I picked up Joy Orbison’s Selectors 004 very shortly after the Young Marco one, and it’s probably the record I’ve played out more than any other in the series. My black sleeves are torn and broken — some already replaced. That’s not a bad thing. That’s the record doing its job.
The reason I keep coming back to it is the year I got it. At the start of 2018 I quit my accounting and tax job — six years in, having started at a very basic junior level on 12k a year in 2011. The process of figuring out who I actually was had already started a a few years after that, but by 2018 I was so sure about it that I jumped in head-first and didn’t question a single thing. Lucky as I was to be able to make that call, it’s worth noting I wasn’t a spring chicken — I was already on my second wind. 2018 was a year of peak self-discovery, and this record was the soundtrack to it.
I’m totally enamoured by the hardcore continuum, and Joy O’s selection on this one covers a vast breadth of it — covering a vast breadth of this, dating back as far as 1988 with the cult techno release by L.E. Bass.. In 2018 the base knowledge of the average punter wasn't what it is now, so digging up gems like that still had an innocent bewilderment to it. I'm old enough to remember the mid-to-late 00s — the non-Shazam era — where you'd hear a track in a room, not know what it was, and just have to trust that you’d find it again. You'd go home and try to ID it from memory, or you just accepted the mystery. Track 1, Unknown Artist after burning your mate’s CD-R onto your own blank disc.
I’ve played this record at illegal beach raves, at my weekly residencies, and in prestigious bars like Spiritland and Le Mellotron. It’s that diverse — it holds up in every room.
Focusing on unknown UK club music, I’ve always been enamoured by Joy O. He was maintaining a very low public profile until about 2020, and I’ve seen him DJ maybe five times in total. I’m totally over him by now, honestly — it’s no longer what I consider underground. Might have something to do with the radio show on Los Santos. But the record still slaps.
I wrote a much longer piece on Joy Orbison back in 2023 — [link] — that I'll be re-posting here soon. For now, this is just the record and what it meant to me in 2018.
Chapter 4: Yes, UK Massive - Joy Orbison (Selectors 004)
Joy Orbison (a.k.a. Peter O'Grady) is a product of his environment. Based in London and now widely recognized as one of the UK's most singular electronic music talents, he's also keenly aware of his country's rich musical history and the role it's played in shaping his own artistic vision. Growing up, the sounds of garage, jungle and dubstep all made an impression on him, but O'Grady is well aware that the roots of this music go back much further. "Soundsystem culture is a thread that runs through almost everything here," he says. "It's had a huge effect on me, sometimes without me even knowing it."
Conceived as a sort of tribute to the UK, O'Grady's contribution to the Selectors series touches on everything from shuffling garage and loopy techno to booming jungle and a number of distinctly British hybrids. It's a diverse collection to be sure, but O'Grady prefers to focus on what ties these tracks together. "We're a lot more focused on BPM and genre these days," he says, "but I can honestly say that didn't really cross my mind while I was compiling this. In my mind, all these tracks have a lot in common."
"What I do is a direct result of this music and I'm indebted to the sociological factors that brought it to life," explains O'Grady. "The UK at its best is a celebration of diverse cultures intertwining and creating beautiful results. Hopefully this collection of music can document a piece of that. Now more than ever, it seems important to acknowledge and celebrate this."
JAMES MASSIAH "YOU AIN'T GOT TO GO HOME"
I met James at a party through our mutual friend Jon Rust and very quickly became a huge fan of his work. I (sadly) don't go out much these days, but I always try and make it down to these parties he puts together around London with other poets and Dis. He's a multi-talented artist and to me is a true voice of present-day London. This track is taken from a collestion of poems called 27 and I've been ending all my DJ sets with it. For me, it's the perfect way to draw the night to a close and hopefully leave a nice message alongside the ringing in people's ears.
James Massiah-You Ain't Got To Go Home / Written by James Massiah / 2017, Not On Label
TOVIN AGBETU - "HEARTBREAKER (NEMESIS FEAT. ROSALINE JOYCE)"
Toyin Agbetu is responsible for a slew of amazing music under all sorts of names, but his work as Nemesis really stood out. It had this street-soul sound from London that touched on electro, Chicago house, '80s soul and funk, but even today the music still sounds really fresh. I was about three years old when this track came out, so obviously came to it later in life, but listening to it now reminds me of London during my younger days, the sounds of Choice FM and the glamour of McDonald's on Tottenham Court Road. Ha!
Toyin Agbetu - Heartbreaker (Nemesis feat. Rosaline Joyce) / Written & produced by Toyin Agbetu / 1989, Intrigue Records
R SOLUTION "SKINNY LONG GIT"
Reinforced Records is renowned for a heap of influential and iconic jungle, drum & bass and hardcore releases, many of which I'm a big fan of. That's what led me to check out this record by R-Solution - it's one of their earliest releases. This early'90s period of UK dance music has always fascinated me because it feels so close to yhat many of my peers and fare doing now: dance music informed by the house and techno of Chicago and Detroit mixed with the soundsystem culture that the West Indian community brought to the UK. "Skinny Long Git" could be a more melancholic Pal Joey record; it's also got these drums that remind me of MC Shan and that burgeoning hip-hop sound, only sped up with these Larry Heard-esque keys over the roarind rawnes that could anly heve come fram a label like Reinforeed.
