Words by the ever erudite Adam Turner.

Chris Massey’s label, Sprechen, began life ten years ago. In the process creating a Manchester-based home for all kinds of electronic music, which has grown, since 2015, taking in a decade of parties and events that have helped shape part of local modern music scene. Ein Null is a 10-track celebration of all that the imprint has achieved, collecting originals / exclusives from Chris and various friends.

Highlights include, The Utopia Strong, who count former snooker world champion Steve Davis among their ranks – mentioning this when talking about the band is almost a contractual obligation. The music that the trio make is way beyond anything that ever passed for televised sport during the early evenings, in the `80s, on BBC2. Old Mathers stutters into life with synthesised noise, a repeating bleep, disembodied voices and blasts of raw electricity. It sits at the unsettling edge of ambient, like a a transmission from a long range deep space station picked up by home radio enthusiasts in darkened bedrooms— actually, maybe it does have something to in common with BBC2’s `80s output.

A Certain Ratio’s relationship with Sprechen goes way back. Just as their relationship with Factory Records goes back to that label’s early days too. On Faster But Slower Martin, Jez and Don use an instruction given to them in the studio by Martin Hannett in the late `70s: ‘Play it again, faster but slower.’ Which they do. Stepped bass, tumbling drums, rapid fire percussion, horns and woodwind beamed in from their punk-jazz-funk 80s, plus some fuzzed up spy movie guitar.

Psychederek’s previous releases on Sprechen have been standouts, and his track here, Hopes & Dreams, comes from the tougher end of his sonic spectrum. With a jackhammer kick drum his synths and keys add “Balearic” colour to the thump, while a very foreground vocal repeats itself almost into infinity.

Equally pumped up is Escape Into Neon, a sci fi / cosmic disco chugger from the tag team of Lindstrom, The Thief Of Time and Lady Lady. This is a track that blasts off from the launchpad and keeps going, ascending. Synths, sequencers and drum machine adorned with bursts of bass and bleeps, and Lady Lady’s voice gliding, guiding the mission. 

Add in Lena C, Low Pulse and Gina Breeze – slow mo wonky broken down Balearica, bleepy synthwave pop and sleek acid techno, respectively – plus the dark disco of Massey & Supernature’s Walk… Now Walk and PBR Streetgang’s Chasin Perry – 6 minutes of kick drum, echo, squeak and acid squelch and you have in your hands of one of the comps of the year. Here’s to Zwanzig Null in 2035.

Ein Null: 10 Years Of Sprechen can be ordered directly from Sprechen.

You can find more pukka prose from Adam Turner over at his own brilliant blog, The Bagging Area.