Trainer (UK)

After negotations broke down between former Black Doggers Ken Downie, Ed Handley, and Andy Turner, what was projected to be a three-disc set with nearly all the existing Black Dog Productions rarities became instead a two-disc set of Handley/Turner productions recorded during the first half of the '90s. Trainer is still a near-essential document of early British techno, including a raft of rarely heard classics like "Scoobs in Columbia," "Norte Route," and "Angry Dolphin," plus the entirety of their ultra-rare Mbuki Mvuki mini-LP. The Handley/Turner production aesthetic balanced sublime, Detroit-inspired synth with hyper-kinetic drum programs and breakbeat madness years before England's love affair with jungle. Grabbing tracks from far-flung but like-minded labels like ART, Planet E, A13, and Clear, Trainer includes over two hours of warped acid house from a B-boy perspective -- it's hardly a coincidence that Black Dog Productions shared initials with South Bronx's finest. ~ John Bush|