[by h0l - h0l@mono211.com - FINAL UPDATE - 13/07/02 - see text below for details..]
[NOTE: Since this website was stopped back in 2002, Emusic has gone independent again, and re-set itself up with a neat new 'X downloads for $X per month' download structure. A bunch of these albums may still be around, but unfortunately, all the links are broken. Still, we'll leave the page up for nostalgia's sake.]
v1.0 (13/08/00) - page set up.
v1.1 (15/08/00) - new design courtesy of Ed Sousa (thanks!). New entries - Law And Auder, Soup-Disk
- thanks to
pete@liverpool for spotting I missed them. Also, I spotted a new label added v.recently - Partisan, mm, d+b goodness..]
v1.2 (24/09/00) - finally, a new update! Lots of bugfixes, updated info on Intuit-Solar, Kingsize
and some others, new entries for hiphop+junglists Celestial, the krautrock
of Purple Pyramid, more independent hiphop @ Concentrated,
industrial remixes @ Metropolis, George (not Bill) Clinton @ P-Funk, Japanese white-noise @ Release,
weird Hungarian/American 'Rugrats' ambient @ Tone Casualties, US house tidbits @
Undaground Therapy, wack SF Bay hiphop @ Blackberry,
top UK turntablists @ Hombre, US d+b/eclecticism @ Sound Gizmo, veryweird triphop+breaks of Slabco, classic hiphop @ Cold Chillin'..
phew!
v1.3 (18/12/00) - back after a looong delay, but ready to update again, with new entries being the hardtechnohouse @
Brooklyn Music, Laswell-sidekick drone @ Eraldo Bernocchi, German new-age-ism @
Blue Flame wack idm @ Parallel,
Toronto d+b-ers @ Nice+Smooth,
Japanese Soup-Disk sister label @ Sun Out,
Cybotron-toting jazziness @ Fantasy,
brilliant Mad Professor-helmed dub @ Ariwa,
Global Communication + O Rang kick it @ Hit It!,
industrial power-house with electronic remixes @ Cleopatra,
quality Texan ambient @ Simulcra,
extreme noise terror @ Earache, double-phew..
v1.4 (05/02/01) - much new material with more being added all the time. Most importantly, the
Yahoo Groups/Egroups unofficial emusic discussion list is in full swing, with
a bunch of members and fun discussion - don't delay, join today! Also check a new emusic innovation, the newly added releases lists (eg
for electronica and hiphop,
see down page for others..)
New labels include UK abstract breakbeat @ Hydrogen Dukebox, Scottish techno @
Bellboy, Detroit-y electronica @ Eevolute,
new additions to Eye-Q canon at separate label name @ Eye-Q,
cheeky London breakbeat+disco @ Fused + Bruised, ridiculously good jazzy house @
Glasgow Underground, real nice nu-skool breaks @
Hope, great Soma-esque Glasgow-based house/techno @
Under The Counter, the real deal Scottish techno label @
Soma, brilliant abstract hiphop @
Anticon,
and updated info on Ultimate Dilemma and more..
v1.5 (27/03/01) - more updates with coolstuff, including new labels like funky US house @
Chez Music, London nu-skool-breaks/tech-house @
Plank, UK jazzy d+b/triphop @ Sirkus,
UK techno/house rarities @ 20/20 Vision, imported hiphop @ Koch,
and added material at Fax,
Ubiquity, Soma, also Durban Poison and
Pussyfoot were removed from emusic for some reason, doh.
v1.6 (15/04/01) - new update with special label info/download page for the great German label Rather Interesting.. nice.
v1.7 (19/07/01) - back after a good while, emusic got bought by Universal, so watch for possible sucky changes to the service, but for now,
rock on out with brilliant US house @ Guidance, nice US techno @ Framewerk,
harder NY-based techno noises @ Tension,
heavenly ambience of Robert Rich @ Soundscapes,
weirdly eclectic West Coast hiphopdowntempobreaks @ Atomcandy,
great Miami-based idm action @ Merck,
plus updated material at Trax, and Blackberry is now Ill Boogie..
v1.8 (14/10/01) - still going strong, thankfully, with great new labels like NY-based illbient/lounge/world/hiphop/eclectic label Asphodel, excellent breaks/hiphop label, Copasetik, and
smart lounge/eclectronica outfit, Emperor Norton, plus additions to a number of labels, including Holistic.
FINAL UPDATE (13/07/02) - emusic is still going strong, and has just started adding Universal-owned labels, though not much hiphop or electronica from them yet. This list is still pretty current, but things are being added and subtracted at enough of a rate that I figured I'd quit whilst I was still ahead. Hence, this page will stay up as a useful resource, but it may gradually fall out of step with emusic itself. Thanks again for reading!
what?
this highly basic, but hopefully informative website was set up to monitor and
link to
the best electronica/hiphop (ambient, idm, techno, d+b, breaks, hiphop and so
on) available for subscription
based mp3 download on the online music store emusic.com.
how much?
as the site is subscription-based, you can download unlimited amounts
of licensed mp3s
(any of emusic.com's 125,000 mp3s) from the site for $9.99 a month (if you
sign up for a year.)
Oh, it's $14.99 a month if you sign up for 3 months and $19.99 on a month-by-month
basis, btw..
But please be aware that emusic has only really signed with independent labels
atm - meaning that a lot of 'famous
rock bands' on there have obscure/live/early recordings only. but for the electronica
fan (a genre ruled by
independent labels, by and large), it's excellent value for money.. or I think
so (being totally independent of emusic, btw..)
