It was a sad day in 2003 when beloved cult reissue label Strut Records closed up shop, anticipating the ever-intensifying downturn in the music industry that has been roiling all levels of the business over the intervening 5 years. The imprint had risen to underground renown thanks to an unbroken string of classic compilations ranging from their Block Party Breaks series of rare groove classics and rarities to exhaustively researched compilations of African dance music including Club Africa and Nigeria 70. Adding to the label's stable of instant classics were compilations highlighting the influences and inspirations for groundbreaking DJs including Grand Master Flash, Bristol, England's Wild Bunch (aka Massive Attack), disco legend Danny Krivit, and house maestro Ashley Beedle. Strut had labored to produce expertly curated and assembled packages shining a light onto obscure corners of the music universe and it seemed that the emergence of iTunes and the continued popularity of illegal filesharing subverted their agenda, making just about anything available to those dilligent enough to seek it out. And without much fanfare, the label drifted into the obscurity it was seeking to rescue music from.
Yet five years on, Strut has announced that it is relaunching. Thanks to a partnership with vanguard German independant label !K7 Records, who have made a successful business out of helping smaller labels stay afloat through creative partnerships and distribution deals, Strut is relaunching in 2008 with a third edition of their highly sought-after series Disco Not Disco. Copies of the earlier editions regularly change hands for over $50. Soon to follow will be follow ups to Strut's earlier Grandmaster Flash comp as well as a look at the pioneering recordings made at Compass Point, the legendary recording studio in Nassau, Bahamas founded by Chris (I discovered Bob Marley) Blackwell of Island Records.
Given the consistently terrible news about the state of the record industry, we're tempering our excitement here at EMERGE with a bit of wait-and-see pragmatism. While we know first hand how good !K7 is (we used to work there if you must know...), so much of this stuff is no longer as obscure as it once was thanks to mp3 blogs and podcasts, which didn't even exist in any meaningful way back when Strut collapsed under pressures which to our eyes have only intensified. But then again, in this new world defined by the Long Tail, perhaps there is more room than ever for an ultra premium niche outlet that relies more on curation and context than simple marketing hype to sell music. Only time will tell...
Posted by James Friedman
