VA - V is for Vision (2020)

V Is For Vision compilation LP - celebrating five years of Invisible Inc

It seems strange to celebrate this 'landmark' in arguably even stranger times. Unfortunately, there will be no launch party or other such 'fanfare' today...but perhaps this less 'clubby' collection of music is precisely what we need right now? A soothing balm against the stress.

Perhaps I can rewind to the beginning?

Invisible Inc was started with the aim of releasing music to a wider audience that deserved further attention. Amongst the steady appearance of exciting new music there was also vast amounts of music previously only available digitally that seemed to vanish as quickly as it appeared...or music that came out on self-released CDrs or cassettes in incredibly small runs; music that deserved being brought out on vinyl to actual record stores worldwide and thus helping those artists widen their fanbase. Thus, connections were made that wouldn't have been made otherwise and artists were brought to new audiences. Conversely, these artists also helped bring attention to the label.

In the five years of its existence the label has certainly grown. I would never have thought that I would release music by such luminaries as Tonto's Expanding Head Band, Laraaji and K. Leimer - all 'veteran' artists with a legacy that I have been in awe of for years.

But as much as there are a few 'established' names appearing on the catalogue now, the ethos of unearthing unheard-of musical gems and getting them out there remains.

V is for Vision is no different. Take 'Kailash' by Sigward & Oliver Sudden, for instance. Originally released digitally-only in 2018, it's a stunning piece of dark, downtempo electro with a distinct nod to minimal wave and synthwave that I very proudly present here on vinyl for the first time.

However, 'reissue' label this is not. The aim when looking at music already available in some form or other was always to find something that had gone so far under the radar that it would be widely considered as sounding as fresh as the day it was made.

In that respect much of the compilation features artists that are definitely "fresh" at the moment...and this is deliberate. I specifically approached artists who had released some of my favourite music of 2019: Anatolian Weapons, Youkounkoun, Puma & The Dolphin, Golden Bug & In Fields and TCB. I wanted something new and something current and these five artists released some seriously amazing music in 2019 that you should hunt down at all costs.

Add to this artists already released on Invisible Inc: Secret Circuit, Sordid Sound System and Double Discone (the former two on board since the very beginning, the latter appearing for the first time just earlier this year) and bingo, we have a selection of artists both old and new that I feel widen the span of the five years of the label as much as possible.

Whether any of this background info and the label's ethos makes any difference to you, dear reader, is of course debatable ....but the long and short of it is the music presented here by these nine artists is truly sublime and I'm lucky to be able to share it with you.

So I hope you too enjoy what I've compiled here as much as I've enjoyed curating it for you.

Keep your eyes peeled for lots more exciting music coming in 2020.

Stay home, stay safe, stay sane

GK Machine