Velocity Press 57 Items

Independent as F**: Underground Hip-hop from 1995-2005 looks back at this golden era, celebrating the most important artists, record labels, 12” records, and albums, along with the stories behind them, while also shining a light on those who have since been forgotten. Lovingly researched and curated, this book is the ultimate guide to a special time in music history, one that continues to inspire each new wave of hip-hop artists decades later.

For a glorious ten-year period from 1995 to 2005, hip-hop music received a much-needed shot in the arm from a generation of determined and wildly creative rappers and producers. They rallied against the increasingly formulaic and shallow world of mainstream rap, as well as a music industry unwilling to listen.

By releasing music on their own terms as independent artists—many adopting the mantra of being “independent as fuck” as a mission statement—these hungry creatives reclaimed their artistic freedom and wore it as a badge of honour. Most importantly, they also made a lot of excellent hip-hop. What emerged was a vibrant underground music scene that stretched from New York to Los Angeles, with influence reaching across the world.

Independent As F**: Underground Hip-hop from 1995-2005 explores how a generation of rap artists rebelled against the major record labels and made music on their own terms, celebrating individuality and creative freedom. It also traces the history of some of hip-hop’s most respected artists, including MF DOOM, El-P, Mos Def, Kool Keith, and Madlib.

“Ben is an archivist of the highest regard. His Grown Up Rap pushes the myth and mythology aside for real powerful hip hop facts.” Chuck D

Based on over 300 interviews, Ukrainian Field Notes: Sound, Music & Voices From Ukraine After the Full-Scale Invasion explores how sound and listening reveal the human experience of war. It examines how the aural environment has been transformed by explosions, alarms, and their sonic by-products, and how these new acoustic realities are being reinterpreted or erased from the language of electronic music.

Since the full-scale invasion, music-making in Ukraine has adapted in remarkable ways: composing on mobile phones, streaming performances from bomb shelters, and organising festivals within curfew limits. Clubs became centres of volunteering and fundraising before regaining their cultural role once reopened. Meanwhile, the diaspora reshaped the musical landscape, severing old ties while creating new global networks of collaboration.

Ukrainian Field Notes: Sound, Music & Voices From Ukraine After the Full-Scale Invasion offers a 360-degree perspective on how sound has shaped musicians’ wartime lives and influenced evolving notions of identity – personal, collective, and postcolonial.

Quotes

“The Ukrainian electronic scene is young, naive, and perhaps beautiful. To appreciate this beauty, you need to distance yourself from it, much like observing a painting in a gallery while standing back. To comprehend this beauty, understanding alternative standards and applying them to the portrait is a must. To truly embrace this beauty, falling in love with it is required – an act that defies easy explanation. Gianmarco, however, did just that, and it becomes evident to anyone exploring his Ukrainian Field Notes. Behold.” ‭ Vlad Fisun

“I feel extremely grateful to Gianmarco Del Re, a true chronicler of Ukrainian music in wartime, who opens our culture in its multiple aspects to musical society in such a bright and relevant way that the support for Ukrainian artists is only growing, day by day.” ummsbiaus

Synthesizer Evolution: From Analogue to Digital (and Back) author Oli Freke returns with a new volume in his Synthesizer Evolution A6 zine series. The first two volumes (Vintage Synths and Drum Machines & Samplers) focused on vintage electronic instruments from the 1970s and 1980s. Volume three moves into the 21st century, showcasing a selection of the most interesting, impactful, and—arguably—best synthesizers of the past two decades.

The synths in this book celebrate the vast range of sonic possibilities now available to musicians and producers. From analogue wonders to extraordinary digital creations, from tightly designed monosynths to open-ended polyphonic beasts, each one is more marvellous than the last!

Pages: 52
Size: A6 (10.5cm x 14.8cm)
Binding: Staple bound
Print: Black & white

Written by Spiral Tribe’s co-founder and visual artist, Mark Angelo Harrison, A Darker Electricity charts the infamous sound system’s nomadic journey and the rapid escalation of their popularity – and notoriety.

From small squat-scene parties in early 90s London to enormous warehouse raves and free festivals. The undercover police operation against them. The record deal with Youth. The creation of their community recording studio. The government stitch-up and their prosecution. The escape to Europe and the start of the teknival scene.

In 2021 Velocity Press published Who Say Reload: The Stories Behind the Classic Drum & Bass Records of the 90s, an oral history of the records that defined jungle/drum & bass straight from the original sources. The deluxe coffee table book has since sold thousands of copies and prompted many to comment that it should have an accompanying soundtrack.

Now author Paul Terzulli has compiled a Who Say Reload album. However, where the book focused solely on classics and anthems, the compilation takes a different route and offers up a selection of top-quality tunes from some of the scene’s most respected artists and labels.

Like the book, the album covers the genre’s nineties golden era, and the many styles of D&B are represented. Pioneering producers and crowd-pleasing favourites sit alongside a few sought-after obscurities by the unsung heroes of the scene. Most importantly, there are some absolute bangers!

The 16 tracks are spread over two volumes of 2 x 12"s, and there is also a 13-track digital version, taking you on a journey through music forged from raw breakbeats and basslines that soundtracked a culture of all-night raves, specialist record shops and pirate radio stations.

Jungle/drum & bass is approaching its 30th anniversary. Its sonic and cultural legacy is still being felt today. There’s still plenty of old music that might be “new” to some, and these tunes still pack as much of a punch as they did back in the day. That unique energy generated by a combination of breakbeats, bass and creativity never gets old.

Produced in conjunction with Above Board distribution. All tracks mastered from original sources and fully licensed. Mastering by Beau Thomas @ Ten Eight Seven Mastering. Liner notes from Who Say Reload author Paul Terzulli. Photography by Eddie Otchere. Artwork and design by Protean Productions.

Daft Punk’s Discovery is a record that looked into the future and liked what it saw; an album that predicted the electronic music explosion, YouTube and the end of privacy, while dragging soft rock back into vogue. Discovery was not only one of the best albums of the 2000s, it was one of the most prophetic, the kind of record that makes you wonder: how did they know?

You can draw lines from Discovery to Glass Swords, Kanye West, EDM, Autotune, iTunes, Beyoncé, Guilty Pleasures, social media and more. Discovery's footprints can be found all over the modern world but it also looked back to Daft Punk’s childhood, to Van Halen records, Japanese cartoons and even Johann Sebas-tian Bach.

Discovery was a record that confounded many fans when it was released in 2001, thanks to its blatant pop hooks and unlikely sonic bricolage. It was a record that was - and still is - widely misunderstood; Discov-ery’s impact has only become clear with the passing of time, as Daft Punk have been proved right time and time again.

This book is a homage to a fascinating, troubled beast of an album that casts a huge shadow over the 21st Century, as Discovery reaches its 20th anniversary.

Written by former DJ/producer Harold Heath, Long Relationships: My Incredible Journey From Unknown DJ to Small-time DJ is a biographical account of a DJ career defined by a deep love of music and a shallow amount of success. It’s the first book to detail exactly what DJing is like for the 99% of DJs who never make it big. Covering electro, hip hop, rare groove, acid house, rave and the UK underground club scene, it’s a 30-odd year tale of a life lived in dance music. Long Relationships is full of tales of clubs, raves, warehouses, DJing, music, record production, record deals, low-level international travel, shady promoters, dodgy club security, magical dance floor moments and much more.

"As government legislation, standardised music and bad drugs forced the euphoria of the rave phenomenon into the darkness, a new underground movement emerged – the jungle and drum & bass nexus.

It was the sound of the beating heart of Britain’s multi-cultural urban rave, produced by the children of the Windrush and their closest friends, and distilled via the journey from a Tivoli Gardens soundclash, to the UK’s inner city blues parties and onto jazz-funk all-dayers and soul weekenders.

It was a space that was forged in the hidden edges of urban warehouses and the darkened recesses of clubland’s backrooms; schooled in the swagger of dancehall, the thunder of hardcore, the fury of bebop and the depth charge of dub.

Jungle and drum & bass was like nothing else the world had experienced before – simultaneously black and white, urban and suburban, old skool attitude and new school innovation. A socio-cultural melting pot of early-90s broken Britain seizing the wheel and taking control of the machine.

Originally published in 1997, State of Bass explores the scene’s roots through its social, cultural and musical antecedents and on to its emergence via the debate that surrounded the apparent split between jungle and drum & bass. Drawing on interviews with some of the key figures in the early years State of Bass explores the sonic shifts and splinters of new variants, styles and subgenres as it charts the journey from the early days as the deliberately hidden underground, ignored by the media in favour of the post-rave progressive house scene, to its position as a global phenomenon.