Also, please note that as of mid-2001, Emusic was purchased by Universal Music Group, and is theoretically
being integrated into their Duet online music service 'soon'. This could mean lots of great Universal-related
artists and labels added, but the 'real' Duet seems to be both using encrypted mp3s and possibly time-limited
and not-unlimited-in-number downloads. Yikes. We'll keep you posted, hopefully emusic will continue as-is..
why?
because it's actually pretty tricky to navigate around to the best electronic/hiphop music on the site,
since: a) some labels offer all of their catalog, and some just a couple of albums, and it's difficult to
tell from scanning the label index, cos you have to click on each artist's name to check how many of their
EPs/albums are actually up there, and then sometimes artists have releases on multiple labels, so it gets even
messier.. b) some non-US artists are licensed from their normal label to labels you might not expect.. c)
sometimes there's little/no artist info, and the genre categorisations can be a little confusing - also there's
not often links to the label's official site, and so on.. so, we'll try to give brief info on the label's style,
along with how much of their catalog is available, what's missing, and what we think are some of the best/most
well-known releases to download..
[UPDATE - 04/01 - we've added a special label feature about the German ambient+electronic label founded by Atom Heart, Rather Interesting, including
a full discography with links to coverscans, reviews, and author info.]
[UPDATE - 07/01 - Oh, and it's not written up in html, but check out this yahoogroups
posting which is basically a special label feature about Sven Vath's early/mid-'90s ambient sublabel of Eye-Q,
Recycle Or Die, which also has some great material up on emusic.]
mailing list?
We've set up an emusic.com unofficial discussion list at yahoogroups.com - sign up below or click here for low-volume discussions about the best electronica, hiphop, drone-rock, indie, jazz + generally cool
music available at emusic.com!]
----
labels?
----
.electronica. [ambient, techno, idm, etc..]
.20/20 vision.(emusic)[small but funky UK techno/house label..]
[available - just 2 albums, from Random Factor and Fred Everything..
unavailable - not sure..]
.30 hertz.(emusic)(official website)[Jah Wobble's
own dubby ethnic label...]
[available - about 10 albums, purely from Jah Wobble himself, some nice ambient
dub thangs.. unavailable - a number of the more recent albums..]
.abstract.(emusic)[UK ethno-techno.]
[highlight] - loop guru (artist) - (emusic)(official website), originally on
Nation Records - ethno-influenced chilled techno - think Transglobal Underground.
[available - just Loop Guru (5-10 albums/EPs). unavailable - rest
of (quite small) Abstract catalog, inc. Pressure Of Speech.]
.ariwa.(emusic)[classic UK/Jamaican dub from Mad Professor's label.]
[available - way over 50 albums, including wonderful material from Mad
Professor himself, as well as Horace Andy and
Lee Perry and lotslotsmore... unavailable - not a great deal?]
.asphodel.(emusic)[reallygood NY-based illbient/world/hiphop/lounge/eclectic label!]
[available - around 25 albums, including the very neat Beasties-affiliated turntablist Mixmaster Mike,
plus the at least half-decent DJ Spooky and class acts such as Ryuichi Sakamoto.. unavailable - not a great deal?]
.atomcandy.(emusic)[weirdly eclectic West Coast breaksdowntempohiphop.]
[available - about 5 EPs/albums, including interesting homegrown stuff like Ballistic Mystic,
plus the absolutely fascinating Ars Antiqua - Remixed (ancient chants remixed by Kirk DeGiorgio, Spacetime Continuum, Titonton, others..) unavailable - nothing much.]
.baraka foundation.(emusic)(official website) [NY Wordsound-ish dub/world/techno.]
[highlight] - various - 'observation of ruins (compilation)' - (emusic) - excellent '97 overview
of label, inc. lots of
illbient (ethnic/techno/hiphop) artists (inc. Spectre, Rasco, Solar Quest) all
mixed up... think Asphodel, etc..
[available - approx 25-30 albums/EPs, including Spectre, Dr. Israel, etc.. unavailable
- not much at all!]
.beatservice.(emusic)(official website) [Norwegian icy chill-out-techno/house.]
[highlight] - various - 'arctic circles' - (emusic) - good showing of their
sparse, ominous chilled techno, including Biosphere, a good comparison-point
for the soundscapes Beatservice seems to put out.
[available - approx 10-15 albums/EPs, including Mind
Over MIDI and Teebee+K (good
d+b!) unavailable - newer material, inc. Arctic Circles 2 + Biosphere remixes..!]
.bellboy.(emusic) [Scottish progressive techno label with some
decent releases.]
[available - just 3 albums, including 2 good and representative compilations and a nice album by Vegas Soul
.. unavailable
- not much?]
.blue flame.(emusic) [German mainly new-age + world-orientated label
with some interesting bits+pieces.]
[available - around 60-80 albums, with lots of new age stuff of varying qualities, particularly
interesting compilation for us would be 'Women's World Voices 2' with The Herbaliser and Natacha
Atlas, unsure about most of the other material.. unavailable
- not much?]
.blue planet.(emusic) [UK freestyle weird/nuskool
beats label - think Vibert+breaks!]
[available - just 2 albums, good ones tho, by The Bowling Green and Jammin' Unit.. unavailable
- most of label, inc. compilations and Plug (Luke Vibert d+b alter-ego..)]
.brooklyn music.(emusic)(website)[nice NYC hard techno + some breaks label.]
[available - 15-20 EPs/albums, including some nice neat and representative
compilations including Frankie Bones, DJ T-1000,
Leadfoot (now Ming+FS), plus individual albums from Aphrohead (aka Felix Da Housecat!) and
Atomic Babies.
unavailable - lots of bits and pieces on the various sublabels, but there's still a decent
representation here..]
.chez music.(emusic)[US house label with lots of singles from DJ Pierre and other funky housers.]
[available - about 12 singles, including stuff from Martin Solveig
and remixes from Alan Braxe..
unavailable - not a lot?]
