Dug up some mid-nineties compilations on vinyl from the vaults. I always thought that compilations were better suited to CD format. Still, brought up some surprising gems that I’d long since forgotten about. Expect this to be an ongoing series that will absolutely go nowhere.

Dave Clarke Presents: X-Mix Electric Boogie (Studio!K7). Dave Clarke’s stunning contribution to the X-Mix series from Studio!K7 shows off his electro credentials. From I-F’s hysterically deranged ‘I Do Because I Couldn’t Care Less’ (seriously, how good does this still sound) to the sawtooth bleep pop of LFO’s ‘We are back’. Mention must go to Dopplereffekt’s masterpiece ‘Voice Activated’. But it was the lesser known tracks (to me at least) that pricked up my ears this time. Sem’s perfunctory ‘Phox’ is pure drum-machine sex and Lockstep’s ‘I Am’ is harsh, rough and dangerous.

The Theory of Evolution (Warp / Evolution). Whilst Mark Pritchard is enjoying success under his Harmonic 313 / Africa Hi-tech aliases and Tom Middleton is doing, um, whatever he’s doing. Back in the early 90’s they formed Evolution Records and recorded together under a plethora of names - Global Communications, Reload, Jedi Knights to name three. This compilation, released in early ’95, was a joint release with Warp Records and cherry picked the best bits from their back catalogue. Which was extortionate to pick up then and is near impossible now due to its limited numbers.

But the thing that impressed me is that it still sounds utterly fantastic: emotive, well-crafted electronic music that flits between styles like it did in those days. From the gorgeous ambient drift of ‘The Biosphere’, the 303 / 808 techno wig out of ‘Nemm’ to the oft-imitated jungle epic ‘Amazon Amenity’. If you haven’t come across any of their work before, I cannot stress enough how important and influential they were. So I don’t care how or when, just backtrack through the releases and catch up. Otherwise, we’re not on speaking terms.