Various Artists - PlanetMU25 / VARIOUS - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

2024 . Following two revered albums, 'Dissolve' in 2017 and 'Avalanche' in 2019, London-based electronic songwriter and producer Tusks, aka Emily Underhill, has returned with her third. 'Gold' took form slowly over several months spent rewriting and reworking; half created at home in the middle of London and half during two solitary trips to Devon, where many of the songs found their inspiration. In need of some space, away from a shared house that had just been through a pandemic together as well as from a relationship that was coming to an end, she travelled to the south-west. It was here that she would get the bulk of her writing done, recognizing there were some things she would have to work through alone, and in no small part it came to her in the form of a torrential storm. Bringing the album back to London, Tusks partnered with producer Tom Andrews to bring the tracks to life from studios like Ten87 in Tottenham and SS2 Recording in Southend.

Planet Mu is a tag that has always survived on it's own very independent terms. For 20 years it's existed both on the fringes and in the centre of emerging electronic music, from IDM and breakcore to dubstep and grime and lately to footwork, which it took a chance on, opening it up to the world through the two Bangs & Works compilations. It also has a strong history of connecting the dots in between those genres by supporting idiosyncratic artists, from tag stalwart Venetian Snares to Kuedo, Machinedrum, Boxcutter, Vex'd, Falty DL, Luke Vibert, Ital, Jlin and Mr. Mitch to name just a few. Run by Mike Paradinas, who under the name µ-Ziq was one of the first wave of producers pushing the musical envelope in the wake of house and techno's initial burst of inspiration, Planet Mu is an established engine of creativity and enquiry, with one foot in the pop world, and a sense of fun that never let's it's experimentation disappear into exclusivity and snobbery. To celebrate their 20th Anniversary, Planet Mu have organised a 50-track, triple CD compilation of both old and new unreleased tracks and remixes packaged in a deluxe DVD-style boxset complete with a 100 page book charting the history of the tag, with insight from artists and staff, written by electronic music writer Rory Gibb. The music on CDs one and two is mainly from the current decade, with contributions from Kuedo, Machinedrum, John Wizards, Ital Tek, Remarc, Boxcutter, RP Boo, John T. Gast, Jlin and new signing Herva to name but a few. They're colourful, broad and adventurous rides across the roster that will impress and excite any fan of electronic music and are a strong reminder of the consistent quality and broad mindedness of the tag too. CD three features more of the older guard, dipping back into the roster from the late nineties and early 2000s with a range of noisier, knottier contributions from artists

Two CD collection of bands on the Carpe Sonum Records tag.