BOB 2015: SLAM 'TRANSMISSIONS: GLASGOW' (BEST COMPILATION)
Best of British 2015, educated by Point Blank
OTHER NOMINEES
ED RUSH & OPTICAL ‘FABRICLIVE 82’
TREVOR JACKSON ‘SCIENCE FICTION DANCEHALL CLASSICS’
MUMDANCE ‘FABRICLIVE 80’
BILL BREWSTER ‘LATE NIGHT TALES PRESENTS AFTER DARK’
SLAM DUNK DA FUNK!
The legendary Scottish duo certainly pushed the boat out when it came to curating a special Glasgow edition in their 'Transmissions' series...
The compilation market has never been tougher than it is today. To stand out amongst the proliferation of free online mixes, artist Soundclouds and long-running series you really need to do something different. Enter Scottish titans Slam and their excellent 'Transmissions' compilation.
It is a 15-track selection that focuses exclusively on music made by Glaswegians, and who better to put it together than Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle, a pair who have had an obsession with — and passion for — techno for decades.
“We wanted to pool producers making tunes that were akin to the music we play in our DJ sets — so techno with attitude,” say the enduing pair of what they were looking to include on the comp. “It also brought our attention to some newer artists that are in the pipeline, not quite ready to release their tunes just yet.”
Those who do make the cut range from key Soma artist Gary Beck (who appears both solo and in monstrous main room fashion with Slam themselves) as well as newer stars in the making like Clouds, Deepbass and Dexterous, whilst those who just fell short will likely get revisited when Slam present 'Transmissions: Glasgow 2' sometime in 2016.
One thing the music has in common throughout is its sense of power, of presence and of precision. “The Glasgow sound is hard to pigeon-hole,” say Slam. “But it is always diverse, emotional, laden with conviction and electronically soulful.”
The pair themselves continue to hold down residences like Pressure and Return To Mono and are still serving up the sort of compelling techno that gets them into the bags of contemporary tastemakers like Ben Klock and Len Faki. “We’re already in discussion with artists from quite a few other cities, so watch this space!” KRISTAN J CARYL
