ZE 30 : ZE Records Story 1979 - 2009

Spin (p.91) - "A roadmap for groups like Yeah Yeah Yeahs and LCD Soundsystem, Ze was America's version of Factory Records, a place where art and dance met." Pitchfork (Website) - "The selections here do support Ze's reputation. They illustrate, in bullet points, not only what made the label special, but what made them influential to artists like Chromatics, LCD Soundsystem, even M.I.A...." Record Collector (magazine) (p.99) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "It's something of a danceable set of tracks....Casino Music's take on `The Beat Goes On' is excellent..."

Despite some overlap, Strut's ZE 30: ZE Records Story 1979-2009 complements the 2003 expanded reissue of Mutant Disco -- a two-disc comp released by the then-revitalized ZE label, presumably out of circulation at the time of this set's release. Strut didn't come up with a definitive look at one of the maverick labels of the late '70s early '80s. Instead, it chose to go rather deep while throwing in a few of the singles that received a great deal of rotation in underground clubs (such as Was [Not Was]' "Tell Me That I'm Dreaming," oddball disco-funk at its baddest, unless you count the same band's "Wheel Me Out"). Only the most knowledgeable DJs and disco fanatics have known about some of the inclusions, like Sympho-State's brisk and elegant "You Know What I Like," the B-side of a one-off arranged by Carlos Franzetti (a Fania and Kid Creole associate) that features Leroy Burgess (Black Ivory, Logg) and Christine Wiltshire (Aural Exciters, Musique). A couple cuts -- the long version of Suicide's "Dream Baby Dream" and the Larry Levan remix of Kid Creole & the Coconuts' "Something Wrong in Paradise" -- appeared just a few years prior on ZE's Mutant Disco, Vol. 3: Garage Sale. Late ZE signing Michael Dracula, from Glasgow, justify their presence with a dread-filled fun-time collision of ZE vets Lydia Lunch, Cristina, and the Waitresses. ~ Andy Kellman

いまも昔も世界一カオティックで猥雑でイカレた音楽都市といえばNYに違いないが、その最大の震源地ともいうべきZEのレーベル設立30周年を記念して強力コンピがドロップされた。80年代を中心に魔都を狂乱と喧騒渦巻く巨大なダンスフロアへと変貌させたノーウェイヴ、ミュータント・ディスコ、ファンカラティーナ、エレクトロといったサウンドのすべてがここにブチ込まれている。超クール!　
bounce (C)北爪啓之