Glasgow's Contort Yourself is one of the most underrated and versatile labels operating today. While they haven't put out a ton of material, each release is always well executed and contains the kind of genre defying characteristics we've become known for loving here at The Brvtalist. An early favorite is CY001 - Decapitated One-Liners EP. This is a 5 track release from a wide range of artists whose sound comes together very well. We are also happy to see this now available in cassette format.
The Netherlands' Parrish Smith starts things off nicely with his signature blend of hypnotic, tense, acid washed stylings of body music. The next few tracks are from Italian EBM pioneers Pankow. Both "Das Vodkalied" and "Im Food For You" were both originally released on their stellar debut tape Throw Out Rite (1983), and have been resurrected for this EP by Contort Yourself. While maintaining that classic industrial/ebm feel, given today's landscape, the tracks feel just as fresh and play nicely alongside other European techno/ebm purveyors.
One of the biggest treats on the release is woman of the moment, Helena Hauff's remix of "Das Vodkalied". She does a great job of infusing her mutated techno sensibilities into this retro classic and brings it current enough for dance floors across the globe. Finally, the UK's Perseus Traxx closes things out with his stellar hardware and stripped down style on "Get Away". As always, his love of 80's Chicago House and Detroit Techno shines through and is the perfect way to close things out.
All in all, Decapitated One-Liners is a great example of Contort Yourself's commitment to blurring the lines between past and future sounds. I would say the label also has an ongoing theme of dark, nervous energy and a hypnotic tenseness that comes through with each release. This cassette is limited to only 70 and the label tells us they are going fast so pick yours up now. For more information and purchasing, please visit Bandcamp.
-JRS