Vinyl resurgence? British techno resurgence? Or did it ever go away? Exalt did, but now it is back and with even more on the horizon the future looks very bright. Already in the pipeline is a re-issue of a 12” from Swayzak vs Theorem and more arranged to after the new year. But even more exciting is the renewed ambition and drive of Bargeman and his imprint. With a catalogue and roster brimming with quality, Exalt has risen, from its own ashes, to become a platform for the best of British machine music.
It’s not easy setting up a record label, it’s more difficult to run one. Despite the claims of a vinyl resurgence, sit and talk with anyone actually doing the daily grind of releasing music will tell you that things are tough. Pressing plant delays. Mastering issues. Cost. Price. Stock. Distributors. It’s hard and many imprints just don’t make it. Of course, amidst such doom-laden language, there are those that not only make it but excel. Then there is an even rarer breed, a species that is almost never seen: those who begin, fade out and rise once again. This is the story of Exalt Records.
In 2003 the London label began with a top-notch compilation featuring the likes of Kurt Baggley. As soon as the doors were opened they slammed shut. Three years passed before an album from Pilote surfaced with an album in 2006 with Future Beat Alliance following suit in 2008. Once again the doors closed, a remix 12” locking the gates in 2009. Exalt Records was no more, or so it seemed.
Fast forward a decade, after a hefty hiatus Exalt has returned with vigor and vitality. Within twelve months Jamie Bargeman, the head honcho, has released more than in the previous fifteen years. G.R.I.T. and John Shima were chosen to celebrate the revival of this particular phoenix with seven inches being the medium. The G.R.I.T. release, a dreamy work of ambient warmth, had quite a limited run whereas Shima’s release had a full pressing run.
Simply put Discreet is cracking. Two tracks of emotive, thought provoking electronics. Shima’s original is a wonderfully subtle work. Pin pricks of funk pierce a veil of silken synthwork in a deeply absorbing piece. The flip is a rethink by Future Beat Alliance Around a steady kick drum swirl warm currents of bass as chords cascade and flow. The British producer calls on his past, drawing on electronica and IDM to add a computer crack to his percussive patterns and give texture and tone to his melodies.
Future Beat Alliance has been a pillar the label since it opened and continues to be. Having met in the record stores of Brighton in 2003, Puffet and Bargeman forged a close relationship over ale and IDM. The veteran of Tresor, Delsin and Versatile has recently returned to the label with a new EP, Black Acid. The title track surges with a liquidity that only the molten music of the TB303 can offer. A snare snaps against meandering chords as Puffet carves a rich seam of deep techno. The RC4 mix sees the tempo plummet to a stumbling amble as drunken coils search towards a sonorous plateau. “Cloud Ten” is sculpted from a different sound base. Elegant arcs of string are draped in a light rinse of static before spiraling skyward in a supremely uplifting piece.
Another EP just fresh from the pressing plant comes from Lee Anthony Norris and Frank Rumpelt aka Norken & _Nyquist. Polonius marries cold currents of electronica with techno warmth to create an autumnal sound of earthen tones and modern angles. Invisible Reflections is cut from a 90s cloth. Metronomic clicks are superimposed onto a shimmering backdrop, mechanical rhythms sliding and slotting before luminous notes ascend. The stand out of the two is “Love Simulation.” From a sputtering beat blooms an intricately detailed and layered work. Satellite blips fade into the ephemeral as patterns interlock and intertwine in a piece that overflows with quality.
Vinyl resurgence? British techno resurgence? Or did it ever go away? Exalt did, but now it is back and with even more on the horizon the future looks very bright. Already in the pipeline is a re-issue of a 12” from Swayzak vs Theorem and more arranged to after the new year. But even more exciting is the renewed ambition and drive of Bargeman and his imprint. With a catalogue and roster brimming with quality, Exalt has risen, from its own ashes, to become a platform for the best of British machine music.
Visit Exalt Records here or on Soundcloud.