.cleopatra.(emusic)[US industrial powerhouse hidin' some interesting electronic compilations in there.]
[available - way more than 100 albums, but lots of industrial stuff, with mainly compilations taking our fancy, including
Hydrogen Dukebox label-showcase with Girl Eats Boy and
Drum Club, plus 'A Tribute To Neu' with Autechre, Khan, System 7, and
'Retox/Detox', a Heaven 17 remix project (!) with DJ Suv,
Rob Playford, and more..
unavailable - not a lot?]
.dorado.(emusic)(official website)[English triphop/acidjazz/vocals
- think early Mo' Wax/Talkin' Loud]
[highlight] - various - 'dorado compilation vol.3' - (emusic) - lots of very classy jazzy
material, including Jhelisa, Brooklyn Funk Essentials, Cool Breeze, etc..
[available - approx 35-40 EPs/albums, including D*Note and Outside.. unavailable -
some singles/albums - but majority of catalog is there.]
.earache.(emusic)
[seminal UK extreme-as-f*ck death metal + gabbercore label.]
[available - 100+ extreme albums from the likes of Lawnmower Deth and Extreme Noise Terror, crossing
briefly into the pure-noise end of electronics with compilations like
'Industrial Strength' 2xCDs with D.O.A and Bloody Fist, plus 'Hellspawn'
cutting up some serious metal vs. gabba-techno with Panacea and Justin Broadrick, and
Signs Ov Chaos, aka Michael Wells of GTO/Technohead fame, contributing a couple of great albums, including a Scanner collaboration.
unavailable - just about nothing..]
.eevolute.(emusic)
[excellent Dutch Detroit-y electronica label.]
[available - 3 albums, including two superlative
compilations with Carl Craig, Florence, Max 404, David Caron, and another solo album from label owner
Stefan Robbers, aka Terrace..
unavailable - just about nothing..]
.eighth dimension.(emusic)(unofficial website) [Florida-based
Q-Burns Abstract Message-related chunky US jazzybreaks/techno.]
[available - weird collection of 5/10 single tracks from Pimp
Daddy Nash + Atmosphere..
unavailable - lots of stuff? at least a lot of B-sides...]
.emperor norton.(emusic) [neat US-based lounge/eclectronica funksome label.]
[available - just 3 albums right now, but two are excellent, from Beastie Boys collaborator and funky carpenter Money Mark, plus Dutch lounge-electronics combo Arling And Cameron..
unavailable - the majority of the label, hopefully more coming soon...]
.emusic.(emusic) [emusic's own compilations
and specials from existing material]
[available - some good compilations - Master Beats Vol.1 and Eclectic Electric.. unavailable
- most of the tracks in emusic are available elsewhere on the site, but a few
aren't? weird.]
.eraldo bernocchi.(emusic) [yet another Laswell associate with Sigillum S + related drone-projects.]
[available - about 10-15 albums, mainly from drone-industrial group
Sigillum S, but also Bernocchi+Laswell+Harris group Equations Of Eternity..
unavailable - no idea what label these were originally on...]
.eye-q.(emusic) [also appearing as Recycle Or Die/Eye-Q, great German techno + more eclectic
label.]
[available - on this part of the Eye-Q canon, some _brilliant_ early compilations and a Recycle Or Die collection in
compilations, plus _really_ good tech-houser 16B,
and more to come..
unavailable - some stuff, doh...]
.fantasy.(emusic) [infamous jazz label with a 'Clear' reason for idm-heads to check it!]
[available - 100s of _great_ jazz albums over multiple sublabels, but for electronic heads, the one relevant highlight is three albums by the
seminal early 80s electro act Cybotron.
Beware, tho, only 'Clear' actually features Juan Atkins and the classic line-up, the other
two albums feature other members trying to recreate former glories, to an extent..
unavailable - everything'll be there in the end...]
.fax.(emusic)(official website)(unofficial website)[amazing German ambient label run by Pete Namlook - inc. Bill Laswell, Jochem
Paap (=Speedy J), Mixmaster Morris, Richie Hawtin, etc..]
[highlight] - pete namlook - 'air' - (emusic) - just one highlight _so
many_ albums that are difficult to find and some of the best ambient _ever_..
[available - way more than 150 albums - this was my reason to subscribe alone!
e.g. Compilations and Pete Namlook.. unavailable
- not much at all, most recent 1999/2000 stuff now added..]
.filter.(emusic)(official
website) [UK more 'electronic' sublabel of Dorado - jazzy house, 2-step, breaks,
dub..]
[highlight] - kid loops - 'timequake' - (emusic)
- very cool, intelligent house/breaks/electronics, including Eric B+Rakim cover..
[available - approx 15 EPs/albums, including Sunship and excellent Compilations.. unavailable
- recent stuff, including DJ Q album, and all vinyl.]
.framewerk.(emusic) [small US techno label..]
[available - around 5-10 singles, just about all from label owner Bob Brown...
unavailable
- nothing, really.]
.fused + bruised.(emusic) [London-based, super-charged, lighthearted breakbeat+house label..]
[available - around 5 albums, right now mainly compilations, including
DJ Scissorkicks, Elite Force, Futurecore, Surreal Madrid, Mild-Mannered Janitors.. the DJ Scissorkicks solo album is also great..
unavailable
- lots, but more coming soon.]
.glasgow underground.(emusic) [Scottish-based jazz-house label
including lots of _great_ US house..]
[available - about 10-15 albums, with loads of smart compilations (DJ Q, Romanthony, Idjut Boys), and lots more mix-CDs
from the likes of Mateo+Matos,
Muzique Tropique, and so on..
unavailable
- not sure.]
.guidance.(emusic) [really smart US jazzy house label..]
