What can you say about this classic label...

Smitten pushed Acid Techno, heavy on the Techno. So you get lots of 303 leads, but also a lot of tunes that are closer to filthy Hard Techno similar to the stuff released on Infected, Cluster, etc.. Some of the very early releases sound like oldschool Acid Trance, so all in all this label is well diverse.

Smitten seemed to go into a bit of a rut from #9-11 and #13-15, but both periods of mediocrity were put to ends by some killer tracks ("Can't Breathe" and "The Long And Short Of It"). There were also some pretty weak tunes late in the run (ie "Men of the 303" and others that seemed to have weak production and perhaps were a bit too silly). Beyond those fallow releases, it's all good.

In particular, Smitten released a few killer LPs, including Purge, Contortions, and Dig Your Own Grave.

One of my favorite aspects of the label was always the logo and sturdy look of the releases. No frilly sleeves, just lovely pressings and quality all the way.

Some of the related labels (Remix, XS, SID) had some storming tracks, but the star here is the main label.

Fave releases for me will always be:

"Squid (Fucking Good Sex Mix)"
"Prozac" (remember pre-RAW Geezer?)
"BSE" (pure havoc)
"Can't Breathe" (chugging Acid Techno that helped introduce me)
"It's An Acid Thing" doublepack (good lord, this is quality)
"Detox" (maybe THE example of Geezer's dirt-filthiest Acid sound)
"Overload The Circuit" (Rowland's "Detox")
"Proper" (Huh? Drummer doing warm, funky Techno)
and
"Splinter" (one of DDR's best, pure stripped-down London Acid Techno that mixes like a beauty and never gets old)

Cheers to Steve for all the memories and ace music. This label has been missed since the day it ended.