Wall Of Sound

Wall Of Sound was a fantastic label through the second half of the 1990s, drawing inspiration from a melting pot of New York hip hop, old school electro, 60s psychedelia, jazzfunk, Madchester indie rock, early rave and hardcore, out of which a unique style was created. When the big beat movement took off commercially starting in 1997/98, WOS gained more exposure through the Propellerheads' debut LP, without compromising their style for commercial success. But by the turn of the millennium, clubbers as well as the mainstream had tired from the big beat sound and were looking towards new styles. Some artists on WOS (most notably Les Rythmes Digitales and Zoot Woman) went on more house- und synthpop-oriented routes, which eventually changed the sound of the label towards a significantly duller, less recognizable direction. In my opinion, Dirty Beatniks' 2000 album "Feedback" is the last great release on the label, but once they started randomly releasing indie rock and having their sleeves designed by that pretentious hack Banksy, it was over for good. Well, they had a good run, and put out more than enough great releases until 2000 to have you digging crates for years if you want to collect them all.