[available - about 5-10 albums, with the best stuff coming in compilations (Wamdue Kids, Larry Heard, King Britt, etc..), and cool solo albums from the
likes of Glenn Underground..
unavailable
- lots, but more coming, i reckon.]
.hit it!.(emusic) [American indie/rock/misc label which includes
great US licenses of Global Communication and O Rang..]
[available - about 10 EPs/albums, but the main two artists of interest being Global Communication (great remix album inc. Chapterhouse remixes!),
and ex-Talk Talk members in the strangely tribal but brilliant O Rang.. unavailable
- not sure.]
.holistic.(emusic)[_great_ Isle Of Wight
groovy Ozrics-ish hippie acoustic-techno from Fretless AZM+co..]
[highlight] - fretless azm - 'astral cinema' - (emusic)
- sublime free-wheelin' funky live-instrument techno-tinged grooves from Max Brennan..
[available - around 20 albums (the rest of the catalog got added!), including Pnu Riff, Universal Being, and Delta T,
more of the same unique and _amazing_ style.. unavailable - not much now!]
.hope.(emusic)[smarto UK nu-skool breaks label with star Timo Maas, plus Caspar Pound and others..]
[available - 3 albums right now, with an excellent compilation featuring Timo Maas, Jan Driver, Way Out West, and
Timo Maas himself with a great double album.
unavailable - not much, small label..]
.hydrogen dukebox.(emusic)[UK-based purveyor of quirky breakbeat, electro,
eclecticism and idm..]
[available - about 20 albums, including some great compilations (inc. label artists + Mekon, Laurent Garnier, Les Rhythmes Digitales), and marvellous idm from Metamatics+
Norken (founder of Neo-Ouija label), also unconventionalness @
The Odd Toot + lots more fine stuff (
Girl Eats Boy,
Slab, and so on..
unavailable - not sure - not much?]
.hypnotic.(emusic)(website) [electronica division
of industrial powerhouse Cleopatra with some decent trip/trance stuff + misc interestingness...]
[available - 60/70 albums, but a lot of dross, with gems hidden such as
Yamo - 'Time Pie' (Wolfgang Flur
of Kraftwerk!), a Pressure Of Speech remix CD with
HIA, Scanner, Orbital,
and a few good compilations, including 'Earth Ritual' with 808 State/Laswell/Doc
Scott, 'Guerrilla Beats' with
Carl Cox/Drum Club/Justin Robertson, 'Hypnotic State' with FSOL, New Order
and others.. but there's so much sub-Orb dub/goa crapola to wade through, heehee..
unavailable - the original FSOL/MBM/System 7 albums, _doh_, and quite a
bit more..]
.intuit-solar.(emusic)(website) [real nice Detroit techno-electro
label, Sean Deason + friends, plus some d+b...]
[available - about 10 albums/EPs from ppl like Ectomorph + (with a great album!)
Sean Deason, and two really good Detroit
compilations
with DJ Assault, Terrence Parker, DJ Godfather, Recloose.. also DJ Rap+Kenny Ken
on the d+b tip.. unavailable
- not much?...]
.jetset.(emusic)[US indie label notable
for releasing Mogwai + remixers..]
[available - about 15-20 albums, but the one we're after is Mogwai - especially idm-ish is 'Kicking
A Dead Pig' Disc 1 and
Disc 2 - wow, Mu-Ziq,
Alec Empire, Kid Loco, Max Tundra remixes.. all Mogwai stuff is great tho. unavailable
- not sure?]
.kingsize.(emusic)(website) [cheeky UK beats/big-beat/nu-skool-breaks
label.. think Skint, Wall Of Sound-ish?]
[available - about 20 EPs/albums, updated with most of their catalog, inc 12"s - for example Meat Katie, Sir Drew,
Hardwire, and some great compilations (including Freddy
Fresh!) unavailable - not much..]
.law+auder.(emusic)(website) [brilliant UK idm/dub/drill+bass/techno label with some of the
best compilations available on emusic!]
[available - about 15-20 albums, including a massive amount of brilliant compilations, spanning dub ('East-Westercisms 4xCDs - Talvin Singh,
Muslimgauze, David Kristian, etc..), drill+bass/idm
('Avantgardism 4xCDs - Tom Jenkinson=Squarepusher,
Wagon Christ, Witchman, T-Power..), and more still
('Female Of The Species 2xCDs - female techno+idm producers, all exclusive tracks, v.good..)
Finally, also totallytotally worth it and amazing -
Luke Vibert+BJ Cole's steel guitar+drill-and-bass album - spectacular!
unavailable - more or less nothing, yaay!]
.material.(emusic)[a repository for independently-licensed
Bill Laswell stuff?]
[available - just a couple of Bill Laswell albums, but good ones, inc.
'Oscillations (Remixes)' (Atom
Heart, UI, No U-Turn!) and 'Dub Chamber 3'.]
.merck.(emusic)[Miami-based idm label with some great+fresh material.]
[available - about 5 albums right now, all of them winners, including two great
compilations with Lackluster, Brothomstates, Komp, Fizzarum, and some really good
solo albums from
md and
Machine Drum - (full disclosure - the author of this document knows some of the Merck peeps!) ]
.meta.(emusic)[yet
more Laswell-related dub/ambient.. very chakra-hippie!]
[available - about 8 albums, including Various - 'Chakra' (one of a couple
of weird all-star spoken-word albums..)
and classic '4th-world'-ish Bill Laswell... unavailable
- a lot of recent material, i think?]
.metropolis.(emusic)[veryvery
industrial/ebm label with some interesting remixes..]
