The Speedy Wunderground label was co-founded by Dan Carey, Pierre Hall and Alexis Smith. It’s impossible to ignore the success Carey has had a producer. So far this year he has achieved Number 1 albums with Fontaines D.C. and Wet Leg. However this is only the tip of his musical iceberg having worked with Franz Ferdinand, black midi, TOY, Squid, Kae Tempest and even Kylie Minogue! The list is extensive.
In addition the label itself has continually evolved and has been acclaimed for its own output including Best Small Label at the AIM awards. One example of the creativity is their in-lockdown Quarantine Series, a collection of what began as online experiments as a result of Carey’s studio being closed due to the pandemic and led to over twenty collaborations with artists such as Georgia, RoRo, youngblackmale, Kae Tempest. These were all under Carey’s “Savage Gary” alias forming almost a parallel strand of the label with more of an electronic and hip-hop focus due to the lack of studio access. Speedy Wunderground has now also released EPs and albums from Squid, Tiña, The Lounge Society, Honeyglaze and Stephen Fretwell. They are absolutely fulfilling the role of a label in amongst their imaginative approach to the creation of music and demonstrating the work ethic of Carey, Hall and Smith.
2023 will see Speedy Wunderground reach the milestone of 10 years and as Hall points out: “It’s weird, even though we’ve been going for nearly 10 years people still constantly refer to us as a new label. Which hopefully is testament to the quality and feel of the music we put out’.”
Their fifth compilation album is set for release on 29 July, and sees them having to tweak the series name. The previous four had followed the Year 1/2/3/4 format whereas this is Vol. 5. The reasons are obvious. “Well, we had to really” says Hall “due to boring stuff like vinyl manufacturing and COVID – we fell way behind. It felt strange putting something out and calling it Year 5 – when it’s our 10th anniversary as a label next year. It felt like we were doing ourselves a discredit.’
Cleverly the two sides of the compilation have been produced to reflect these events, with Side A being all the tracks recorded before lockdown, and Side B all those recorded quite quickly after.
The album begins with the (now defunct) Lazarus Kane’s ‘Narcissus’, a funk-fuelled track to get things started; the indie-electro-pop of Pynch’s ‘Disco Lights’ follows. London trio PVA continue the party vibes with their debut single ‘Divine Intervention’.
The Lounge Society close out Side A with their astonishing debut single ‘Generation Game’. The Hebden Bridge quartet has their much-anticipated debut LP set for release on the label on 26 August.
Flipping to Side B, Polish superstar Brodka and Carey’s in-house band Scottibrains combine to produce ‘Wrong Party’. moa moa contribute to a shift in pace with the gloriously gorgeous ‘Coltan Candy’. The deadpan vocals of Joyeria jostle with beats and detuned guitars on ‘Here Comes Trouble’.
London’s deep tan bring events to a close with the outrageously titled post-punk ‘tamu’s yiffing refuge.’ As a whole this compilation is an eclectic exhilarating mix and demonstrates the versatility and talent of this label. And for music lovers it’s thrilling to discover that Speedy Wunderground have no intention of resting on their laurels. From Hall again:
“We like the idea of being important to people. To inspire them like those other labels were and are important to us. Carry on the baton. We want to be the next Heavenly, the next Rough Trade, the next Warp. And I think we can. Otherwise – what’s been the point? We just need people to give us a chance. And first and foremost – let the music do the talking.”
The label will host a record release show on Friday 29 July at The Railway, Tulse Hill, London featuring Deep Tan, Highschool and The Queen’s Head, as well as Speedy Wunderground DJs.
Speedy Wunderground – Vol.5 Compilation Tracklist:
- Lazarus Kane – Narcissus
- Pynch – Disco Lights
- PVA – Divine Intervention
- The Lounge Society – Generation Game
- Brodka & Scottibrains – Wrong Party
- moa moa – Coltan Candy
- Joyeria – Here Comes Trouble
- deep tan – tamu’s yiffing refuge
For more information about Speedy Wunderground please check out their website.
