Every good label should have a manifesto – and Speedy Wunderground’s is based on capturing artists between the crosshairs of a moment, with a list of bullet pointed commitments ranging from recording and mixing being completed within a 48-hour period to nobody having any lunch.
It’s a crystal clear vision which has allowed SW – the brainchild of multi-talented producer Dan Carey and run from his south London studio – to attract some of the most critically acclaimed performers, and each year they’ve gathered their ultra-limited edition vinyl releases onto an oh-so-festive compilation, this edition being the fourth.
Carey of course has had a stellar twelve months to celebrate in his day job, helming releases from Kate Tempest, Fontaines D.C. and black midi, the latter contributing the discordant avant-garde scree of bmbmbm here. They’re not the only tastemaker friendly participants included either: Brighton’s Squid and Black Country, New Road have both been at the forefront of a massively revitalised indie scene that has no stylistic boundaries. The latter’s Athens, France is typically discordant post-rock, while The Dial showcases the agitated funk which has been the former’s magnetic signature to date.
Perhaps a less likely appearance comes from Alex Kapranos, whose collaboration Heart Attack with All We Are finds them locked into the manic groove of peak-era Talking Heads, while as if there hasn’t been enough notable work coming out of Ireland in recent months, Sinead O’Brien’s Taking On Time holds its own enigmatically amongst some excitable peers.
Whether the theme is as simple as a common knack for opening the door to experimentation or something simpler, label co-runner/A&R Pierre Hall feels the working threads are tangible, claiming that: “All the bands and artists involved – despite being separate releases – all feel really connected.”
This togetherness applies even to what are ostensibly the more straightforward choices, such as the wiggy moped psychedelia of Tiña’s I Feel Fine, while on Concept Leeds’ Treeboy & Arc struggle to not let their intensity break completely down into polyrhythmic chaos.
A side project? Speedy Wunderground is delivering much too much quality to be dismissed as anybody’s distraction. With a humble aesthetic and a production line of challenging but adrenalin-soaked releases they’re on the cutting edge of everything, doing it for the kids, their bands and everyone else.
Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together.