State of Bass: The Origins of Jungle and Drum & Bass extends the original text to include the award of the Mercury Prize to Roni Size & Reprazent for the groundbreaking New Forms album and brings new perspectives to the story of the UK’s most important subterranean urban energy.



Quotes

“Cogent, well researched and hardly oblivious to the nutty charisma of jungle’s lexicon and nomenclature. The first serious attempt to document the drum & bass realm is a total success.”
Select

“Exceedingly well researched, endlessly authoritative and undeniably ace…”
Melody Maker

“(State of Bass) deserves a special mention. A thorough account of the story of jungle.”
Ben Osborne, author of The A-Z of Club Culture

“The best book so far on the evolution of drum & bass”
Sheryl Garratt, author of Adventures in Wonderland: a decade of club culture

“Martin James comes up trumps with an in-depth examination of Jungle’s roots, history and even a recommended listening guide.”
Muzik

“Essential reading for anyone who is interested not only in the jungle scene… but in dance in general, in the music industry as a whole or even British society and its infrastructures.”
DJ

“An acutely perceptive and thought-provoking account of the circumstances and celebrities surrounding the development of a modern music that we can finally call our own.”
The Scotsman

“Well worth rattling through if you can track it down.”
FACT

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Whether you’re launching a record label or taking your music career into your own hands, the second edition of The Label Machine gives you a complete system. It combines timeless industry knowledge with fresh insights into today’s fast-changing landscape, including the use of AI, new licensing models, and current marketing strategies that actually work.

With the addition of the 360° Music System, artists will learn how to treat their careers like a business, unlocking long-term fanbase growth, recurring income streams, and professional-level releases. From mastering contracts to automating marketing funnels, it provides the strategy and execution roadmap that the industry never hands you. If you’re serious about music as a business, The Label Machine is your playbook.

The Label Machine: Build Your Music Career With The Record Label Model returns in a significantly revised and expanded second edition. Since its first publication in 2021, it has become the go-to resource for musicians eager to make a living in a turbulent industry.

In this highly anticipated new edition, Nick Sadler reveals how to build a profitable career with the many tools at our fingertips in the post-COVID era and beyond, from conquering social media and mastering the digital landscape to embracing authentic fan connection and simply learning how to persevere.

The second edition breaks down these phenomena and more, resulting in a timeless must-have for anyone hoping to navigate the increasingly complex yet advantageous landscape that is the modern music business.

QUOTES

“The Label Machine gives you a clear, step-by-step process to help you carve out your personal career path in today’s music industry. While many timeless rules still hold true, the breakdown of traditional labels means artists need new tools and this book delivers.” Markee Ledge (Sony BMG, Island, & Universal)

“The Label Machine has been the best possible companion I could have had on my journey building my record label. It’s like having a mentor in print and has turned what felt like a mountain into a mapped-out path. It’s easily the best investment I’ve made in my music career.” Phil Cleeves (Label Manager – Dub From The Ruins)

“Nick’s constant source of advice and knowledge gave us the backbone on which we run our label; he knows his stuff!” The Prototypes (Get Hype Records)

“Having founded and run many successful indie labels over the years, Nick Sadler has all the knowledge you need to start your own imprint. His record label knowledge is so vast he has literally written the book on it.” Matt Ryan (Par Excellence Management)

“Nick’s breadth of knowledge of the music industry has been invaluable to me over the years, especially while navigating the business aspects of the industry. He totally takes the headache out of distributing, marketing and selling music.” Molly Beanland (former artist on Island Records)

“This is a great resource, and it has a lot of information that is compiled into one place that’s easy to find” Roy Lindsey (Dapr Music)

“It gave me a lot more direction and I knew what to focus on. Everything is so easily mapped out” Dave Strickland (Sensible Recordings)

“I love the fact I have a step by step formula. It was all laid out in an easy-to-follow and concise way.” Greg Rose (Franklin)

“With this system, I can keep my focus clear. You are correct when you say to me: when you’ve set it up, then it’s easy.” Nenad Ruvidic (Parallel Audio)

“It’s just a good framework that doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else. It’s really useful, really positive.” Paul Twomey (Obliviate Records)

“It’s really well organised and everything seems easier like this… the strategy and organization are really nice. The checklists were really important in my opinion, really useful” Sergio Abraço (Tribe in Live Records)

“Nick’s training and mentorship are amazing, the amount of content and diligence is incredible. Big love to you!” David Mérismé (Glockwork Records)

“I would highly recommend to any artist and/or producer, new or experienced, there is a lot to gain from The Label Machine” Gemma Dobson (Siren)

“You make it so easy to understand every task and your help is always there.” Mario DS (Self Made Click Records)

phatmedia presents UK Rave Flyers 1988 –1989 is a deluxe book showcasing original flyers from the breakthrough years of UK acid house. Sourced from the phatmedia archive and beyond, it captures the raw energy of a scene that exploded from underground parties into a nationwide movement.

Featuring high-quality reproductions of flyers promoting warehouse raves, club nights and early promoters, the book highlights the DIY creativity and bold visual style that defined the era. It’s a visual journey through the scene’s formative years, with the narrative led by the flyers themselves, interspersed with quotes from DJs, designers, promoters and ravers. This commentary offers cultural context, making this an essential document of one of the most radical and influential moments in British youth culture.

phatmedia presents UK Rave Flyers 1988 – 1989 includes over 800 flyers from iconic events like Shoom, Hedonism, Future, Spectrum, Land Of Oz, Apocalypse Now, Hypnosis, Sunrise, RIP, Coozz, Trip, Sin, Genesis, Rage, Wetworld, Rave At The Cave, Boilerhouse, Trip City, the Hacienda and many more one-off and smaller promotions.

It also includes commentary from Dave Little, Andy Boilerhouse, Pez, Steve Reid (Shoom), Ellis Dee, Chalk E White, Nicky Holloway, Mr C, Ratpack & many more. Plus, photos from clubs of the era taken by Dave Swindells, Kevin Cummins, Peter J Walsh and Gavin Watson.

The book is A4 (30cm x 21cm), and the pages are printed on premium heavyweight paper.

Quotes

“We would be lost without Dave’s incredible documentation of flyer history. If we didn’t have his absolute precision in sharing dates within the timeline. So much of the exact history would be lost. phatmedia is an asset to the entire rave scene and history.” Billy Daniel Bunter

“Rave flyers capture an essential piece of cultural history. More than just advertisements, they reflect the creative energy of the early rave scene and serve as a window into the underground music culture of the time. Each flyer tells a story about the events, people, and communities that helped shape the movement.” Eddie Richards

“This book is more than just a collection of flyers; it’s a time machine. It’s a tribute to the birth of a culture that shook the world. We built something from nothing. Every flyer, every illegal rave, every risk we took, it created a movement that would become a multi-million pound industry.” DJ Phantasy

On September 18, 2016, Keith Robinson, a pioneering figure in the free party scene, tragically lost his life in the River Thames. To say Keith lived an eventful life would be an understatement. In 2011 he started writing his autobiography and involvement with the Desert Storm Sound System but never completed it. It’s taken this long – and lots of hurdles to overcome – to bring Keith’s story to the world.

Take No Prisoners: The Desert Storm Sound System Story covers his childhood and first forays into parties (and brushes with the law) in Glasgow, the infamous trips to Bosnia during the Balkans conflict, the anti-Criminal Justice Bill and Reclaim The Streets demos in Trafalgar Square, joining the army and serving in Afghanistan. The book also contains many photos from Keith’s life, a foreword by Matthew Collin (author of Dream Machines, Rave On and Altered State) and an epilogue written by Ray Philp (Red Bull Music Academy).

Keith Robinson, known affectionately to his friends as ‘Keef’, was the founder and driving force behind Desert Storm Sound System from its early days putting on the first free parties in Glasgow and the West of Scotland through to his place at the forefront of the fight against 1994’s Criminal Justice Act and the Reclaim the Streets Campaign, and on to his amazing journey to Bosnia in 1995.

Over the 25 years of his involvement in the free party and techno scenes, Keef inspired and influenced so many people across Europe. His organisational skills were almost as legendary as his capacity for decadent levels of partying, but he was also very much an innovator and someone determined to bring a sense of social conscience to what was often a purely hedonistic scene.

At the time of his death, Keith was in the process of having his life and experiences turned into a book from his often manic notes. It’s taken nearly nine years but it’s worth the wait. His story needs to be recorded for posterity, to remember the many moments of joy and happiness he brought to friends and acquaintances, and to stand as an inspiration to a new generation.

