The legendary N.A.D. follows up the aptly titled ‘Electro EP’ with the punishing ‘A Day in May’, a scorching hot four track technofunk monster that marries the Detroit and Kalamazoo techno traditions with classic UK techno. Absolutely exceptional high-octane material destined to set any dancefloor on fire.
Doing exactly what it says on the tin – a tough four track electro set from Mustafa Ali under the N.A.D. moniker, with influences coming from what sounds like vintage L.A. and Miami bass styles to UK bass and deep space techno. An all killer no filler affair of exceptionally high quality as per usual.
Sometimes, through a combination of misfortune and bad timing, a fine record will go largely unnoticed on its original release. If it’s good enough, though, it will be rediscovered and reappraised through the hard work of record collectors. N.A.D’s The Dawn of a New Age, an unheralded British deep house classic, is one such example. Originally released by Tony Thorpe’s short-lived house label BPM Records in 1990, The Dawn of a New Age was on sale for little more than a week before it vanished from record store shelves, the victim of Rough Trade Distribution’s demise. BPM folded shortly after, consigning N.A.D’s first and only album to the annals of history as a little known and little-heard obscurity. The misfortune that beset the project arguably denied listeners more material from its hitherto unheralded creator, an English producer called Mustafa Ali. Before recording The Dawn of a New Age, he had created an early UK house classic, 1988’s “Close Jack Encounter”, as L.E Bass. Unlike much similar material of the period, The Dawn of a New Age still sounds fresh, futuristic and far-sighted.
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