Various Artists BADVinyl001

“We specialise in uncovering new and interesting electronic music and video from the more individual / extreme ends of the spectrum,” says the Bad Sekta website, and they’ve done just that since 2005, but this is their first foray into the world of vinyl. Given the blurb on the website, I was expecting a varied and innovative mixture of electronic music on this record.

BADVinyl001 features five artists, all providing very different sounds. The first track, ‘Crank It’, comes from Ronin, a well-known name on the London breakcore and hardcore scene. It starts with something akin to a garage beat, albeit at a drum and bass tempo, quickly dropping into a very danceable bass focused roll, managing to be both experimental and genre mashing while still making you move. ‘Lights Down’ by Ascetic is a slow, spooky and thumping industrial techno track, deeply atmospheric and pleasingly post-apocalyptic.

The artist name Weyheyhey! and track name ‘That’s Breakcore’ says it all for the next sound on this release. It’s a mish-mash of all things rave and breakcore – piano and hoover stabs built on foundations of chaotic amen breaks, with some amusing samples which seem to be a commentary on the commercialisation of breakcore.

‘Diabolical Statue’ by Lastboss brings it down to a more downtempo level, airy pads and low key background breaks keeping it clattering along. Finally, Phuq gives us ‘Shirking’, again a very different track. It initially plods along at a comparatively slow tempo, teasing with cut-up samples and varied percussion, then the plod builds to a jog, followed by the entry of a four to the floor beat, turning the track ever more danceable.

The record is certainly in keeping with the label ethic, giving a varied slice of the collective’s output. It’s also got a fair amount of real dancefloor music, nestling next to more experimental tracks. There is a good spread of moods and sounds, an outcome not reached all that often at this end of the electronic music spectrum.