Quotes

“Keith was one of the most remarkable and inspiring characters in UK rave culture history – an intrepid motivator who led a thrilling life to a heartbreaking conclusion.” Matthew Collin (author of Dream Machines, Rave On and Altered State)

“Keith fearlessly brought the healing energy of music to where it was most needed. Whether that was across borders into war-torn Bosnia, or through police roadblocks to fill the empty spaces in Britain’s soul.” Mark Angelo Harrison (author of A Darker Electricity: The Origins of the Spiral Tribe Sound System)

“I think in any life, and especially the party scene, just occasionally we come across someone whose charisma, energy and sheer lust for life takes your breath away. They say that those stars which burn the brightest burn the fastest and that was Keith. A rare soul, a legend, a tragic loss…” Harry Harrison (author of Dreaming in Yellow: The Story of the DiY Sound System)

“Keith was that rare character: a person you’d meet once and remember for the rest of your life. A lot of people will rightly admire him for being a lifelong raver, and the most interesting person at any party. But his appetite for life was only matched by a real, no-BS compassion for other people. We could all be more like Keith.” Ray Philp (RBMA/Microplastics)

Synthesizer Evolution: From Analogue to Digital (and Back) author Oli Freke returns with a new volume in his Synthesizer Evolution A6 zine series. The modular resurgence of the past 25 years has been a wonder to behold. Where musicians were once chained to their DAWs, we are now liberated once again to wire, patch, and modulate in the real world, choosing from a mind-boggling array of options.

Modular Greats celebrates the fusion of art, logic, science, and serendipity in modular synthesis, highlighting some of the best-selling, most creative, and most impactful modules of the 21st century. Featured manufacturers include Make Noise, Mutable Instruments, TipTop Audio, Intellijel, Rossum Electro-Music, Doepfer—and many more!

Pages: 52
Size: A6 (10.5cm x 14.8cm)
Binding: Staple bound
Print: Black & white

Selling The Night is the first book to join the dots between club culture and the wider creative industries. Exploring links with advertising, tourism, gaming, design, fashion and beyond, it provides numerous fascinating touch points. It also considers how to keep club culture alive; its future role in shaping opportunities and nurturing creativity. The book hears from more than 100 DJs, promoters, marketers, academics, activists, archivists, policymakers, photographers, writers and designers, including New York disco legend Nicky Siano, DJ/producer/educator King Britt, Hacienda designer Ben Kelly, DJ and tastemaker Jamz Supernova and many more.

They say nothing good happens after midnight, but in the case of creativity, that’s just not so. The night fosters a different kind of creativity: something urgent, spontaneous, carved out of necessity. Tracking the past, present and future of this complex dynamic, Selling The Night explores what happens when after-dark creativity influences wider culture and converges with everything from media, advertising, design and to gaming, fashion, hospitality, alcohol, beauty, tourism and far beyond. Also, as importantly, the implications of brands taking space within dance music as sponsors and supporters.

Author Andy Crysell speaks to DJs, promoters, marketers, academics, activists, archivists, policymakers, photographers, writers and designers. He samples KFC through to Fiorucci, Absolut and Red Bull, and moves from New York disco to the modern global underground.

Selling The Night witnesses how ideas migrate from subculture to influence the creative industries. It goes in search of lessons in improving the value exchange between dance music and brands, seeking something more symbiotic and less parasitic. All the while, it celebrates what makes after-dark ideas so special – the unique and democratising role they play.

“So much has changed in dance music over the decades. Selling The Night offers a very timely look at the role that brands and culture marketing have played in the past and will play in the future.” Kazim Rashid (Resident Advisor)

“The friction created when youth subcultures meet corporate cultures is long overdue a deconstruction, Selling The Night is necessary reading on how and why there is a transfer of time and money between consumer brands and cultural ecosystems; and what both sectors have to gain and lose through these relationships.” Finlay Johnson (Association For Electronic Music)

Following on from his 2021 book, Synthesizer Evolution: From Analogue to Digital (and Back), Oli Freke returns with a Synthesizer Evolution A6 zine series.

Drum machines and samplers have something of a shared history and this zine celebrates their invention and by picking out 46 of the most influential, important or most interesting drum machines and samplers from 1949 – 1996. Explore the most legendary drum machines and samplers ever created, including the Roland TR-808, Roland TR-909, Akai S1000, Fairlight CMI, Akai MPC60 and more, with detailed descriptions and the stories behind their development.

The earliest rhythm machines from the 1960s (and even earlier) used unwieldy sound generation techniques such as tape or other electro-mechanical means. However, the application of the transistor from the early 1970s swiftly saw an improvement in sound quality, usability and commercialisation of the drum machine.

These same transistors, minuaturised into microchips, also enabled the wider take-up of digital sampling in the 1970s – albeit initially at vast cost. As the 1980s wore on, silicon became cheaper and samplers became ubiquitous.

Drum machines took advantage by first incorporating sampled drum sounds, providing increased realism over their analogue predecessors. They then went full hybrid with the creation of the ‘music production workstation’ – a slick combination of drum machine, sampler and sequencer, much favoured by the hip-hop community.

Both music production workstation and ‘pure sampler’ brought a revolutionary new approach to music making – whether in newly realistic replications of acoustic instruments, the recycling of old music and records into new, exciting collage styles, or by simply facilitating new approaches to sound design.

All of this furious development, enabled by silicon chips and their reducing cost, caused the development of brand new styles of music from hip-hop to rave, and from newly lush film scores to the experimental avante-garde.

Pages: 52
Size: A6 (10.5cm x 14.8cm)
Binding: Staple bound
Print: Black & white

Following on from his 2021 book, Synthesizer Evolution: From Analogue to Digital (and Back), Oli Freke returns with a Synthesizer Evolution A6 zine series.

The invention of the synthesizer in the 1960s changed musical culture and music production forever, giving musicians whole new worlds of sound to play with. Vintage Synths celebrates that invention and its subsequent history by picking out 46 of the most influential, important or most interesting synths from 1939 – 1998. They represent the introduction of a new technology, had a particular impact, or maybe even formed the basis of entirely new genres.

Explore the most legendary synthesizers ever created, including the Minimoog, ARP 2600, Yamaha DX7, Roland Jupiter 8 and more, with detailed descriptions and the stories behind their development.

Vintage Synths delves into the fascinating world of synthesizers, tracing their evolution from the early days of analogue synthesis to the modern digital era, and exploring the recent resurgence of analogue synthesizers.

Synthesizer Evolution Vintage Synths takes readers on an inspiring journey through the history and technology behind these iconic musical instruments. From the earliest electronic experiments to the cutting-edge digital synthesizers of today, this zine provides a comprehensive overview of how synthesizers have shaped the world of music.

Accompanying are illustrations that celebrate the visual qualities of synthesizers – not only have they produced the sound of the future, but they have also looked like the future since the earliest days.

Whether you’re a seasoned synthesizer player, a music producer, or simply an enthusiast, Vintage Synths is a valuable resource that offers both technical depth and historical context.

Pages: 52
Size: A6 (10.5cm x 14.8cm)
Binding: Staple bound
Print: Black & white

Published to mark Resident Advisor’s 25th birthday, Front Left is a first-of-its-kind collection of journalism documenting the last quarter century of electronic music and club culture.

More canonical record than retrospective, the book draws from 25 years of RA’s archives—features, interviews, reportage, films and more—accompanied by newly commissioned introductions from some of club culture’s most esteemed voices. Across four themed chapters, the book maps the geographic explosion of electronic music and the regional identities it forges; the promoters and parties that have defined moments in time; the artists and visionaries driving the music forward; and the ideas, trends and behaviours that have transformed how music is made, shared and experienced.

Featuring dozens of pioneers and touchstones essential to modern electronic culture, Front Left puts a stake in the ground to honour the art of electronic music.

In a moment when music media feels increasingly fragile, RA want to create something tangible and irreplaceable. Curated by RA’s editorial leadership, Front Left draws from 25 years of their archives: features, interviews, reportage, films and more, originally published from 2001 to today.

These selections are accompanied by newly commissioned introductions from some of club culture’s most esteemed voices: Mark Leckey, Call Super, Cherie Hu, Sam Valenti IV and Frankie Decaiza Hutchinson.

Across four themed chapters, Front Left maps the geographic explosion of electronic music and the regional identities it forges; the promoters and parties that have defined moments in time; the artists and visionaries driving the music forward; and the ideas, trends and behaviours that have transformed how music is made, shared and experienced.