R Solution - Skinny Long Git / Written by D McFarlane / 1991, Reinforced Records
BEATRICE DILLON "CURL"
I was introduced to the wonders of Beatrice by my friend and collaborator Will Bankhead. She has this amazing way of writing intricate and compelling music that feels really honest and not overly laboured. "Curl" really stood out for me; it seems quite separate from her other work and slightly overlooked. The metallic 909 drums make me think of early Front 242, but with a drive and swing that could only have been made by someone who spent some time lurking at Plastic People. Listening to Beatrice's mixes and beginning to understand where her sound came from also helped validate my own tastes and interests; not only does she connect the dots between El-B, field recordings and Mark Ernestus, she makes it sound like the most obvious thing in the world.
Beatrice Dillon - Curl / Written & produced by Beatrice Dillon / 2016, Alien Jams
BITSTREAM "VIC TWENTY"
"Vic Twenty" was released in 1999 (when I was all of 13 years old), but if I heard Ben UFO play this, I would assume it was some new thing that had been made last week. It's got so much in common with what's exciting me at the moment. One of those tracks that really comes alive on a system, it combines insane amounts of bass weight with these minimal Drexciyan drums. Bitstream are arguably an electro duo, but in my mind this tune is in a world of its own.
Bitstream. Vic Twenty/ Written & produced by S. Conner & D. Conner / Conner / 1999, Signal Recordings.
OBLIVION "LUSH"
My love for Source Direct is well documented and this is probably my favourite record that Phil Aslett and Jim Baker made together. These guys are well known for their cinematic soundscapes and insane drum programming, but I've always been drawn to their use of melody and vocals. They are the masters of not overdoing it, and know how to subtly hit those emotional buttons. I don't often get the chance to play jungle records these days, but the few times I've managed to work this into a set it's been an incredibly emotional experience and sort of made me want to stop making music.
Oblivio - Lush / Written & produced by Jim Baker & Phil Aslett / 1995, Street Beats
L.E. BASS "STRIVE (SURVIVE MIX)"
Mustafa Ali is responsible for some really important music under a few different aliases, but he only did two records as L.E. Bass. It blows my mind that this record came out in 1988. Again, it's obviously very informed by the music that was coming to the UK from Chicago and Detroit, but there's a certain intensity that I'm told could only be found at clubs like Clink Street in London Bridge. Full of dingy, sleazy and trippy sounds, this one must have been made to match the pharmaceuticals that were going around at that time.
LE. Bass - Strive (Survive Mix) / Written by Mustafa Ali / Produced & mixed by The House Addicts aka Tony Thorpe / 1988, BPM Records
STYLISTIC "PEOPLE (ORIGINAL MIX)"
Mike Millrain was behind a lot of great garage records that blew my mind back when I was in my early teens and buying records at Big Apple and Swag in Croydon. I've always been partial to vocals and he was responsible for a load of killer bootlegs that often surpassed whatever major label remixes were doing the rounds at the time. Even though it was very clearly influenced by the US, this track feels really British to me. It's synonymous with the crackle of pirate radio and the 4/4 garage sound I used to hear coming from my cousins' bedrooms before being told to go back downstairs. It's aged amazingly and fits perfectly into my sets; it's as much a P Bar record as a Plastic People record, which is right up my alley.
Stylistic - People / Written & produced by Mike Millain & Marvin Clarke / 1999, Not On Label
SANTOS RODRIGUEZ "ROAD TO RIO A2"
Arthur Smith is responsible for so much amazing and diverse music. During my early shopping days at Big Apple, 1 knew that he was making D'n'D records in the studio upstairs (it was right next to the listening room), but I had no idea that he was also making these incredible Mills-esque, loopy techno records as Grain and Santos Rodriguez. There's not really a clear line between techno and UK garage, but | know that I'm not the only one who thinks these two sounds work well together. This record is a rare document of just how interesting that combination can be. A lot of Arthur's music has been well ahead of its time and this one predates what I and many others were trying to do ten or so years later.
Santos Rodriguez- Road To Rio A2 / Written & produced by Santos Rodriguez / A. Smith / 1999, Cosmic Records ID(entity) 001
JP BUCKLE "ONE FOR DA LAYDEEZ"
My first introduction to Rephlex records was actually through those Grime compilations. Truth be told, I was never much of an Aphex fan, although I've come around to him recently. When I was younger, I was always quite anti the whole IDM/electronica thing, especially when those artists meddled with breakbeats. I regret that a bit now though, as it meant that I overlooked some gems like JP Buckle's Flyin Lo-Fi album, which is a wacky adventure into lo-fi dance music and other weirdness. Buckle's music isn't overly complicated, but every element he chooses is essential and used to full effect. "One For Da Laydeez" has been a big part of my DJ sets and I look forward to hopefully hearing this one in the clubs a lot more.
JP Buckle - One For Da Laydeez / Written & produced by JP Buckle / 1998, Rephlex
KLEIN "ARRANGE"
Klein is one of my favourite new artists. Her music manages to find this amazing balance of soul, sound collage and all things weirdo. Much like James Massiah, it feels like she's at the forefront of music coming out of London these days and as it happens, we used to go to the same parties when we were in our early twenties. There's a sly humour within her work that I love, along with a certain looseness that keeps the music from being too self-important. In my mind, "Arrange" is a club track, albeit one that isn't weighed down by traditional dance music structures and genre constraints. This is forward-thinking music and as such, it seemed fitting as the grand finale of this compilation, something that's informed by the good bits of the past but also striving to move beyond it.
Klein - Arrange / Written by Klain / Produced by Klein & Jacob Samuel / 2016, Howling Owl Records
💬 - Shawn Reynaldo
🎨 - Orpheu de Jong
