New York Spice – Set It Off

I've only just come across this release & while no Set It Off iteration has ever come close to the Walter Gibbons original, this Larry Joseph production takes it into a very strange space: a curious liminal quality, embedded somewhere between electro and raw house & techno.
Interesting as well to see it released here in the UK by Champion, a label that never seems to get the kudos it deserves for its historical role in bringing the post-disco, rap and electro sounds of America to a British audience. One primed by northern soul, funk and disco to embrace this emerging house/techno blueprint long before it emerged out of the American club underground & made in-roads into mainstream culture.
My personal favourite is the 'Final Dub Mix' - a raw as an open wound drum machine powered groove which seems to hypnotise the listener into total Throbbing Gristle submission territory. Something I imagine Ron Hardy would have looped for hours. It has that 1980s Adrian Sherwood beat dynamic without straying into the more Teutonic marching end of the industrial sound. The force of the bass ensures the funk spice keeps on flowing.
As of April 2024, you can pick up regular and test pressing for under £5, which once again demonstrates you don't need to be rich to fill your collection with gems and oddities.