The book features dozens of wide-ranging topics and musical pioneers, all essential to modern electronic culture. These include Björk, Larry Heard, Ricardo Villalobos, Floating Points, Eris Drew, Moodymann, Aphex Twin, Dixon, Skee Mask and Charli xcx, as well as Japan’s Rainbow Disco Club, Uganda’s Nyege Nyege, the Netherlands’ Thunderdome, Glastonbury’s NYC Downlow and the Detroit Electronic Music Festival.

Designed by 12:01, the studio of groundbreaking New York creative director Hassan Rahim, the book is constructed to be a lasting collector’s piece as much as a document of the era.

Quotes
“RA has produced the highest quality club culture journalism for the longest time, available for free globally. That accessibility has been crucial, because it’s helped break talent from corners of the world lacking major media infrastructure or local industry opportunities. It has lifted niche scenes to global audiences, and it’s acted as a pulse for what you might miss if you only analyse the commercial ends of the culture.” – Elijah

“Over the last 25 years, many of the platforms and publications that were part of the dance music ecosystem have disappeared. RA is holding tight, and still investing in deep, rich documentation and storytelling. This is good for everyone, whether that’s writers, artists or audiences. Times change, but the need for reflections on the culture never goes away.” – Emma Warren

The previously untold story of British dance music’s first sub-bass revolution, tracing the origins, development, impact and influence of bleep techno, and the subsequent musical styles it inspired, on UK club culture.

Originally published in 2019, it has now been revised, updated and expanded. Errors have been corrected, some chapters have been expanded, analysis has been added and further footnotes have been included to include even more information and citations.

There’s also now an additional ‘Afterword’ chapter that reflects on the story, the author’s journey as a researcher, and changing perspectives around UK dance music history.

"Since the dawn of the 1990s, British dance music has been in thrall to the seductive power of weighty sub-bass. It is a key ingredient in a string of British-pioneered genres, including hardcore, jungle, drum & bass, dubstep, UK garage and grime.

In the Join The Future book, dance music journalist Matt Anniss (Resident Advisor, DJ Magazine, Red Bull Music Academy) traces the roots, origins, development and legacy of the sound that started it all: the first distinctively British form of electronic dance music, bleep techno.

A mixture of social, cultural, musical and oral history, Join The Future reveals the untold stories of bleep’s Yorkshire pioneers and those that came in their wake, moving from electro all-dayers and dub soundsystem clashes of the mid-1980s to the birth of hardcore and jungle in London and the South East.

Along the way, you’ll find first-hand accounts of key clubs and raves, biographies of forgotten and overlooked production pioneers, stories of bleep outposts in Canada and the United States, and the inside story of the early years of one of electronic music’s most iconic labels, Warp Records.

Based on five years of research and hundreds of hours of new interviews, the book is a radical alternative history of the rise of British dance music during the late 80s and early 90s.

Join The Future is also available as a compilation album.

Quotes

“This was a vital creative era in British electronic music that deserved deeper exploration, so Matt Anniss’ history of ‘bleep and bass’, which sets the sound in the socio-political environment of its time, is a significant addition to the literature of dance culture.”
Matthew Collin, author of ‘Altered State’ and ‘Rave On’

“You wouldn’t have had hardcore had it not been for bleep. If you took bleep out of the equation, Britsh dance music would be completely different.”
Mark Archer, Altern8

“Bleep provided the building blocks of the UK sound that followed – the emotions, the edge, the darkness and the sub-bass. Later generations have taken these elements and done something new, but the fundamentals are still there.”
Neil Landstrumm"

Written by Harry Harrison, one of DiY’s founding members, Dreaming in Yellow traces their origins back to early formative experiences, describing in detail the seminal clubs, parties, festivals and records that forged the collective. Dreaming in Yellow is an attempt to distil the story of DiY’s tumultuous existence and the remarkably eclectic, outrageous and occasionally deranged story of them doing it themselves.

The Secret DJ’s first two books lifted the lid on what really happens behind the decks in the sometimes hilarious, sometimes harrowing world of the superstar DJ. Now they’ve reached out to dozens of DJs from around the world – and from every scene and genre – for their own true stories of the DJ life.

Tales From the Booth raises the BPM, rounding up an all-star cast of Secret DJs to tell their anonymous stories of what it’s really like to rock dancefloors for a living. From strange encounters on tour to side-splitting debauchery and afterparty excess to the seamy and even dangerous side of the industry, this is your access-all-areas backstage pass. You’ll never look at a DJ quite the same again.

Out of Space plots a course through the different UK towns and cities club culture has found a home. From Glasgow to Margate via Manchester, Sheffield and unlikely dance music meccas such as Coalville and Todmorden, this book maps where electronic music has thrived, and where it might be headed next…

Please note that Out Of Space is available as a paperback and postage is charged separately. There’s no postage charge for the ebook option which will be delivered as an epub file.

The first up to date, post-pandemic, no-borders era book to cover Berlin’s role as an electronic music and cultural capital. Coming To Berlin breaks the tradition of Berlin’s perception as techno ground zero and shows the true diversity and richness that make up the city. Written by a former Londoner who made Berlin his home, the book captures nuances and details of living in Berlin that will be immediately relatable to fellow Berliners yet at the same time captures the city’s creative, free-living essence to anyone with a curiosity for Berlin and a love of electronic music.

In the summer of 1989, when Trevor Miller’s Trip City book was first released with a five-track cassette EP by A Guy Called Gerald, there had been no other British novel like it. For 2021, Trip City came back and the original soundtrack by A Guy Called Gerald was also reissued on vinyl for the first time as part of a bundle with the book. Now the vinyl is available to buy on its own.

In the summer of 1989, when Trip City was first released with a five-track cassette EP by A Guy Called Gerald, there had been no other British novel like it. This was the down and dirty side of London nightclubs, dance music and the kind of hallucinogenic drug sub-culture that hadn't really been explored since Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Maybe this is why Trip City is still known as "the acid house novel" and an underground literary landmark. Over the decades, Trip City became shrouded in scandal and mystery. The original London book launch literally descended into a riot - shut-down by the Metropolitan Police. Everyone from the makers of Raiders Of The Lost Ark through the director of Candyman tried to adapt the book into a movie - but imploded in the process. And the galleys of the 25th-anniversary edition were destroyed in a fire before they could even be proofed or printed. Perhaps Trip City is uniquely summed-up by the original publisher, sci-fi legend Brian Aldiss, who wrote of the novel: "In the vintage of Thomas De Quincey's Confessions Of An English Opium Eater - but smack up to date. It's about a young man's descent into hell - a hell that looks very much like London."

"Legendary drum & bass magazine Knowledge returns for a one-off special book to celebrate their 25th anniversary. It's been ten years since the last issue and five years since they called it a day and over the years people have clamoured for its return but Knowledge always resisted the temptation. So why are they bringing it back now? Well, they feel they have unfinished business. Reaching 20 years was such an important milestone but it was a bittersweet moment and they didn't celebrate it at all because they knew the end was coming. What better way to mark their 25th anniversary than with one last issue?

Knowledge Magazine returns with a special one-off book celebrating their 25th anniversary. There have been some special issues in the past but this is the biggest and best Knowledge ever. This is one for the collectors:

10” x 10” large format book
Hardback material cover with debossed logo
Premium 130gsm matt art paper
160 full-colour pages featuring new and classic long-form features and interviews"

Who Say Reload is an oral history of the records that defined jungle/drum n bass straight from the original sources. The likes of Goldie, DJ Hype, Roni Size, Andy C, 4 Hero and many more talk about the influences, environment, equipment, samples, beats and surprises that went into making each classic record. Photography is provided by Eddie Otchere who has an extensive archive of images, having been the photographer at Goldie's seminal Metalheadz nights. His previously unseen visuals capture the essence of the music in a way that only someone who was fully immersed in the culture at the time could, and are the perfect accompaniment to the story being told.

"The Secret DJ returns with the follow-up to their acclaimed debut book. Less a sequel and more a panoramic wide-angle painting of the biggest youth movement in human history, The Secret DJ: Book Two charts the rise of dance music over the last 30 years and its connection to western capitalism and culture.

While never claiming to be instrumental, The Secret DJ was around for every stage of the journey and is a continually wry observer of this unstoppable growth. The Secret DJ’s signature humour and wit are ever-present in this ascent, charting personal ups and downs as well as the buying and selling of the acid house revolution.

Covering topics as wide as drugs, music production, anthropology, the gentrification of the scene, technology, travel, fame, devaluation, inflation, relationships, technique, festivals, rejection, social media, situationism and hypernormalisation; almost no aspect of the last four decades go unmentioned in terms of what we know today as Electronic Dance Music.

