It is hard to come to reconcile that Death Before Distemper really is the first label compilation from DC Recordings after 11 years and 70 releases. Established in 1995, DC Recordings has been best known as an outlet for JS Kane’s eclectic solo output from kung-fu sampling crunching breakbeat as Depth Charge, oddball industrial strength electro as Octagon Man, and a weird blend of the two as Alexanders Dark Band. In recent years, Kane’s output has slowed and the label has become increasingly known for its quirky dancefloor, retro-futurist releases from Andy Meecham as The Big 200 and The Emperor Machine, and others. Certainly in 2005 it felt as if DC had gotten a shot in the arm, with a stream of these new vinyl releases emerging.
Death Before Distemper brings together a summary of the last 18 months of DC Recordings along with a few exclusives, all never before available on CD. The Emperor Machine contributes three psychotic disco flashbacks full of analogue effects and ancient synths drawn from the Vertical Tones & Horizontal Noise series; whilst Padded Cell and The Orichalc Phase deliver post-punk inspired instrumentals with a similar penchant for overdriven analogue gear. Whilst superficially there is much in common with the recent revivalist sounds of others exploring similar trajectories, DC’s approach is quite different eschewing riffs for grooves (The Emperor Machine’s Rim Ram Ram Rim and Orichalc’s Comatone), and offering plenty of freakout moments (Padded Cell’s sax-tastic Are You Anywhere?) whilst remaining eminently danceable.
