Here we go again. Music, expression, independent creativity – deep in the mix of it all, with the third in our No Way Back series.
The date range this time: 1974 to 2004. Thirty years of fascinating material, carefully curated and thoughtfully put together. If you’re familiar with what No Way Back’s all about, you’ll recognise some of the territory, such as NYC club culture and origin-era techno. But we’re also widening the lens.
Thanks to the work of brilliant writers and photographers from some estimable magazines, we’re right there as soul boys and girls meet punks in deepest Essex; exploring mooted new movements like space-rock; witnessing Belgian new beat’s brief and curious moment; sampling Goa in the days before trance; and experiencing the intoxicating first rush of speed garage and grime.
Across it all, this is subculture as it was experienced at the time. Truly the front-line stuff, before hindsight, received wisdom and all the retelling took over. Plenty to get lost in, but plenty to take from it, too. Learning from, not longing for, the past, as we put it.
Thanks for all of the support to date. NWB003 has been so much fun to create and we hope you get as much out of it as we have putting it all together.
208 pages of curated editorial and images from 1974 to 2004
If you pre-order before the end of October 25, we’ll add your name – with much gratitude – to NWB 003's early supporters page.
Dancing in bin liners at the Lacy Lady in 1976 // The brief, chaotic days of Flexipop // Lenny Kaye sneaks space-rock into Penthouse // Soul boys and girls united in The Family Album // Pre-trance Goa, as psychedelic rock gives way to electronic sounds // Early graffiti writing: Idris Walters in Sounds, 1974 // Down at a ZE Records night at NYC’s Hurrah // John McCready in The Face, 1989: Depeche Mode meet Detroit techno’s first wave // Revisiting New York Rocker, NYC’s most indie paper // Richard Noise (aka Norris) on Belgium’s sinister but camp, underground-overground new beat sound // Tilman Brembs’ photos of German techno’s boldest years: Tresor, E-Werk, Ultraschall and more // Harder, faster, sharper: Bethan Cole on speed garage, summer 1997 // Chantelle Fiddy introduces grime (‘the best music ever’) in Tank // Post-9/11, Larry Tee crosses the East River and electroclash takes shape at Berliniamsburg
+ Editor’s notes, supporting commentary, playlists, and covers, spreads and imagery from original titles
