This has been one monumental series, seeing the entire catalogue of influential London techno label B12, from between 1990-2007 and much more, reissued over the last six months. Mainly featuring Mike Golding and Steve Rutter in either their B12 or Redcell guises, the double-disc sets have made available highly sought-after 12” EPs, limited releases and previously unreleased material. RC covered the series launch earlier in the year; since then the highlights have been many, particularly Volume 5’s Redcell 12”s from 1993 and releases on the label from Steve Picton trading as Stasis; or Volume 6, which boasted the contents of the legendary B12 cassette, originally released as 400 copies packaged in a cardboard box.
Volume 7 rounds the series off in fine style, roping together B12’s final EP of the 90s. Under the Redcell name, it was their 15th and never got a proper release, before the duo disappeared for a decade. The rest of the set consists of tracks which appeared on labels including Warp, ART, Buzz and New Electronica.
B12 started life obviously in thrall to the Detroit originals but stood against the face of rave to develop electronic music of often astounding intricacy and otherworldly beauty. What about a handy box set?