[available - 50++ albums, heaven for the industrial fan, but some interesting remixes
hiding out, including 'Rewind - Disc 2' (Front Line Assembly remixes
with Front 242, Finitribe, Eat Static..), and Front 242 themselves, both live and with remix
albums including Resistance D and Empirion.. unavailable
- not much?]
.moving shadow.(emusic)[the classic UK drum+bass label!]
[available - about 15 EPs/albums, including lots of Omni
Trio and other smartness such as Technical Itch and E-Z Rollers.. unavailable
- the majority of the catalog, *sigh*..]
.new ground.(emusic)[wow, a weird little early 90s UK techno label, one album!]
[available - just the one rather cool album, 'Sticky Whippet - Best Of', including
Conemelt and Andy Weatherall under a pseudonym..]
.nice+smooth.(emusic)(website)[Toronto-based drum+bass + electro label, smaart..]
[available - about 10-12 albums/EPs, including two smart regional d+b compilations with the third under
the DJ Freedom section, plus
lots of nice stuff under Kinder Atomunavailable
- just about nothing..]
.ninebar.(emusic)[triphop/jazzy UK (?)
label..]
[available - 6-8 EPs/albums, including Cujo (Amon Tobin, right?), and Flavournaughts.. unavailable
- compilations and a lot more of the catalog..]
.ninja tune. - OFFLINE due to Ninja Tune withdrawing their music from the
site, seemingly permanently.
.no bones.(emusic)(website) [quirky little UK techno-label
formed by ex-Rising High artist..]
[available - approx 7 albums, including 'Forsaken - The Music' (video-game
soundtrack with T-Power, Bedouin Ascent, Andy Hughes remixes..) and
'Ar-Ti-Fakts' compilation.. unavailable
- nothing-ish, but it's a v.small label..]
.nuphonic.(emusic)(website) [UK label at forefront of nu-house
jazziness, eg Faze Action!]
[available - 5 albums, including Faze Action ('Into The Trees',
great!), and Black Jazz Chronicles
(mm, Ashley Beedle!) unavailable - the vast vast majority of the catalog,
grr..]
.oxygen music works.(emusic)[US breaks/techno/weirdness
label, quite a diversity of artists..]
[available - 10 EPs/albums, including Kurtis Mantronik (his newer material,
not bad!), and Small Fish With
Spine (Riz Maslen, Neotropic from N-Tone, nice
female quirky groovy stuff..) unavailable - difficult to say - not much?]
.parallel.(emusic)[NY idm-ish label - mainly Velocette-related.]
[available - about 8-10 EPs/albums, mainly from
Velocette, some of which were formerly on Jonah Sharp (=Spacetime Continuum)'s Reflective label - also
a release from the excellent Kit Clayton..
unavailable
- not a lot?]
.partisan.(emusic)[excellent UK drum+bass label founded
by Moving Shadow co-founder - jazzy+darkness..]
[available - about 5 albums and at least 20 singles (mainly 2 tracks per single, excellent 12" stuff!) from kickin' d+b
artists like Future Engineers, Paradox, and Justice,
plus some _really_ good compilations, including Funk21/Partisan/Creative Wax
comps - Dom+Roland, Underwolves, Matrix, etc..]
.pathological.(emusic)[couple of independently
licensed Techno Animal-related albums?]
[available - just 2 albums from the dark scary US triphop-gloom-noise of
Ice and Techno
Animal...]
.paul schutze.(emusic)[more independently
licensed ethno/industrial ambient..]
[available - 10 albums from the man himself, including 'Fell' (with O Yuki Conjugate member!)
and 'Green Evil' (out-takes/rarities..)]
.pharma.(emusic)(website) [sparkling German Jammin'
Unit-related techno/breakbeat label..]
[available - about 8 albums, including great compilations (the usual suspects
- Kerosene, 4E, Panacea..) and Zulutronicunavailable
- latest CD + all singles...]
.plank.(emusic) [UK tech-house label featuring Bushwacka! + friends..]
[available - just a couple of albums, including a decent tech-house/nu-skool-breaks compilation
and another album from Cellar Dwellas (also Bushwacka! related).. unavailable not sure..]
.plug research.(emusic)(website) [US idm label, think nu-wave
idm like Phtalo, Planet Mu..]
[available - about 6 releases, but mainly single tracks, just a couple
of albums from Mannequin Lung
and Mr.Hazeltine.. unavailable - most things - tonnes of vinyl and recent compilations/releases
('Voices In My Lunchbox'?)...]
.predicaments.(emusic) [UK Mills-ish hard-ish
techno label...]
[available - 4 sets of releases taken from singles (wow, actually 12" mp3s!)
from Justin Berkovi and DJ Rush w/Paul Langley.. unavailable
- nothing-ish, but it's a small label?]
.purple pyramid.(emusic)[Cleopatra sublabel focusing on 70s
krautrock/progrock/ambient...]
[available - about 15 albums, but of particular interest to us is
Ash Ra Tempel, with 4 CDs of 70s Krautrock from Manuel Gottsching of 'E2-E4' fame.. unavailable
- not much..]
.radio v/waveform.(emusic)(website)[US tie-dye-ish trance-techno
label with some interesting compilations..]
[available - about 15 albums, some trashy sub-Planet Dog stuff, but some
good compilations inc. 'Frosty' (A Man Called Adam, James
Bong, Howie B..), 'Two A.D.' (Biosphere, H.I.A.
and Coldcut's 'Autumn Leaves' remix!) and others..unavailable - some,
but a minority of material..]
.rather interesting.(special label feature!)
[Atom Heart-run Fax-ish German ambient label, delightful...]
[available - about 20 albums, including the divine Senor Coconut, VSVN, and tonnes and tonnes more
of mainly Atom Heart-authored great
ambient albums..unavailable - bits of the compilations and several other good albums,
strangely..]
