: a beat-driven, lo-fi that places them alongside the early British electronic pioneers.
Dark Entries and Emotional Rescue team up to further explore Psychic TV’s Acid House years. Psychic TV was formed by Genesis P-Orridge and Peter Christopherson of Throbbing Gristle with Alex Fergusson of Alternative TV in 1981. After various line up changes, the band shifted direction to dance oriented songs influenced by the House and Techno scenes of Detroit and Chicago. By 1988 the group included Dave Ball of Soft Cell, Fred Giannelli of Turning Shrines and Matthew Best of Carcrash International. During the summer of 1988 the group recorded a batch of songs at Time Square Studios in London that would appear under the guise of various artists compilations Jack The Tab’ and ‘Tekno Acid Beat’. The idea behind these ‘compilations’ of imaginary artists was creating a sense that a healthy acid house scene existed in the UK.
Emotional Rescue and Malka Tuti join forces to bring a collection of the music of C Cat Trance. Drawing on the rhythms and melodies of Africa and the Middle East to produce a World Beat across some 6 EP and 4 LPs, here drawn together on a special double LP compilation. From the legendary Shake The Mind to the percussive, ethnic meets club inspired songs like Sudaniyya or the previously unreleased Some Day Soon, the album highlights a project that stood out from the post-punk haze with striking scales and time signatures to develop a unique sound. Formed by world music fan and multi-instrumentalist John Rees Lewis upon leaving post post-funk pioneers Medium Medium, the group retained the intensity of the former, but in a considerable new direction. Teaming up with fellow ex-band member Nigel Kingston Stone, together they formed the backbone of the band around a continual stream of guest players. Exotic, dense, tribal rhythms propel a mixture of club, pop and world music, creating an atmospheric fusion that can be heard across the 12 pieces. The alt-industrial feel of She Steals Cars and Screaming With You is countered by avant-percussive Dalbouka and I Looked At You or the Balearic vibes of Take Me To The Beach and They Made Them Up.
Emotional Rescue’s killer Bob Chance 7″ makes a welcome return sporting some new blue artwork. Two versions are included: the original 7″ version, driven along by a razor-sharp guitar riff and sweetly lamenting lyrics, topped off with weird cosmic synths and galloping rhythm. However, the real gem is the edit entitled “Wild It’s Broken” which sharpens the focus of the guitar and adds some serious kick to the drums to create a beefy counterpart to the new age original.
The return of Timothy J Fairplay sees tracks from his 2 EPs on Emotional Response remixed on one special release. Four favourite producers chosen to bring new dimensions to his brooding, shuffling electronics, featuring Scientific Dreamz Of U, Alessandro Parisi, Perseus Trax and Antenna.
Emotional Rescue starts its 5th year by shining a light on one of Europe’s best underground 80s’ label in Spain’s Auxilio De Ciento. Their Terra Incognita Volumes I and II collated an international mix of synth-pop, new wave, world and industrial sounds to a small but appreciative following. Released in 1985 and 1986, the Volumes have become highly regarded and rightly sought after, finding a place in discerning playlists from London to Amsterdam and Dusseldorf to Glasgow. Here, taking a premise of avoiding the songs unearthed on other recent reissues, is a unique album itself. Starting with Denis Mpunga & Paul K’s esoteric Criola, a fusion of fourth world ideals and poly-rhythmic funk. The music of Mal, Bene Gesserit and La Caida De La Casa Usher, however, soon highlight that the decade also belonged to dark, minimal synth as to shiny balearic ideals. The inclusion of Hector Zazou with Bony Biyake and their contribution Komba, is a fitting continuation from their cult Noir Et Blanc LP before, things continue with US avant-artist Danny Alias and his humorous Big Brother “response” to Laurie Anderson’s Superman O. Image Pour Image loose indie-pop and the inclusion of seminal Beast Of Burden lead again to a Zazou contribution, this time in his collaborative Stranger In A New Light, before the compilation eclectically ends with the dadaesque Lakota and the post punk dub of Instead Of’s closer, Angels .
An update of Robot Jam’s music and riddim in a true Caribbean sense, Yonge Street is a freestyle remix and comes in the original’s Parts 1 & 2, plus a special Discomix by rising tape manipulator, Jonny 5. Following Robot Jam on Crosby Records, the Jacobs’ husband and wife team released a series of soca 12”s for Eddy Grant’s Ice Records in the following years. However, come 1988 and they decided to return to the electro flavours that had garnered considerable interest, reworking the Robot Jam tapes to create a new version for release on Straker’s Records in Brooklyn. Running for over 30 years from the early 70s to late 90s, Granville Straker’s label was a cornerstone of the soca scene releasing main stays, reggae stars and what have become highly sought rarities such as Yonge Street and The Rebles’ Sweetest Taboo. In Yonge Street again the cut-up samples are there, topped with a fresh bass line and Carl’s own rap attack. While Part 1 acts as straight up vocal version, Part 2 swerves towards scat-megamix stylings that work in their own right. However, as with the ”Disco Giant” series of 2015, this one-off return hands the tapes over for a modern reinterpretation. With acclaimed releases for Bahnsteig 23 and Power Cuts, plus an upcoming EP for Pleasure Wave, Jonny 5 has finally made the leap from respected CBS Forum oracle, DJ and collector with a penchant from dub to obscuro European cold wave and post punk oddities to finally sit in the producer’s chair. After sending the label a personal mix made for his own use, he was hauled in to the studio to officially cut, mix, arrange and dub a long-form Discomix in the truest sense that perfectly creates a dance floor retake that might well be heard from boat parties off the Dalmatian cost to the open air street parties of Sao Paulo and all over festivals across the green fields of Europe.