“No one in publishing would have the balls to touch this book with a bargepole,” says the Secret DJ. “It takes courage to speak up. There’s not much in the way of reward for telling it like it is, not any more. If you expose an industry, that industry hates you for life with the intensity of the sun. I have nothing but admiration for Velocity Press, they’ve taken a big risk working with me. I appreciate it greatly. It’s good to know there are still people out there willing to stand up.”

“I loved The Secret DJ – some all-too-familiar characters mixed with the highs and lows of what this industry can throw at you. Excited and intrigued to read the second instalment… how much more extreme can it get?!” – Denney

“I never read books about electronic music, why would I? But I guess The Secret DJ is more an anarchist handbook for shattered dreamers than a manual on how to make it big on the scene. Can’t wait for his new adventures.” – Ivan Smagghe

“We all have war stories, us jobbing night-lifers. From having sets ended by soldiers with automatic weapons in Juarez to coming-round in Glasgow city centre suddenly best pals with a gangster who’s most affectionate nickname was ‘Wolf’. I’ve bagged a couple over the years. And yours are undoubtedly more vivid, funnier or more ludicrous than mine. The Secret DJ’s are better still.” – Ewan Pearson

“I loved book one, waiting to live the DJ life vicariously again thru book two!” – Arthur Baker

“The Secret DJ’s first book managed to do something very different to the existing dance music memoirs (and I should know as I have read them all). It functioned not only as a hilarious jaunt through the insanity of the glory years of dance music – i.e. when there was still money in music – but as a harrowing portrayal of the emotionally, physically and mentally taxing straits an international DJ will find themselves in. Anyone with even a passing curiosity about ‘the industry’ should read it and await its follow up, especially if they have any frankly dangerous notions of joining up professionally, which I cannot in all good conscience recommend.” – Manu Ekanayake (music and culture journalist)

“It’s rare for a writer to capture the excitement and absurdity of dance music culture at the same time, but the Secret DJ did that to great effect in the first book. This latest chapter in the story promises to be every bit as exhilarating, providing an important critical voice at a time when ‘the society of the spectacle’ threatens to suck the life out of those clinging to the acid house dream.” – Justin Robertson

“The first book is a raw, effective and bizarrely emotional tale of ‘the life’. Superbly true and direct. I can hardly wait to hear the tale of the music movement being told by The Secret DJ in Book Two!” – Miguel Campbell

“The Secret DJ returns to once again pull back the curtain on the world of dance music and the sometimes harsh, but always hilarious, realities of what lurks behind it. Get ready for a second descent into the far(cical) side.” – Neville Watson

“Really enjoyed the first book, both hilarious debauchery and insightful commentary on a world usually kept behind the curtain. I’m looking forward to the next instalment, hoping for a lot more righteous anger within.” – Posthuman

“Every participant in the music industry will wince at the thought of falling under the glance of the Secret DJ’s withering pen, but still find themselves avidly leafing through his pages for the merest mention.” – Carl Puttnam (Cud)"

"The first decades of the 21st century saw dramatic changes in the music industry as new technology transformed creation, communication, and consumption. Amid this turmoil one change occurred relatively quietly, almost naturally: so-called bedroom producers, music makers raised on hip-hop and electronic music, went from anonymous, often unseen creators to artists in their own right.

In Bedroom Beats & B-sides: Instrumental Hip Hop & Electronic Music at the Turn of the Century, Laurent Fintoni details the rise of a new generation of bedroom producers at the turn of the century through the stories of various instrumental hip-hop and electronic music scenes. From trip-hop, jungle, illbient, and IDM in the 1990s to just “beats” in the late 2000s, the book explores how these scenes acted as incubators for new ideas about composition and performance that are now taken for granted.

Combining social, cultural, and musical history with extensive research, the book tells the B-side stories of hip-hop and electronic music from the 1990s to the 2010s and explores the evolution of a modern beat culture from local scenes to a global community via the diverse groups of fringe idealists who made it happen and the external forces that shaped their efforts.

Includes quotes and stories drawn from more than 100 interviews with producers, DJs, label owners, and more including James Lavelle, Charlie Dark, Luke Vibert, Mark Pritchard, Flying Lotus, Georgia Anne Muldrow, El-P, Hudson Mohawke, Kode9, Prefuse 73, Anti Pop Consortium, Dabrye, Waajeed, Tekilatex, Ghislain Poirier, Kutmah, LuckyMe, Benji B, The Bug, and many more.

Bedroom Beats & B-sides is the first comprehensive history of the instrumental hip-hop and electronic scenes and a truly global look at a thirty-year period of modern music culture based on a decade of research and travel across Europe, North America, and Japan.

Laurent Fintoni says: “This book is a deeply personal project that has consumed me for over 20 years. I hope it can do some justice to the vibrancy and importance of the culture it seeks to celebrate and its people. I am grateful to Velocity Press for taking a chance on me as a first-time author and giving me space and support to tell the first, but hopefully not the last, version of this story.”

Quotes

“Laurent Fintoni has created an epic tome of information. It’s one of the best examples of connecting the dots between many facets of electronic music. He writes similar to a DJ seamlessly transitioning from one point to the other, with visual vigour. Not since Kwodo Eshun’s More Brilliant Than The Sun, has someone delved this deep between the beats.”

King Britt

“As hip-hop has erupted over four decades to become the dominant genre of the 2020s, this work casts essential analysis on an influential set of producers who rose from obscurity to influence pop culture. It’s a story of changes in music technology and musical education, but crucially of how a small set of outsiders sought to hack, adapt, and break their technology in pursuit of making something expressive and new. In appropriation of tech and genre, the beat scene is a worthy analogue to consider a culture facing the failures of postmodernism, and the opportunities of a new age in media.”

Dominic Flannigan (LuckyMe)

“Finally a deep dive into one of the more interesting new musical trajectories of the modern era.”

Sam Valenti IV (Ghostly)

“The music industry was caught looking the other way, head in the sand, handing out golden parachutes. In the used bins we would marvel at their trash, what they couldn’t sink their teeth into, upcycling it in our way.”

Daedelus (Brainfeeder)

We Are Rupture: Signals from the Heart of the Rave marks two decades of the seminal London club night and record label founded by Double O & Mantra. Rooted in community, Blackness and sound system heritage, Rupture has always centred the people who built it – this book honours their experience.

Gathering stories, poems and reflections from dancers, artists and event producers, it asks a question bigger than any anniversary: why do we rave, and why does it matter now more than ever? From international ravers making the pilgrimage to Corsica Studios, to rave as grief processing and somatic healing, this book captures something that goes far beyond the dance floor. With contributions from Fabio, DJ Storm, Tim Reaper, DJ Flight and many more, this is a living document of 20 years of modern jungle.

“This book is a beautiful, moving collection of intimate reflections, personal testimony, incredible images, and collective shared memory, perfectly encapsulating the true spirit of UK sound heritage, rave, and jungle dance floors more specifically. Flick through the pages and immerse yourself in the spiritual quest we find ourselves joined together on – for love, peace, and harmonious beats. We Are One. We Are Rupture.” DJ Flight

“So much more than a club-night or a record label, Rupture has become a nexus point for jungle/drum & bass, helping to galvanise a new generation of clubbers, DJs and producers, while reenergising the scene’s seasoned heads… Foundational artists and new kids on the block are held in equally high regard; people otherwise separated or even marginalised by age, race, gender or sexuality are welcomed in the booth and on the dancefloor. The roots and the future join forces – history is both appreciated and made.” Ben Hindle (DJ Mag)

“Rupture has unknowingly paved the way for the entire [modern jungle] movement. The way that they’ve supported so many people from so many places in the scene. I think it’s at the heart of it all. It’s love; it’s a community. You come [to Rupture] as a raver, as an artist, whatever involvement you have, it’s the same faces, and the new faces are integrated into it so well. It’s just such a welcoming community of great people” Mani Festo

“This isn’t about us; this isn’t about Rupture; This is about the music being driven forward and the whole culture, leaving a legacy and wanting it to build…People from all walks of life, together, connected through music, is really, really powerful. It’s spiritual.” DJ Mantra

The Motel: High Times in 90s Ibiza by Claire Manumission is a vivid, first-hand chronicle of Ibiza’s explosive club scene during the 1990s, seen through the eyes of one of its key protagonists. Claire’s incredible, unique story takes place at the intersection of art and hedonism and at a time in the late 20th century when seismic changes in dance music and clubbing were about to change mainstream youth culture forever. Claire was there at the epicentre – curator, performer, muse and twisted ringmaster.

