Back catalogue: Post Rock/Experimental

Review: Here's hoping you've got your super-weird hat on. As the title of this latest Soul Jazz compilation suggests, the tracks on here are anything but by numbers and cross so many genre lines it often becomes impossible to differentiate between the rock and electronic bits, simultaneously teaching us all something about the connectivity of everything, and how real creativity has never been siloed by style.

Of course the likes of 'Guten Abend, Leute' by Deutsche Wertarbeit are firmly in the synth end of things, a building track that uses phaser noises and accordions to create something that could definitely work on today's dancefloors. And next on the list, 'Wolf City' by Amon Duul II, is a strange rock brew of post punk and jazz. But elsewhere work such as 'Pink Sails' by Klauss Weiss, 'Ballet Statique' from Conrad Schnitzler and the heartbreakingly beautiful pianos of Roedelius' 'Halmharfe' make differences harder to identify.

Review: You could probably buy every Soul Jazz compilation known to humankind and come out on top of most other people's record collections. As a label, the crew's ability to track down, rediscover, unearth, and reappraise archive music, and package things up as part of a spellbinding collection of like sounds, is remarkable, and the imprint must be up there with the best curated on the planet. The output is so good, in fact, that here we are pushing a reissue of the 2002 compilation, In The Beginning There Was Rhythm. Pieced together by Stuart Baker and Adrian Self, it's a wonderful trip into the deceptively varied world of UK post punk during its nascent, formative years. Informed by dub, psychedelia, punk, synth, samples and more, it's a celebration of a genre that proves you could spend all day listening and not really hear the same type of tune twice.

Review: Out of print for over 15 years, the Soul Jazz distributed Do It Yourself compilation offers up a bevy of both essential and niche acts from the realms of punk, post-punk, punk-funk, dance-punk and even further afield electronic experimentations where the term "punk" becomes utterly redundant. All UK artists recorded between the late 70s and 80s, the collection sonically details the aftermath of the British punk movement in real time, complete with legacy names such as Buzzcocks, A Certain Ratio and The Last Gang to Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and even Throbbing Gristle. Housed in a gatefold sleeve and spread across translucent orange vinyl 2xLP, the collection has been fully remastered and features extensive sleevenotes and photography as well as interviews with key behind-the-scene players, providing a unique insight into just how much the landscape of independent music changed after the advent of punk.