Bakar
Badkid

These tracks were recorded by Kevin Low and Fiona Carlin in Kevin’s bedroom in Gayfield Square, Edinburgh, in 1986. Me and my dad, Kevin, dug out a huge bunch of his tapes over the lockdown (about 80 of the them at first). Some were…better than others, however, the Gayfield Square demos were the pick of the lot. Previously Kevin and Fiona were part of the Post Punk / indie band ‘Wild Indians’, whose first release “Stolen Courage” had come out in 1983 – released on Flexi Disc via the Edinburgh fanzine Deadbeat. Throughout the mid-1980s they performed across Edinburgh’s clubs, including at the Hoochie Coochie Club (name checked on track 7), where they played alongside bands and close friends Pop Wallpaper and Visitors. The band went on to release two 12” singles, “Love of My Life” in 1984 and “Penniless” in 1986.After the band broke up Kevin sold his guitar amp and 7inch collection, Fiona her saxophone and they went out and got themselves a Yamaha RX-5 drum machine, Yamaha QX7 sequencer and a Yamaha DX-100. These bedroom tracks are the fruits of their first venture with this hardware, combining their experimentation with synthetic sounds (mostly the DX-100’s famous pre-sets) with a post-punk vocal style.These eight tracks are also, in part, the fruit of the “Enterprise Allowance scheme” - a policy venture of Margaret Thatcher’s UK government that gave unemployment claimants access to an extra £40 to top up the basic dole money. Following Thatcher’s election victories in 1979 and 1983, the policy sought to reduce the figures of mass unemployment which hung over Britain well into the 1980s. This policy, according to Kevin, helped to keep up the credit payments. He notes that, “when Fiona and I turned up at the DHSS office with the sure-fire money-making plan of making a business as a ‘song-writing’ duo they signed us up. However, I still think they thought we said, sign writing as they were filling out the form.”Kevin and Fiona stopped making music together shortly after these tracks were recorded so unfortunately, they never saw the light of day…until now!Fiona went on to work in Film and Television sound. Kevin became a photographer, working mostly in theatre. He is now an artist/painter working in Glasgow.

Bless up Omar S! The FXHE man is always happy to repress and reissue some of his earlier records for those that missed out at the time and here he offers a welcome chance to dig into a veritable slab of label history. AOS002 is where it all began for Omar S, first released way back in 2003 as a four track 12" of tunnelling techno and deftly sampled Detroit house. It's been repressed several times over the years with more recent editions featuring a bonus untitled track deep into the B side. The limited 2015 edition now comes in three different colours; orange, red, or brown. Whichever you chose this should be considered an essential addition to your FXHE collection.

Detroit's Ali Berger returns to FatCat Records' sub-label FCR with a follow up release entitled 'Keys The Door EP2'.After his 'Keys The Door EP1' that picked up support from the likes of Ben UFO, Artwork, Huerco S and Machine Woman, Michigan's Ali Berger returns to the FatCat Records off-shoot FCR which features releases from Cottam, DJJ and Project 223. Ali's previous releases on Clave House, Firm Tracks and Isaiah Tapes reflect his keen ear for slick, stripped back house productions that's gained the attention worldwide resulting in him being signed to FatCat and regularly featuring in clubs all over the US.'Grease Trap' kicks things off with a wavering acid line, robust melodies and outlandish oscillations before 'Heard' drops low-slung bass grooves, emotive leads and rhythmic tombs reminiscent of early Larry Heard productions. 'Hit Piece' introduces eccentric synth shoots, bubbling percussion and glistening rhythms until 'Keys The Door' rounds things off with a cheerful house cut fusing dreamy piano chords and a stimulating drum sequence.