After a couple of releases for the label, including many notable remixes, Jamie Paton returns to the warm glow of Especial for a collective vinyl only EP of 4 ‘unreleased’ remixes for the likes of Sexy Merlin, Guy Schalom, Gatos Negros and Blancmange.
The second part in the Dancefloor Records reissues on Emotional Rescue comes in the form a true House classic. Produced and released by the Chicago legend Andrew Komis, “It’s You” is an original deep-house bomb and an education to those increasingly misusing the term today. Essentially a cover/updated version of the all-time early House classic in ESP’s Its You, this 1989 update shows how much the scene was progressing in just 3 years with a tougher, heavier and deeper 12 that was all about rocking club sound systems.
Emotional Response starts 2017 with a mini-album of ambient-equatorial enlightenment by Australia’s mysterious Tropical Hi-Fi. The final record from an artist appearing on the label’s first SchleiBen series, this also points to the future. Based somewhere in the far flung Northern Territories, the music of Hi-Fi’s pre-incarnation Electric Egypt was first discovered via the note-worthy airwaves of L.A’s outstanding Dublab radio station. As the wonderfully diverse internet shows and project’s dense, hip-hop inspired collages came to fruition with 2012’s Exotica release, a dual awareness and sporadic contact was maintained whenever a signal could be established with Hi-Fi base camp. As the SchleiBen series was formed, the studio-DJ-cut-up-mix of Oceanic Mythology was warmly received as an inspired counterpoint to the dense offering from Don’t DJ. These first real solo recordings from the Hi-Fi crew – whoever he/she/they maybe – moves on from the cut’n’paste of Electric Egypt to seek a meditative vision. Ambient, drone and field recordings are all part of a drifting tropical flavour that encompasses the listener. Music truly inspired by it’s surroundings, this is not some music journal, flying in to sample a life and it’s sounds, but the real, living entity and it can be heard deep across the 8 short pieces. None is more typified than Tahiti Blue, where fellow traveler Mike Cooper layers his ubiquitous steel blues over simple, lilting drums. Mixed by Leaving Record’s Matthewdavid (with whom more to come on the label in 2017), photography by Native Finger and the ever-present encouragement of friend and neighbour, Ariel Kalma, this is conceptual album to lay back, drift off on undulating swells and simply, let go to.
Hot on the heels of the co-release between Especial and Cocktails d’Amore Music of the Sfire Remixes EP (EES023/CDA013) comes an accompanying release with a pair of deeper, stripped back remixes from the inimitable Timothy J Fairplay and Willie Burns.
Especial returns to its concept of taking music it loves – in this case Sfire’s debut EP – and remixing them for a stand-alone release. Teaming up with Berlin’s Cocktail d’Amore Music, mixing desk duties are taken by newcomer Kris Baha, as well as label mainstays Jamie Paton and INHALT and the esteemed Lauer.
Joining the dots after last years reissue of Plus Instruments early 80s post-punk music on the Bodies EP on Emotional Rescue, Especial now looks at their return to recent music production, taking the song “Love Is Enough” from the recent Trancesonics album and giving it the all encompassing label remix treatment. We get four reinterpretations by Richard Sen, Khidja, Luke Solomon and Jamie Paton.
Electro and disco inspired modern club tracks with bubbling arpeggios, sizzling hi-hats and playful acid lines and tight percussion.
Especial celebrates the upcoming release of it’s 2nd compilation mix CD to highlight the recent music of the label , with another Sampler 12” of unreleased tracks, remixes and versions for the heads, collectors and discerning.
Coming hot on the heels of Khidja’s return to the label with their Never Seen The Dunes EP, is a set of remixes by friends and family of the label and band, featuring no less than Discodromo, Inflagranti, Red Axes and Selvy on mixing desk duties. A proper Remix EP with all 4 tracks from the original EP getting a proper European flavored rework.
Emotional Rescue returns to the post war music of West Germany and the work of Dominik Von Senger and his cohorts based around the Dunkelziffer project. This special “Sampler” EP of recordings was produced as their part in Cologne’s Stollwerck art complex, that acted as a home and inspiration to their musical experiments. Based within the disused industrial warehouses spaces of Stollwerck, a mix of post-hippies, punks and anarchists created a community within that fed off each other’s artistic endeavours.
Food Pyramid align with Especial for a remix EP based around “Oh Mercy”, a track from their 2012 album Mango Sunrise. The warped breakbeat jam-fusion of the original is ripe for reinvention and gets the remix treatment from Especial in-house team Apophenia (aka Piers Harrison, Stuart Leath, Tim Fairplay), Inhalt and Jamie Paton.
Emotional Rescue returns to the early 80’s Downtown NYC post punk / new wave scene with Plus Instruments – collecting their best and rarest songs on one groove laden EP. 4 tracks of pure Downtown punk-dub-funk, all with the nonchalant Euro-style delivery of Truus de Groot. Coming with extended unreleased versions, the originals were collected from sought after EPs, an obscure compilation LP and fiishes with a never before released song – this is history.
The Romanian duo Khidja are again on (Emotional) Especial with some beautiful electronix with a bit of early disco, krautrock and balearic feel to it with some added Middle Eastern vibes.
The Hipodrome Of Music 