The Motel is a raucous, jaw-dropping adrenaline hit that captures a unique moment in time, place and culture. For the first time, Claire opens the door on the wild, scandalous early Manumission years — raw, radiant, and utterly unfiltered.

‘Wild as True Romance. Immersive as Berghain at 4 a.m. Beautiful as Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet. Forged in the legendary world of Ibiza’s Manumission.’

In 1994, nineteen-year-old Claire books a one-way ticket to Ibiza. Here she meets Mike, the young artist and architect behind Manumission, and they begin a passionate affair. But this is not your average love story.

‘The Motel’ is a transgressive modern-day counterculture classic.

Quotes

“The Motel was a cavern of chaos where the fun just never stopped. You literally did not know what sort of a day you were going to wake up into. Or if you were going to wake up. Or even go to bed at all, ever again. All you could be assured of is that you’d be talking about it for years to come.” Irvine Welsh

“Everything in the world was going on in that little Motel.” Kym Mazelle

“Mike and Claire Manumission have had more to do with sculpting the Ibiza we see today than anyone else.” BBC Radio 1

“Mike and Claire were the main instigators for much of the major mayhem on the island of Ibiza.” Fatboy Slim

“We went to Manumission…People might have been half naked but they all looked so bloody happy. I was so ratted that I was wrapped ’round this lap dancing pole, desperate to get up on stage myself. Norman kept grabbing me, saying, ‘Remember who you are’.” Zoe Ball

“It’s hard to put into words just how great Manumission was.” Carl Cox

“It was the club night that transformed Ibiza into a giant clubbing holiday centre. It brought theatre and fun into clubbing. More than any other 1990s superclub, it brought a louche, bohemian sexual decadence. More importantly, Manumission is credited with putting Ibiza back on page one of the hedonist’s handbook as the only destination for the E generation.” The Independent

“I went with my brother to Manumission; I remember just watching people and thinking, ‘Wow, in this moment these people could take over the world.” Jonathan Anderson (Creative Director, DIOR)

Rave to the Grave by Yushy is a documentary photography zine capturing over three years of Cardiff’s underground drum & bass culture through immersive, first-hand imagery and narrative. Born from the author’s serendipitous entry into the scene as a university photographer in 2017, the project chronicles every kind of event in the city – from sprawling warehouse raves to intimate gatherings – and documents the raw energy, community bonds, and expressive freedom of the scene in motion.

Yushy originally self-published a limited edition run of 200 copies of Rave to the Grave in 2020, which quickly sold out. This edition has 100 pages (eight more than the first run).

Commentary by Yushy: “I spent 2017 – 2019 documenting almost every drum & bass rave across Cardiff. When I was supposed to be studying at university, I spent many, many hours photographing everything from raves in abandoned churches to mega raves that held over 10,000 people. I went into every rave head-first with one camera, one lens and a flash. Not knowing what to really expect, I just continued to go because I was interested in raving culture.”

Pages: 100
Size: A5 (21cm x 14.8cm)
Binding: Perfect bound
Print: Black & white

The greatest album ever recorded was made after the end of the world. Forged by a megalithic stone and two dogs in the ruins of humanity, The MineralTail remains the most mysterious record in existence – a masterpiece of ingenuity, passion, and divine accident. For decades, it has topped every chart and defied every explanation. Now, for the first time, comes the true story of how it was made.

From the drum machine planet to the abduction of Nick Drake, from the riffs of the Great God Pan to cosmic acts of musical rebellion, Justin Robertson’s psychedelic odyssey rewires the myths of creation through feedback, faith, and rhythm.

Part cosmic comedy, part rock ’n’ roll revelation, The MineralTail is a love letter to sound itself – a reminder that music is not just heard, but dreamed into being.

Praise for Justin Robertson

“A true testament of imagination; a time-travelling, psychedelic odyssey featuring a dog. The MineralTail is a cosmic happening to lose yourself in across multiple dimensions.” – Lally Macbeth (co-founder of Stone Club and author of The Lost Folk)

“What an extraordinary piece of writing it is. Your book is rather like an artwork. Bravo.” – Ewan Morrison (author of Nina X and For Emma)

“A writer of fierce and vivid imagination. A promising new star of dark fantasy.” – Michael Moorcock

As queer nightlife moves from the margins to the mainstream, what have we lost – and what can we still gain? Part cultural history, part manifesto, Club‬‭ Commons: Moving Bodies to Grow Movements‬ ‭in Queer Nightlife & Beyond explores the power of the dancefloor. A call to protect what we’ve built, and reimagine what’s still possible.

Queer communities have long transformed parties into something powerful: spaces where care flourishes, injustice gets challenged, and new worlds are danced into being. But today, DJs command huge fees while behind-the-scenes workers earn below minimum wage. Corporations profit from our culture while communities that created these spaces are displaced. As venues shut and workers burn out, it’s clear that something has gone deeply wrong.

Club‬‭ Commons: Moving Bodies to Grow Movements‬ ‭in Queer Nightlife & Beyond‬‬‭ by Anjali Prashar-Savoie takes you inside hidden stories of resistance and reinvention. We meet the people reshaping nightlife from below: abolitionist security teams creating safety without police, sober raves doubling as mental health support, radical childcare at parties, venues becoming worker cooperatives, and free party crews reclaiming public space. Through their work, we see how party-throwing skills build movements, how refusing to play changes everything, and why protecting queer nightlife means transforming who owns it.

Quotes

“When‬‭ Anjali‬‭ shines‬‭ her‬‭ perceptive‬‭ light‬‭ on‬‭ dancefloor‬‭ culture,‬‭ everything‬‭ is‬ ‭ better illuminated. I can’t wait to read this book. It’s one we need.” ‭ Emma Warren (author of Dance Your Way Home/Up the Youth Club)

“Anjali’s‬‭ one‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‭ most‬‭ exciting‬‭ and‬‭ insightful‬‭ voices‬‭ writing‬‭ about‬‭ dance‬ ‭ music‬‭ today,‬‭ bringing‬‭ fresh‬‭ perspectives,‬‭ intellectual‬‭ rigour‬‭ and‬‭ emotive‬‭ power‬ ‭to‬‭ a‬‭ conversation‬‭ that’s‬‭ too‬‭ often‬‭ homogenous,‬‭ superficial‬‭ or‬‭ cynically‬ ‭commercial.‬‭ Club‬‭ Commons‬‭ promises‬‭ to‬‭ be‬‭ an‬‭ essential‬‭ and‬‭ overdue‬‭ book:‬‭ a‬ ‭ chance‬‭ to‬‭ reexamine‬‭ the‬‭ queer‬‭ history‬‭ of‬‭ club‬‭ culture,‬‭ celebrate‬‭ and‬‭ critique‬ ‭its‬‭ present,‬‭ and‬‭ map‬‭ out‬‭ radical‬‭ possibilities‬‭ for‬‭ its‬‭ future.‬” Ed Gillett (author of Party Lines)

“Beautifully written and unique, Anjali Prashar-Savoie’s behind-the-scenes journey through queer nightlife is as thorough as it is fascinating. Documenting a world that commercial interests are rapidly destroying, Club Commons is proof that queer culture holds the key to a better future for the dancefloor and beyond.” Professor Sam Parsley (author of Minor Keys, coach, DJ and founder of In the Key, a directory and platform championing the careers of women, trans and non-binary electronic music producers)

“Club Commons: Moving Bodies to Grow Movements in Queer Nightlife & Beyond is a vital reminder of how important the dance floor is to connect, unfurl and envision new futures. The text highlights the historic and existing care work entangled with the club space, particularly in providing temporary sites of refuge and embodied joy for Black and LGBTQIA+ communities. This is juxtaposed with research on the corporate and carceral commodification of nightlife in recent years, which exposes the false premise that club spaces are always radical. This book affirms my belief that the non-commercial nightlife ecosystem is an essential part of our social change infrastructure, rather than a luxury. Club Commons is a call to action to reclaim this space on our own terms and revive the underground.” Camille Sapara Barton, (author of Tending Grief: An Embodied Guide to Being with Grief Individually and in Community)

In Section 63: Underground & Unmasted – Documenting Underground London Raves, photographer Yushy documents the growing hunger for the DIY spirit of dance music, a renaissance of feeling reminiscent of the early 90s. Embedding himself with various crews across London, he gained their trust and friendship, stepping into their world and their fight to reclaim forgotten spaces to play music for the people just for a night.

The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 was introduced to shut down free parties and squat parties, marking a pivotal moment in the UK’s cultural history. Widely condemned as an attack on youth culture, the law triggered a wave of protests and resistance, sparking a domino effect that reshaped the underground music scene.

