The Counter Culture

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Anyone who's experienced the record shop mecca that is Manchester's Oldham Street will be aware of the Fat City shop, selling the finest black music since '93: hip hop, funk, soul and jazz (acid or otherwise) particular specialities. As the shop is a magnet for discerning customers, so it is the focus of a productive collective of musicians and DJs. Consequently, Fat City has spun off three successful labels (Grand Central, Scenario, and Twisted Nerve), and there's still room for another under its own name - this time releasing compilations of choice licensed material alongside new work, attempting to represent the background and culture associated with Fat City. Ambitious but they're doing fine so far, with this second release following the hugely successful "Mystic Brew". This time the Brew is spiced with a dash more dancehall and disco-funk than previously, with two corking dub/reggae tracks on the first side of this double vinyl set: Sister Nancy's incredible voice echoing through "Bam Bam" and the Studio One-produced "Real Rock". Amidst a rich mix of tunes, there's Chequers' superfunk cover of Bob Marley's "Get Up Stand Up" and the spaced-out groove of King Ericsson's "Space Queen", which comes on like a half-speed 'Expansions', and concerns an abduction by a disco queen from a UFO. Or something. Standout new material includes quality hip hop from The Jigmastas, Q Ball & Curt Cazal, and Blue Black, alongside Dakota Oak's nicely crafted nu-jazz, and Mr. Scruff, whose "Camel's Foot" (an exclusive, before his long-awaited Ninja Tune LP) gets away with a monstrously cheesy keyboard riff by playing it off-kilter, and then dropping the drums to reveal the timing in all its glory. Get this, and the first Mystic Brew if you don't have it, for two hugely diverse but beautifully sequenced comps. And check the Fat City nights at Counter Culture in Manchester, and Off Centre in London if you can.

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