.recycle or die + eye-q.(emusic) [bits from the main
classic German techno/house and ambient sublabel...]
[available - about 20 EPs/albums, including Freddy Fresh, Bill+Ben, and lots more.. unavailable
- lots and lots of the catalog, aww, including most of Recycle Or Die and Eye-Q..]
.reinforced.(emusic) [only early material
from the classic 4 Hero-helmed London jungle label...]
[available - about 8 EPs/albums, including the classic 'Above
The Law' compilation, and great supa-early albums from 4
Hero and Nookie.. unavailable
- just about _ALL_ of the tens of releases since 1996..]
.release.(emusic) [extreme industrial/noise label, good if you like
your Japanese white-noise merchants...]
[available - at least 30 albums, including Merzbow, Masonna, and lots more extremely noisy things, inc.
some nicely diverse compilations (inc. James Plotkin,
O Yuki Conjugate, etc...) unavailable
- not much..]
.robert musso.(emusic) [more independently licensed
Laswell-ish nice dub/ambient/fourthworld stuff...]
[available - about 8 albums, including stuff by Robert Musso himself and Machine Gun..]
.schematic.(emusic) [excellent Miami-based
idm label, think Warp/Skam-ish...]
[available - about 10 EPs/albums, including Push Button Objects himself and
3 highly recommended compilations.. unavailable - hardly anything, and the 12" releases are there too, this
is how it should be done..]
.second skin records.(emusic)(website)[rather cool UK bigbeat/jazz
d+b/nuskoolbreaks outfit...]
[available - about 20 EPs/albums, including the vinyl singles archived
in compilations (yes! why can't
more labels do this?), and the new-ish Lexi Love album.. unavailable - almost nothing - top marks for having all the vinyl available
too..!]
.simulcra.(emusic) [quality Texan ambient label, weirdly enough..]
[available - 5 albums, from the sublime Sonogram to the rather delicate
Tear Ceremony...]
.silver planet.(emusic) [two more albums on the
sublabel of Blue Planet...]
[available - one album (not available elsewhere) indexed - Marco Zaffarano (ex.Harthouse?)-s
techno-ish 'He Was Once A Beautiful Woman'.. plus the un-indexed
(and with full artist credits missing, grr!) 'Freebase
Breakz' compilation..]
.sirkus.(emusic) [eclectic UK jazzy d+b and triphop..]
[available - just 3 albums, including the _very_ cool (Alex Reece + Utah Jazz)
Fallen Angels and two other smart albums..]
.skintone.(emusic) [delicate Japanese techno
from Susumu Yokota..]
[available - 3 albums unavailable elsewhere from the sublime (also on Sublime!)
Susumu Yokota..]
.slabco.(emusic) [weird-ass US very-eclectic triphop vs. breaks
vs. everything label..]
[available - around 10 albums, including the relatively famous
Volume All*Star, and the weirder-still weirdness
of Buckminster Fuzeboard..]
.soma.(emusic) [absolutely classic Scottish techno label formed
by the seminal Slam..]
[available - 15+ albums right now, including some brilliant compilations (inc. Ian Pooley, Scott Grooves, Gene Farris), plus the great sounds of Maas (who isn't Timo Maas!), the seminal Slam album 'Headstates', and the hard-ass techno of
Bandulu-related Space DJ'z..]
.sound gizmo.(emusic) [US breaks/eclectic label, inc. Jamie
Myerson..]
[available - 5 albums, including a neato compilation and a new album from sometime
4 Hero-collaborator and pioneer US junglist
Jamie Myerson (as Sky City)..]
.soundscapes.(emusic) [Robert Rich's own label, gorgeous ambience..]
[available - just 5 albums, all from label-owner himself Robert Rich, but they're all heavenly ambient works and highly recommended..]
.soup-disk.(emusic) [Japanese beats/breaks/techno/idm
label!..]
[available - albums from Computer Soup,
Riow Awai amongst others, all _very_ nice Japanese
eclectic beats/breaks/etc. stuff..
..]
.strata.(emusic) [yet more Laswell-related
dub/ambient/ethno..]
[available - 7 albums, including nice stuff from Automaton (featuring Laswell and
Sly Dunbar!) and Cypher 7..]
.streetbeat.(emusic)(website)[Miami dance label with
some interesting UK imports, related to bass label Pandisc..]
[available - 40 EPs/albums, mainly execrable (dance cover-version of 'Thank U' by Alanis, anyone?), but
there's a couple of interesting things licensed to the, in
the US, including James Hardway
(decent UK jazz-junglist!) and Megashira
(German d+b dons!), plus a cool album by Beanfield (German Compost-dwelling
jazzy-breaks people... also some great new compilations
if you're into recent trance/progressive breakbeat with Zombie Nation, BT, Moby, Aphrodite..)]
.subharmonic.(emusic) [even MORE Laswell-related
dub/ambient/ethno, this time lots of it.. still nice!]
[available - about another 10-15 albums, all the usual suspects (inc. Laswell,
Jonah Sharpe, Thomas Koner), plus Manu Dibango and Bill Laswell+Tetsuo Inoue..]
.sublime.(emusic) [brilliant Japanese
intelligent techno/house label..]
[available - about 8 albums, including Flare (Ken Ishii, remixed in this
case), Max Brennan (of Fretless
AZM/Holistic fame), and Captain Funk (great funky house!) unavailable - all the 12", lots of Japanese-only licensed stuff, and quite
a lot of other albums too.. aww..]
.subliminal kid.(emusic) [emusic-exclusive DJ
Spooky album..]
[available - just one thing, an exclusive illbient-ish DJ Spooky album..]
.submeta.(emusic) [yep, more Laswell and
friends. too many labels, mate..]
