Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the Foundation Vinyl newsletter!  This will be the last of the year, so I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has bought a record, read a review, or dropped me a note, as well as to the bands and labels who have have kept us so well stocked with great music over the past year.

No new records this week.  Instead, we have a short blog exploring successful community resistance to state-led gentrification in London.  This is discussed through a new book, Disrupting The Speculative City: Property, Power And Community Resistance In London, and complemented with lyrical contributions from Industry, Lágrimas, Negative Gears, and Qlowski.

Then, we have a quick reminder regarding the ‘A Mutual Aid Benefit For Gaza’ compilation series and an updated London gig listing – 2025 is already looking to be a very busy year!  And to round things off, a quick heads up on the cracking new records that we will be kicking off with in the New Year, including releases from Indecision, Iron Lung, Maple Death, Mendeku Diskak, and Toxic State.

The online shop will be running as normal over the festive period and the newsletter will be back from mid-January.  Thanks for reading and have a great Christmas break!

‘My landlord called in sick today, My landlord has anxiety, My landlord has nowhere to stay, He calls me up just to say…Your rent will rise, By 300 percent, Starting next week, Extract wealth and die’ (Extract Wealth And Die, Industry)

It is difficult to be positive as to what the future holds at present.  Internationally, levels of militarised violence, state oppression, and climatic breakdown are accelerating at an alarming pace.  Closer to home the degradation of public services, entrenchment of socio-economic inequality, and the trappings of the surveillance state continue unabated.  Even when a government is elected who claim to be ‘progressive’, it soon becomes clear that they remain wedded to the worn-out doctrines that dug us into this hole in the first place.  As I say, it is difficult to be overly hopeful.

Yet, amidst the prevailing gloom, you do still come across examples of community action that restore your belief that an alternative future can be realised.  And one such story is vividly brought to life in the excellent study, Disrupting The Speculative City: Property, Power And Community Resistance In London.  The book explores how a community-wide coalition came together in the London Borough of Haringey to defeat one of the most rapacious ever planned programmes of state-led gentrification.

‘I grew up in this city, this is my home, soon I will not be able to live here’ (I Can’t Afford It, Lágrimas)

From London (Qlowski) to Sydney (Negative Gears), by way of Berlin (Industry) and Los Angeles (Lágrimas), the story of cities being subjugated to the demands of real estate capital are starkly consistent.  The specifics of each city’s experience are, of course, coloured by local history and politics, but the driving forces that connect the lived experiences and patterns of urban development across major cities are readily identifiable.  Housing is no longer recognised as a social good by which society can redistribute its wealth, but rather as an asset through which wealth can be further accumulated and extracted by capital.  This process which has been unfolding over the past forty years, manifests itself in the stigmatisation of working-class housing, the wholesale privatisation of public land, and the return of an exploitative private rental market wildly out-of-step with the economic realities of work.  The ripple effects of insecure housing on people’s lives in terms of health and wellbeing are difficult to overstate.

‘Rotting in my own bed, Black mould crumbling through my mattress, Drowning in my defeat’ (A Vision, Qlowski)

In London, this dynamic has seen many of the city’s councils seek to exploit housing through speculative development vehicles – land is now a financial asset to be exploited, homes a ‘unit’ to be sweated for investor gain, and inner London’s working-class communities are no longer deserving of a place in this new landscape.  One such vehicle was The Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV), which sought to exploit the aftermath of the 2011 riots sparked by the police shooting of local resident Mark Duggan, to unleash an unprecedented programme of demolition and gentrification that would dispossess large swathes of the local community, while enriching one the one world’s largest property developers, Lendlease.  And, for the council, deliver an ‘improved’ resident profile and a more affluent electorate.

