various production

For me easily the biggest surprise of 2005, the Various Production crew has come up with some of the most amazing tunes in years. With breathtaking disrespect for conventions, they have managed to make an enormous impact on the underground music scene and are surely one of the major electronic acts of the future. While their 12”s have a very obvious grime basis, it’s on the four 7”s they have released so far that their true force comes to shore. Mixing and intertwining genres, from grime to r&b to folk, and everything you could imagine in between, these records (beautifully designed as well by the way) make for an exhilarating ride through past, present and future pop music, with a distinct leftfield edge, that leaves you baffled. My personal favourite so far is the glorious Hater/Byker. Basically a pop tune with analogue electronic backing, it goes places ordinary 3-minute tracks cannot take you. Although there’s not really a direct musical link, I would compare the impact and innovation of these tracks to Arthur Russell’s beautiful pop music experiments in the 80’s, conveying an outerworldly strangeness that is both haunting and downright catchy.

Queen Bee (7")
What About Them?/Too Lost in You (12")
I'm Really Hot/Where I Belong (12")
Hater/Byker (7")
Foller/Home (7")
Sir/In This (7")