[available - another 3 or 4 albums, actually the 'Distill' 2xCD album is pretty good,
Namlook, Schutze, etc....]
.sun out.(emusic) [directly related to Soup-Disk, Japanese jazzy breaks label!..]
[available - 4 albums from Computer Soup,
and Kitta on this Soup-Disk sister label, obscure but interesting..]
.superstition.(emusic) [straight-ahead German-based trance/techno
label, but inc.
the gorgeous Oliver Lieb..]
[available - about 5 EPs/albums, but the absolute highlight is LSG, who is aka Oliver Lieb/Spicelab, etc - a
Harthouse/Eye-Q legend from back in the day..unavailable - most of the catalog, aww..]
.tension.(emusic) [pretty interesting NY-based hard-ish techno label..]
[available - about 15 mainly EPs from this Disko B-affiliated label, including stuff from label owner Abe Duque, aka Kirlian, the rather cool Taylor Deupree, and the pseudonymous Mika Vainio of Pan(a)sonic as Tekonivel..unavailable - just about nuffink..]
.tone casualties.(emusic)(website) [wow, label founded by Gabor Csupo of
'Rugrats' fame, inc. Hungarian/American ambient+soundtracks+weirdstuff.. v.interesting.]
[available - about 25+ albums, with a weird mix of obscure ambient, more famous people like Holger Czukay vs. Dr. Walker, and even Aeon Flux
cult composer Drew Neumann..unavailable - some
Holger Czukay and others..]
.tongue and groove.(emusic)
[old UK dance label? more info appreciated.]
[available - about 7 albums, including influential 80s proto-groovesters
Izit...]
.transmat.(emusic) [Derrick May's classic
Detroit techno label..]
[available - about 10 individual tracks, classics, mind, including 'Strings Of Life''Nude Photo'.. unavailable - the vast majority of the Transmat catalog, both ancient and
modern, sadly..]
.trax.(emusic) [even more classic Chicago
acid house label..]
[available - now about 30 albums, with TONNES of marvellous compilations, and Frankie Knuckles,
Larry Heard,
Joey Beltram... unavailable
- not loads nowadays, tho they don't have the individual 12"s..]
.tummy touch.(emusic)(website) [Tim 'Love' Lee's cheeky, jazzy
UK house label..]
[available - 10+ albums, including a really nice compilation and the now Madonna-feted
and gorgeous Groove Armada..
unavailable - not so much..]
.ubiquity.(emusic)(website) [US house/eclectic label with Luv+Haight (funk re-issues) and CuBop (Cuban) sublabels..]
[available - at least 75-100 albums over the label and sublabels, including a mass of brilliant
compilations (with Thievery Corporation, Automator, Cut Chemist, DJ Greyboy),
and many other excellent artists, inc. DJ Wally + Swingsett and P'Taah
(one of the Wamdue Kids).. unavailable
- hardly anything..]
.ultimate dilemma.(emusic)[UK funky breaks/jazziness..]
[available - around 10 EPs/albums, including famous oldskool US beatmaker
The 45 King and suave breakbeat artiste
Jadell, plus lots more coolstuff, including
The Runaways.. unavailable - some of the catalog..]
.ultra.(emusic)[US
catch-all dance label with V Records and some other _very_ cool labels..]
[available - about 20 albums, including a bunch of wicked V-licensed jungle
- the Roni Size entry has the 'Planet
V' and
'V Classic' compilations. Also, try Sasha and John Digweed for 3 great
Northern Exposure mix-albums,
plus an excellent speed garage compilation, and a
Boris Dluglosch-mixed dance collection,
and even a Wall Of Sound licensed-compilation..
plus an Adam Freeland-mixed nu-skool breaks mix.. plus a lot
of singles. unavailable - a largish amount of extra stuff..]
.undaground therapy.(emusic)[US house label with a few
neat releases..]
[available - a few albums and EPs, with the housed-up Roy Davis Jr. and Men From The Nile hosting Jazzanova and
DJ Pierre remixes..]
.under the counter.(emusic)[Glasgow-based house/techno label in the Soma/Glasgow Underground stylee..]
[available - 2 albums right now, including the Daft Punk-ish Wackdaddies and the very cool DJ Q, with more stuff doubtless on the way..]
.universal egg.(emusic)[UK Planet Dog-ish crusty
dub types..]
[available - 15-20 albums, including some smart compilations and plenty of Zion Train.. .. unavailable
- not too much, I suspect..]
.visible.(emusic)[American techno/ambient
label, not bad at all..]
[available - 5-10 albums, particularly interesting being the new Joey Beltram...]
.wordsound.(emusic)[American techno/ambient
label, not bad at all..]
[available - 20+ albums, including some _really_ good compilations, plus Scotty Hard (ex-New Kingdom producer),
and Spectre.. unavailable
- just very recent stuff like Paul Barman..]
.zoemagik.(emusic)[SF
techno-ish Hardkiss-y label..]
[available - just 4 albums I can find, all stupidly cross-referenced, including
two quite-nice compilations and two W albums...]
----
.hiphop.
----
.anticon.(emusic) [amazing abstract hiphop from Dose One, Buck 65, and more..]
[available - 3 EPs, each of which is eminently worth downloading, from Buck 65 and Sole amongst others.. just wicked
string-filled intelligent abstractions.. unavailable - quite a bit?]
.big dada. - OFFLINE due to Ninja Tune withdrawing their music from the
site for now.
.bomb hiphop.(emusic)(official website) [US hiphop turntablism
of the first order - think Piklz, etc...]
[highlight] - various - 'return of the dj vol.1' - (emusic) - the _original_ turntablist
album - Mixmaster Mike, Cut Chemist, Rob Swift, Invisibl Skratch Piklz...
