Where do I start with Sublight? There are many things to say about the label, none of which are good, but I must start somewhere. Sublight came to light after 'IDM' had just reached its total saturation point, sometime back in mid-to-late 2002. At this point, the last thing anybody really needed was another label to release boring IDM in an already over saturated market. So I predicted, with such god awful releases as Winnipeg Is A Frozen Shithole (which sounded like it took 1 hour total to record), that Sublight would experience the same fate as numerous labels that fell off the face of the earth after the IDM boom of the late 90's. But then something happened;

Sublight got relatively popular.

Call it beginners luck or call it anything you'd like, but the fact remains that Sublight maintains a steady fanbase, regardless of what it releases. It can release utterly laughable attempts at music such as Hecate, as well as half assed attempts by relatively good artists such as Richard Devine. It then strikes me as the epitome of everything that was ever bad about IDM, all wrapped up into one label. Weak technical excursions into speedfreak glitch? Check. Overly sentimental 'white key' electronica with amen loop cut ups? Check. Uninteresting Breakcore that tries to be 'bad ass and wicked, man' instead of 'good and competent'? Check.

If anything, Sublight is this: the post apocalyptic IDM label for artists who could not release anywhere else, as nobody cares to release or distribute IDM that doesn’t have a big name attached to it. It's as if it's owner is the perpetual 14 year old you once were, but instead of growing out of his former tastes (realizing that they weren’t all that great to begin with), he releases them and gets praise for it. I guess if you are young and inexperienced with this type of music, Sublight is a good place to start. However I cannot and will not recommend this label to anyone else. It's a slap in the face to an area of music that was once vibrant and full of creativity.

I've always had a love/hate relationship with Sublight. The label appears to have been part of a Canadian Breakcore movement. However, it probably should have decided on a better modus operandi. It seemed to press albums based entirely on what potential the packaging had to shock people. Granted, I haven't checked out much of their catalog, but they have at least one redeeming quality: occasionally, they release absolute gems, like the harsh Black Trees and the brain-scorching Shock Diamonds, both by Datach'i. If you don't wanna gamble, though, I'd suggest a higher quality label, like Tigerbeat6 or Planet Mu.

Sublight is an awesome label, and it's very sad to see it go. Among the absolutely first-class releases are The Flashbulb's "Kirlian Selections", Enduser's "Calling The Vultures", Wisp's "NRTHNDR", Belladonnakillz's "As If", Vorpal's "Digressions" and Funckarma's "Bion Glent".

Both compilations are great, and Eyelicker in particular features beautiful contributions from both the Flashbulb and Wisp, whose other albums on the label are perfectly fine if you like their kind of thing.

Perhaps Sublight got quite popular because it had good releases by good artists. The Venetian Snares releases on Sublight never really appealed to this fan, but you're not obliged to like all or any of it.

Sublight Records is an insult to IDM fans worldwide. Nothing (and by that I mean close to nothing) about this label is forward-thinking at all. I can't believe this label gets away with pressing 30-minute half-assed so-called "Mini-Albums" that they still sell for $17. And the album liner notes are always a single sheet of paper to boot. I think I've bought four Sublight Releases, three of which I wouldn't mind getting my money back for, especially The Flashbulb - Flexing Habitual and Datach'i - The Elements. I've listened to a lot more, though, and I can say that most of this stuff is rehashed or already too old.

Please don't support this label. It lets artists get away with 30 minute pieces of crap that wouldn't be passable by most respected labels' standards.

If you're looking for a label that releases a variety of forward thinking electronic music, Sublight is worth checking out. From the noise-based excursions of Dino Felipe to the ass kicking 7/8-time breakcore beats of Venetian Snares, or the immense alien soundscapes of Richard Devine, Sublight consistently releases electronic music that's not afraid to push boundaries. fans of labels like schematic, warp, or planet mu are in for a treat.