Founded in 2013, Speedy Wunderground swiftly rose to prominence, becoming a revered and trailblazing indie label, their roster packed with talent, their methods unique and intense. Spearheaded by production wizard Dan Carey – who’s since worked with the likes of Wet Leg, Fontaines D.C. and Squid – the label has received numerous accolades and acclaim over the past decade, and Speedy Wunderground have some serious plans to celebrate their tenth birthday. The label is throwing a party at London’s Village Underground, and prior to the celebration they’re also releasing a collectable 7” box set, containing ten discs and twenty tracks courtesy of original Savage Gary (Dan Carey) dub remixes from their now iconic singles series.
Dan Carey delivers his production duties under the monikers of ‘Savage Gary’ and ‘Mr Dan’, a fresh persona and role of Speedy Wunderground’s resident selector. The compilation is jam-packed, from a clubby reworking of Kae Tempest and Loyle Carner’s ‘Guts’ to the fizzy electronics of a dub of Moa Moa’s ‘Candy’. ‘The Dubs’ darts between skittish chops and stammers, to disco moments and even nods to old school IDM.
Savage Gary’s remix of black midi’s ‘bmbmbm’ is a true highlight on the compilation. Just like the original, it’s frantic, disconcerting, the modular tones as unpredictable as black midi themselves. Fellow Windmill Brixton alumni Black Country, New Road have received a dub of ‘Athens, France’, one of the first tracks to catapult the group into the limelight. Spontaneous glitches climax in a slowed, trance-like outro,
‘The Dubs – Vol. 1’ is an excellent way for the label to celebrate its tenth birthday. A brilliant executed and curated batch of reworkings and mad-scientist-esque ideas, ‘The Dubs’ is as leftfield as you’d expect from Dan Carey and Speedy Wunderground – but still retaining the welcoming and joyous nature of much of their material. The live feel of much of the tracklisting, with the stutters and chops, creates a unique listening experience from a compilation; not only are you listening to bizarre and off-kilter versions of some of the most acclaimed artists of the last few years, but it sounds like they’re in the room with you, destroying and repairing their own tracks – overseen by the one and only Dan Carey.
8/10
Words: James Mellen
Related: Speedy Wunderground – Rules Are Made To Be Broken
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