Fast forward over 30 years, and the state of UK dance music is in crisis. Since the pandemic, three nightclubs have closed every week — over 150 per year — painting a bleak picture for the future. At this pace, all UK nightclubs could vanish by 2029.

In Section 63: Underground & Unmasted – Documenting Underground London Raves, photographer Yushy documents the growing hunger for the DIY spirit of dance music, a renaissance of feeling reminiscent of the early 90s. Embedding himself with various crews across London, Yushy gained their trust and friendship, stepping into their world and their fight to reclaim forgotten spaces to play music for the people just for a night.

In a city fiercely protective of its space, he captures the stark reality: a landscape filled with emptiness, disused buildings, and forgotten corners, where young people risk it all to create something meaningful.

Building on his previous work documenting dance music culture, this book is a seamless continuation — showcasing Yushy’s signature style, where each image feels timeless, rooted in the moment yet echoing the past.

Quotes:
“Yushy’s one of the most exciting photojournalists currently working in the UK: a vital and fearless documentarian of today’s underground subcultures, and the heir to legends like Alan Lodge, Vinca Petersen, Seana Gavin and Matthew Smith. His work on everything from raves to riots has been urgent and insightful, revealing otherwise hidden moments of beauty and telling a powerful story about modern British identity and social history.” Ed Gillett (author of Party Lines: Dance Music and the Making of Modern Britain)

“Yushy’s eye captures both the essence and the hyperreal. Dazzling photos so vivid it’s as if these still images are sentient. His quiet omnipresence in the space coupled with his raw passion and pride make me honoured to work so closely with him. One of a kind.” Rishi Bagdai (Outlook Festival curator)

The book is 24cm x 17cm, and the 144 pages are printed on premium heavyweight paper.

Folk was always more than a youth group for Mark: it’s where he belongs, and where the friendships that have made him were forged. Straight talking Anna; beautiful, brilliant Zee; and Seb, who’s in a real band.

But when Gerry, the group’s self-proclaimed ‘thorn in the side of the establishment’ leader tasks him to take a new member under his wing, Mark’s world goes into a spin. Who is this ‘Jason’ guy with his tracksuits, beats and chemical drugs? And why is everyone so in awe of him? Jason just isn’t ‘Folk’. Then a wild camping trip brings Jason’s ‘fresh start’ to an abrupt end – and with it the collapse of Folk. Yet moving on turns out to be complicated.

Set against a backdrop of DIY sound systems and tectonic shifts in society, FOLK is a bittersweet 1990s coming-of-age tale of friendship, fidelity and finding your own path.

“All hail Stef Macbeth – I’ve been a fan since I read his first word. His inevitable move into fiction is 20 years overdue.” Emily Hill (author of Bad Romance and Love In Late Capitalism)

“Evocative, funny and bittersweet. Macbeth crafts a rave folk tale brimming with Shane Meadows levels of small-town Englishness. Full of dodgy situations, crumbling ideals, first love and finding magic in the mundane, all set to the rising pulse of free rave culture drawing ever closer.” Paul Hanford (author of Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys into an Electronic Music & Club Culture Capital)

Egostrip Book 2 is a beautifully designed, expansive continuation of Dan Lish’s visionary character illustrations that pay homage to the vibrant world of Hip Hop and beyond. This stunning collection features over 170 illustrations, paintings, and murals that capture the essence of Hip Hop’s golden era through striking visual narratives.

The artwork honours legendary artists and collectives such as Gang Starr, Run DMC, Wu-Tang Clan, Showbiz and AG, Boogie Down Productions, A Tribe Called Quest, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, MF DOOM, Jeru The Damaja, Biggie, Lauryn Hill, LL Cool J, and many more.

The book is 27.2cm x 29.4cm, and the 240 pages are printed and bound on heavyweight 130gsm paper with a hardback cover.

Egostrip Book 2 by renowned illustrator Dan Lish is a bold and visionary sequel to his acclaimed Egostrip Book 1. This stunning volume continues Lish’s exploration of hip-hop culture, music legends, and surreal landscapes through his signature psychedelic style. Featuring intricate linework and vivid colour, the book showcases portraits of iconic artists alongside imaginative, otherworldly scenes that blur the boundaries between reality and fantasy.

Egostrip Book 2 is not just an art collection—it’s a cultural chronicle that celebrates the enduring legacy of hip hop, inviting viewers to rediscover the stories and artistry behind some of the most influential figures in music history.

Each piece unveils intricate micro-narratives and detailed ink pen explorations, offering a deep dive into the history, culture, and dynamic evolution of Black Music. Fans of music, art, and street culture will find this collection both nostalgic and fresh. Egostrip Book 2 is a visual celebration of creativity, rhythm, and identity from one of today’s most original illustrators.

What is hardcore? It means many things to many people, and they’re all correct. It’s best described as a feeling, an attitude, and way of life. Dance or Die is the first critical and expansive study of hardcore as a music, a subculture and an enduring “phuture” rave movement, full of colourful anecdotes and first person accounts from artists, fans and the core of hardcore.

Hardcore is revolutionary, schismatic, and a global phenomenon that refuses to die, because hardcore will never die. Its symbols have been tattooed onto millions of bodies, as its sounds and relics have been passed down and upcycled through the decades.

This book tracks the outsider youth who banded together over the last 30 years to party in protest, on ecstasy, in rage and escape, as a nighttime community more family than family, who need this hard, loud, fast/slow, aggressive, noisy, occasionally silly, kick drum – or breakbeat – style of radical and divisive dance music, to connect with people, to survive the world, and to get through the week.

Hardcore: Either you’re in, or you’re out. And if you’re in, you’re in all the way, diehard and dancing to the death. Dance or Die!

“From Rotterdam gabber to Scottish ‘tartan techno’, from the industrial strength beats of Brooklyn to the hedonistic mayhem of UK hardcore, ‘Dance or Die’ explores some of the lesser-documented areas of rave culture with enthusiasm and journalistic vigour, affording them the historical significance they deserve.” Matthew Collin (author of Dream Machines, Rave On and Altered State)

“Holly Dicker‘s definitive chronicle charts the amazing, ridiculous rise of the most outrageous club music in history with a journalist’s eye and a raver’s mania.” Michaelangelo Matos (author of The Underground is Massive)

In 1989, six visionary graffiti artists (Rough, Part2, Stormboy, System, Tee Roc and Solo1) were invited to join a groundbreaking new collective spearheaded by Juice 126. Guided by his ambitious manifesto, the group sought to break free from the traditional constraints of graffiti, forging a bold path as a ‘post-graffiti supergroup’.

Thus, the Ikonoklast Movement was born—a creative force that revolutionised the boundaries of graffiti art. Their innovative collaborations and solo projects redefined the genre, influencing a generation of European artists. Over 35 years later, the Ikonoklasts remain active, interconnected, and profoundly impactful.

This richly illustrated book is the definitive chronicle of the group’s most groundbreaking works, with a focus on their prolific output during the 1990s. In a time predating the digital age, much of their legacy went undocumented. Now, for the first time, this comprehensive volume celebrates their transformative contributions and ensures their story is no longer overlooked.

The hardback book is 25cm x 17.5 cm, and the 256 pages are printed on premium heavyweight paper.

Quotes

“The Ikonoklasts are pivotal to the British-European interpretation of graffiti writing and the evolution of the artform.” Simon Armstrong (Tate)

“Ikonoklast represents a significant chapter in UK style-writing history, now thankfully being told after having flown under the radar for thirty-something years. As a wide-eyed teenager growing up in the Midlands and discovering graffiti in the early 90s, I’m grateful to have witnessed their work and experienced the profound impact this group of artists had, not just on my own creative endeavours, but on many of my peers at that time too. Their influence and innovation are visible in the work of following generations of writers, street artists, muralists, and painters, yet they rarely get the credit they deserve. For me, the Ikonoklast legacy and contribution to the culture is worth celebrating, and this book does exactly that.” Kid Acne

On Tour offers a candid look at the UK dance music scene through the eyes of seasoned journalist and music consultant, Ralph Moore. Covering mainly the 90s and 00s but also taking us up to lockdown, Moore shares his experiences from the heart of the industry, working on magazines like Muzik and Mixmag and interviewing the likes of Bjork and the Chemical Brothers.

