Description

Various Artists – Electro Throwdown (2LP/CD) [Soul Jazz Records SJR547]

Soul Jazz Records’ new collection, ‘Electro Throwdown – Sci-Fi Inter-Planetary Electro Attack on Planet Earth 1982-89’, is a journey into the outer reaches of electro, a galactic roller-coaster ride of turbo-charged sci-fi grooveology.

The album is comprised of mainly private-press and independent label electro jams of the highest calibre (with some as rare as spaceships landing on Mars) all created in the 1980s, at a time when a vocoder, a Roland TR-808 drum machine and a groove were all that was needed to get the party started.

With a few notable exceptions (Michael Jonzun’s Jonzun Crew and The Packman) the album features mainly under-the-radar killer tracks from a host of one-off artists and back-room electronic pioneers including Pretty Tony, Planet Detroit (James McCauley, aka Maggotron) and Rich Cason who together helped shape the sound of electro across the USA from Miami to New York, Los Angeles and beyond during the 1980s.

This album is released on super-loud double vinyl, packaged in a gatefold sleeve complete with full sleeve notes (from Derek Walmsley of The Wire), plus download code.