Cheap Records

Leo

Well-known member
No, not as in "inexpensive"...I'm talking about the Vienna label run by Patrick Pulsinger.

Went through some old vinyl last night and remembered how much I loved everything about this operation back in the 90s-early 00s: the sound (from techno to downbeat grooves but all with a consistent quality), the attitude (quirky but not too cheeky), the great center label design, the gray sleeves...the whole package. Probably the first dance label where I'd just buy new releases on site. Same with anything Pulsinger-related.

Any thoughts about other labels sporting similar elements. Tension Records (run by Abe Duque) in NYC did it well for a while, been told Clear was in that ballpark but never explored them.
 
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droid

Guest
I was the same up till 2001 or so. Some great stuff... seemed to occupy its own space between warped electronica, breakbeat and techno.

I met Pulsinger at a gig here in 2000 or so, and (like anyone who gives me free records :D ) - he was a gentleman. Very unassuming and humble...
 

zhao

there are no accidents
haven't really kept up with techno up to the minute, but the Onitor label seems to put out quality and variety... don't know about package though.
 

michael

Bring out the vacuum
Yeah, I was a bit of a Cheap Records fan, at the least I'd try to track down every release they did. I was pretty impressed you could find them at all in NZ, actually. I mainly liked the Pulsinger / Tunakan efforts, particularly those slower later ones - Showroom Recordings? Some classic labels on the records, for sure.

I can think of current labels putting out a range of stuff, sure, but can't think of any doing a line of 12s and maintaining one particular look to them.

What happened to those guys, anyway? Most recent one I've heard activity from was Gerhard Potuznik (as G.D. Luxxe).

I still listen to Sluts'n'Strings & 909's 'Carrera' actually. Don't reckon it's dated much at all.
 
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jimbackhouse

Guest
all their stuff can be picked up _really_ cheap (derr) in london too if you can be bothered to scour the bins at the music & video exchange! i just bought the ep by S.I.L. (suzanne brokesch) for 50p and it's a beauty: glacial and ultra minimal mid-90s proto-schaffel.

that sluts & strings 12" is a classic, too.
 

Leo

Well-known member
michael said:
What happened to those guys, anyway?

yeah, seems potuznik has been the most active. some of the 12" were one-offs (khan, christopher just, robert hood).

back in 2000, pulsinger & tunakan did a cool version of "swan lake" for a vienna modern dance group (released on a cd called "schwanensee remixed"). he also issued two vinyl albums of jazzy grooves in 2002 called "easy to assemble, hard to take apart" parts 1 and 2, which were later put together and released on cd on the form & function label, and has written/produced recent albums by louie austin.
 

D84

Well-known member
I've got the i0 "ADSR" 2CD and the Robert Hood "Nighttime World" CD on Cheap, both rather good imho.

I also got the Patrick Pulsinger "Porno" CD quite cheap locally years ago ($5) and that's also excellent.

I also got that Dean & Deluca" EP they did on M-Plant. That's cool too but I think some tracks are on the ADSR 2CD (there's no titles on the 12").

I missed out on Carerra but will check it out. I kinda lost track of their recent output.
 

michael

Bring out the vacuum
'Carerra' basically works through various flavours of electro... starts with a short upbeat track with baby scratches and vocoders, has a fast metronomic 4 to the floor thing, has some chilled sorta "downbeat" / "trip-hop" compatible stuff towards the middle and by the end of the album has arrived at programmed beats competing with a hugely overdriven saxophone solo in a live jam...

I reckon it's great, was hugely inspired by it at the time.

Although I was excited about Cheap, I can understand how someone would find most of it complete poos.. so ramshackle and sometimes releases occupied a really odd middleground between - not really the quality sound design to be exciting listening music, but a bit too ... odd or fiddly or not-up-for-it to be good for a party either. Makes sense to me that a lot of the stuff sits in second hand bins now, but I have fond memories regardless.
 
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