“Ralph Moore’s genius in journalism has always been not just to write but to get involved, to live the life. To talk the talk you have to have walked the walk. He would not just write the story but be part of it.” Fatboy Slim

“The best informed ambassador of dance music is also the most refreshingly outspoken. What Ralph Moore doesn’t know about DJ culture isn’t worth knowing” Nick Stevenson (Mixmag/Wasted Talent)

Jonah Plantagenet the world’s most celebrated DJ, prize winning author, feted artist and arbiter of cultural fashion. History’s greatest criminal. Now he must face his judgement.

Justin Robertson weaves a breathless tale infused with dark humour and a keen appreciation of the absurd. In parts very loosely autobiographical The Trial of Jonah captures the magic and wonder of art, music and word and reflects on how the creative process is really one protracted act of possession.

The confessions of a time travelling cultural vampire wherein the alternative history of late 20th century counter culture is revealed. Sent on a holy mission at a young age the young demon Jonah Plantagenet uses his God given gifts to pillage the past.

From the mists of pre-history via Roman Britain to the birth of Acid House, the arcades of Slough to the court of King John, chip shops in Manchester to biker rumbles in California this Son of a Demon God takes the words from J G Ballard’s mouth, swipes the genius of Kandinsky, sucks out the minds of famous DJs, possesses Rudolf Steiner and resurrects the Beatles.

Oh yes, and for the crate diggers and fellow enthusiasts there are handy playlists peppered throughout the book providing a mental soundtrack.

Praise for Justin Robertson

“A writer of fierce and vivid imagination. A promising new star of dark fantasy.” – Michael Moorcock

“Mind-bending . . . a cross between HG Wells and HP Lovecraft.” – Metro

“Bold, ambitious and thrilling.” – John Higgs

“The kind of horror-SF hybrid our neurotic age deserves: grotesque as a Hogarth engraving, violent as a comic, and deeply disconcerting.” – The Times

“A massive headf*ck of a novel, a true tangle, a chthonic entity and a classic of New Weird Fiction.” – David Keenan

Close The App, Make The Ting is a collection of ideas shared by Elijah that began in July 2021, as the Covid 19 lockdowns were ending in the UK. They started as simple notes questioning what the music and creative scenes would look like after being shut down for 18 months shared regularly on Instagram, then developed into a multimedia project that spanned visual installations, an album with grime MC Jammz, a club night and a lecture series that toured the world.

Close The App, Make The Ting: Transformative Prompts for the Modern Artist brings together the best of the ideas and the projects they inspired. This book is for anyone producing or thinking of producing creative work, that needs something outside of ‘advice’, these are evergreen artistic prompts that will inspire new ways of approaching being an artist in the 2020s.

The book is 25cm x 25 cm, and the 160 pages are printed on premium heavyweight paper.

“Elijah’s work and writing is stimulating and insightful. He captures the shifting tides of music and creativity with a canny sense of precision and clarity. The ability to connect the dots across music, culture, history, politics, the evolving creative landscape and more is a rare quality, and yet, he thrives at it.” – Anifieok Ekpoudom (author of Where We Come From: Rap, Home & Hope in Modern Britain)

In July 2019, eleven years after Jay-Z became the first hip-hop artist to headline Glastonbury, Stormzy became the first English rapper to follow suit. Wearing a customised stab-proof vest designed by Banksy, the South London rapper delivered an explosive performance and finished by thanking the “legends for paving the way,” name-checking Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, and Giggs. Despite how unlikely it seemed for decades, UK rap was now firmly a part of pop music and the greater hip-hop canon.

Rich, nuanced, and often misunderstood, the history of UK rap is a story of music that refused to stand still. Factoring in socioeconomics, gender, identity, music industry disruption, and innovation, What Do You Call It? charts the artform’s first four decades, beginning when rap landed on our island in the early 1980s. Shaped by sound system culture, inspired by punk, and accelerated by rave, it has evolved from Britcore, UK hip-hop, and trip-hop of the late twentieth century to garage, grime, and drill.

Through cultural theory, historical research, and original interviews with key figures and collaborators in the UK rap scene, from pioneers like Malcolm McLaren, Soul II Soul, Tricky, Roots Manuva, and Roll Deep to modern artists like Dave, CASISDEAD, Little Simz, Loyle Carner, and Skengdo x AM, adds a rich human dimension to the UK rap story — one that helped change British music and culture forever.

Cover design by Trevor Jackson.

“A long overdue exploration of rap music in the UK and its longstanding – albeit overlooked – legacy and influence. In an era when UK rappers dominate the charts, star in major movies and TV shows and front huge advertising campaigns for multi-national corporations, Kane traces back the arduous journey from maligned sub-culture to celebrated mascot of neoliberal capitalism.” Jehst

“David Kane writes with a deft touch and possesses a disarming and deeply insightful interview style. Sparking life, humour, and sorrow across every page of more than three decades of UK rap history.” Charlie Dark MBE

“Kane builds bridges in a rich musical universe full of heroes and villains—and plot twists. With an inimitable style, he merges culture high and low to bring new meaning to the music. What Do You Call It? is a landmark tome for UK rap music.” Brian DiGenti, Wax Poetics

“A mind rich in ideas” Stanley Ledbetter, The New Yorker

Weight: 0.4 kg
Dimensions: 23 × 3 × 17 cm

How You Make Me Feel: The Life & Legacy of Marcus Intalex is a tribute to the late, great producer/DJ and a genre-transcending story of passion, creativity and timeless underground music. It has unprecedented insider access to his life and legacy with interviews with Goldie, Calibre, DJ Flight, Doc Scott, Mark XTC and many more. It’s also visually captivating, packed with over 100 rare photos, artwork, and memorabilia.

The book is 24.5cm x 17cm with 176 pages.

Long-time friends and collaborators, musician Daniel Avery, alongside photographer Keffer are proud to present Techno is Boring, a new book that collects a decade of work chronicling club culture in visceral form.

Techno is Boring also includes short written essays and notes from Avery and fellow DJ, writer and collaborator John Loveless, who also provides an introduction, appearing alongside guest contributions from friends and allies.

The book is 24.5cm x 17cm, and the 148 pages are printed on premium heavyweight paper with Swiss binding.

Drumz Of The South: The Dubstep Years (2004-2007) is the first photography book to present the early days of dubstep in detail. It features over 200 photographs by Georgina Cook from events and radio stations such as FWD>> at Plastic People, DMZ and Rinse FM, plus pioneering producers, DJs and MCs like Burial, Skream and Benga, Mala & Coki, Loefah and Sgt Pokes, Plastician, Kode9, Hatcha & Crazy D, Skepta and Wiley.

Originally published in 2021 as a Kickstarter campaign, this second edition features a complete redesign, hardback cover and essays from Blackdown, Charlie Dark MBE, Emma Warren and others. The book is 24cm x 17cm, and the 224 pages are printed on heavyweight paper with a hardback cover.

“The first time I heard dubstep was in 2004, in my friend Mala’s car outside my favourite local bar, The Black Sheep, in Croydon. He played me his track B, and it sounded like nothing else I’d heard before. As a photographer of underground music, I knew I had to get involved. Twenty years, one Drumz Of The South blog and a whole load of photos later, and I’m making a photo-book of what ended up being a life-changing journey with the early dubstep scene.” Georgina Cook

Featuring over 200 photos taken in and around South London, posts from the original blog, hand-drawn notes and more, Drumz Of The South: The Dubstep Years (2004-2007) is both a record of an extraordinary moment in contemporary music history, and a personal story of community and creativity.

2004-2007 was the peak of Georgina’s involvement in the scene, at a time when it was still largely made in suburban bedroom studios and played in dark rooms and on pirate radio stations like Rinse FM. Alongside photos of the dancefloors of seminal nights like DMZ and FWD>> at Plastic People, are candid photos and portraits of artists like Mala, Loefah, Sgt.Pokes, Hatcha, Kode9, Vex’d, Skream and Burial. Nestled among these images are scenes from South London, which root the sound to the place.

REVIEWS

“When dubstep was beginning in tiny London basements armed only with rib-crushing sound systems and an abundance of creativity, Georgina Cook was there – camera in hand. She is the photographer-of-record for the scene’s key inflection points. Her work is an unrivalled snapshot in time, documenting in light a community dedicated to getting lost in dark sounds.” Blackdown

“Much needed light shining on the early dubstep scene.” Gilles Peterson

“An important historical document of a DIY sound and community. You can almost smell Croydon.” Sports Banger

“What Drumz of the South offers is a demonstration of the vitality of people to create and move culture, to form communities across distances both close and far.” Alex Brent (Radical Art Review)

“As a physical document of a nascent sound, Drumz Of The South shows the importance of archiving the beginnings of a small subculture which went on to alter the course of electronic music history.” Charlie Bird (DJ Mag)