FAC.DANCE 02 : Factory Records 12" Mixes & Rarities 1980 - 1987 [Strut Records Promo]

Factory Records. Manchester. A story that has been told a thousand times or more. So there's nothing new to unveal about this labels legendary status, its rare records, its influence on decades of dance music that followed and its iconic graphics. All said, all done before, all part of dance cultures oral history. But still: this label has a lot to offer these days as Strut Records' second take on the Factory Records history proves once again, collecting an unmixed bunch of 24 long gone and sought after tracks from the vast back catalogue on double CD format including works by A Certain Ration, X-O-Dus, Shark Vegas, Section 25, Minny Pops, Swamp Children, ESG, Ad Infinitum and many many others. Picking a single tune out would mean to diminish others but if I was forced to choose one from the pack as personal favorite it'd be Sir Horatio's "Sommadub" for its lo-fi Dub approach stretched out over more than 7 minutes at all. Or the uptempo melancholia of The Wake's "Host" for being complex and deep as fuck. But no matter what's your essential pick - the variety and attitude served by all Factory Records artists is still to be found echoing through clubs and venues of today and that's why one should not even dare to miss out on this one. For those who still don't understand: "FAC.DANCE 02" features blueprints of PostPunk, (No)Wave, Dub, SynthPop, Breakdance, Proto-HipHouse and of what was the original meaning of Rave music before Techno / House took over that term for good. Even the roots of West London Phuzion / Broken Beats are to be found here - just listen to Kalima's "Land Of Dreams" to find proof on this thesis. This is the music that influenced the parents of your favorite Indie band and still does not sound dated although the youngest tunes on this compilation have been released a good 25 years ago.  A lesson in history.