[available - approx 20 equally good turntablist albums, including DJ
Craze, DJ Faust, and and Compilations(great!) unavailable
- not sure.. not much?]
.celestial.(emusic) [LA independent hiphop with some d+b too, smart.]
[available - about 15 EPs/albums, with a great LA-hiphop 2xcomp from Fat Jack (feat. Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, etc.), and quite
a cool d+b vs. hiphop Compilation, plus DV alias Khryce..
unavailable - not much?]
.cold chillin'.(emusic) [original and _classic_ Marley Marl-helmed
label of the late 80s/early 90s.]
[available - now up to 20+ albums, including great best-of Marley Marl's House Of Hits (feat. Eric B + Rakim, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shante..),
the wonderful Biz Markie with 5 (!) albums, and the v.oldskool MC Shan..
unavailable - a few things, but more coming still?]
.concentrated entertainment.(emusic) [independent hiphop label with neato compilation.]
[available - 2 albums, inc. a smart (feat. Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, etc.), and quite
a cool d+b vs. hiphop Compilation, plus DV alias Khryce..
unavailable - not much?]
.copasetik.(emusic)[some pretty neat US and European breaks/hiphop action.]
[available - around 10 albums, including a really good double compilation with Kool Keith, Kutmaster Kurt, Cali Agents, plus
other nice stuff from German triphop-breakers, Terranova, and longlegged Prodigy dancer, Leeroy, aka Flightcrank.
unavailable - not sure?]
.dj disk.(emusic) [Bay
Area maverick turntablist, Skratch Piklz-affiliated.]
[available - 4 albums, including 2 by Invisibl Skratch Piklz and 2 from
DJ Disk himself.. unavailable
- not sure? other Shiggar Fraggar shows?]
.dogday records.(emusic)[Bay Area label with good
turntablism album.]
[available - 3 albums, but one worth mentioning, Cue's HipHop Shop - Live Human,
Roc Raida, Shortkut, etc.. unavailable - not much relevant.]
.funky ass.(emusic)[Kool Keith's own label
- crazy hiphop from the man who brought us Dr.Octagon..]
[available - just three albums, all excellent, from Dr. Dooom + Kool Keith (yes, both Kool Keith!)
unavailable - most of the vinyl specials + more besides..]
.ground control.(emusic)[obscurish hiphop label
with great compilation onboard..]
[available - 1 EP/1 album, with the album, The UnBound Project Vol.1, inc.
J.Rocc, Mike Ladd, Aceyalone, and LOTS of others.. unavailable - not sure?]
.hadji.(emusic)[another obscure independent
with Supernatural onboard..]
[available - 1 album from Supernatural, one of the best
freestyling MCs around and a real independent powerhouse.. unavailable
- not sure?]
.hieroglyphics imperium.(emusic)[Bay Area independent
hiphop from Del and the gang..]
[available - 5 EPs/albums, including Del Tha Funky Homosapien and Hieroglyphics,
both showcasing great independent albums.. unavailable - not sure?]
.hombre.(emusic)[top UK turntablist/hiphop label..]
[available - around 10 albums, including a supa-smart compilation (inc. Numskullz, Z-Trip), and
great solo from ex.Earthling Ming..
unavailable - not sure?]
.ill boogie. (formerly blackberry) (emusic) [_really_ great Bay Area hiphop label..]
[available - 15+ albums/EPs, inc. the totally amazing Beat Junkies (inc. Rasco, Xzibit, Dilated Peoples, LOTS more), and
also the 'Laid In Full' compilation, inc. KRS-One, Mos Def, Divine
Styler, and a cast of thousands..
unavailable - not much?]
.jazz fudge.(emusic)[DJ Vadim's South London
triphop/UK hiphop label..]
[highlight] - various - 'organised sound' - (emusic) - great UK triphop comp.,
inc. Lewis Parker, Vadim, Skull...
[available - 5-10 EPs/albums, including Andre
Gurov (Vadim himself!) and Mark B..
unavailable - some newer stuff inc. Swollen Members, great compilations,
grr..]
.koch.(emusic)[German label expanding into diverse US markets, inc. hiphop..]
[available - at least 20 albums, but about 3 of relevance to us here, including former Jeru Tha Damaja protege (with DJ Premier production!), Afu-Ra, plus ex-Onyx-er Fredro Starr and
Bone-Thug-ger Flesh-N-Bone..
unavailable - not much?]
.landspeed.(emusic)[more obscure US independent
hiphop with some gems..]
[available - >30 EPs/albums, including the genius Porn Theatre Ushers, Jedi Mind Tricks, plus Planet Asia,
and compilations
- Afrika Bambaataa's 'Death Mix'?
cool! unavailable - no idea.]
.metal face.(emusic)[2 great independent hiphop licensed albums..]
[available - 2 albums from MF Doom and K.M.D., nuff said.]
.pimp rex.(emusic)[Kool Keith + Ice T album..]
[available - just the one album from Kool Keith and Ice T, they being the Analog Brothers..]
.project blowed.(emusic)[individually licensed
Aceyalone album...]
[available - just the one great album from Aceyalone (ex.Freestyle Fellowship
founder)..]
.quannum projects.(emusic)(website)[DJ Shadow+Blackalicious' Bay
Area powerhouse..]
[available - 8 EPs/albums, including the Mo Wax-released brilliance of
'Quannum Spectrum' and some great
rare/exclusive Blackalicious...]
.raw shack.(emusic)[another independent
hiphop label..]
[available - 10 EPs/albums, including the excellent J-Live and Yeshua Da PoEd...]
.z-trip.(emusic)[individual
licensed singles from turntablist..]
[available - just one pretty smart singles compilation with some fun
scratchy tracks...]