‘Yeah, there’s cracks in the roads, disposable shitholes they call affordable homes’ (Ain’t Seen Nothing, Negative Gears)

However, Haringey’s Labour council massively underestimated not only the scale of the local opposition, but even more importantly the skill with which the community would co-ordinate its resistance.  And this is the story that Disrupting The Speculative City richly animates as it examines how the community contested the plans through street protest, electoral challenge, and planning / legal contestation.  It also details how the campaign developed a broad coalition spanning local residents, housing activists, and political campaigners from across the left of centre spectrum to maximise their support.  After a bitter six-year battle the plans for HDV were cancelled in July 2018, the council leader, Claire Kober, having been forced to resign several months earlier.

As you will have gathered from the title, the book itself is an academic one having been written by Amy Horton and Joe Penny from UCL.  However, they wear their detailed research lightly and the narrative unfolds with a satisfying clarity of argument as to what defines the speculative city, whose interests does it serve, and how did the residents of Haringey succeed in defeating it.  The authors ensure that the momentum never dims, even for the lay reader.  A community victory to put a spring into even the most jaded of steps.

Disrupting The Speculative City is available from UCL Press, including as a free download, at www.uclpress.co.uk.

This is the European press by Symphony Of Destruction of a series of three benefit compilation tapes co-ordinated by Philadelphia punks, The Dissidents.  All profits are donated to non-profit organisations delivering on-the-ground humanitarian aid in Gaza.  Each tape comprises typically rare, or previously unreleased, tracks contributed by bands drawn from across the hardcore punk community.

All profits are donated to the following non-profit organisations: Gaza Soup Kitchen, Gazaesims, Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, ANERA, Palestinian Red Crescent Society, MSF / Doctors Without Borders, Palestinian Legal, 1for3, and Heal Palestine.

For further details on the wider project and full track listings, check out: www.thedissidents.bandcamp.com

This section lays no claims to being a definitive listing!  It is simply gigs coming up in London that catch my eye and that I think people who read this newsletter might be interested in.  I will always try and highlight where a show forms part of a wider UK tour.

12^th December Alvilda, Music City, Zeropolis (The Waiting Room)

17^th December Terror, Nasty, Combust plus more (229 / UK Tour)

11^th January Harrowed, Hellscape, Mortal Karkass (The Bird’s Nest)

17^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Wristmeetrazor, Dry Socket, Long Goodbye, Vicarage, Hour Of Reprisal, Closed Hands (New Cross Inn)

18^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Ringworm, Bitter Wood, Broken Vow, Malignant, No Relief, Impunity, Imposter plus many more (New Cross Inn)

19^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Stormo, Sorcerer, Shooting Daggers, Perp Walk, Cassus, Hidden Mothers plus many more (New Cross Inn)

23^rd January One Step Closer, Dynamite, Life Of One, Uzumaki (New River Studios / Sold Out)

1^st February Trail Of Lies, T.S. Warspite, No Relief, Impunity, Violent Offence (Downstairs at The Dome)

6^th February Grief Ritual, Harrowed, Worn Out (The Black Heart)

8^th February Surowica, Daughter, State Sanctioned Violence (The Bird’s Nest)

9^th February Bent Blue, Major Pain , Without Love, Chainlink, Swear Down (New Cross Inn)

14^th February Adult, Spike Hellis, Sacred Skin (Corsica Studios / UK Tour)

15^th February Negative Gears plus support (New River Studios / UK Tour)

22^nd February Vultur, Deathfiend plus more (Helgi’s)

24^th February Love Letter, Heavy Hex, Hell Can Wait, Supernova (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

7th-8^th March Damage Is Done 4.5 Weekender (Line-up and venues to be confirmed)

8^th March Misantropic, Nujorvik, Wreathe, System Of Slaves, Traidora (New Cross Inn)

16^th March Ignorance plus support (New River Studios / UK Tour)

15^th April Thou, pageninetynine, Moloch (Scala)

19^th April Disaffect, Haavat plus more (New Cross Inn)

Armor ‘More War’ 12-inch (Mendeku Diskak)

Atomic Prey ‘Atomic Prey’ 12-inch (Iron Lung)

Bent Blue ‘So Much Seething’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Corker ‘Hallways Of Grey’ 12-inch (Feel It / Restock)

Enyor ‘Catalunya En Blanc I Negre’ 12-inch (Mendeku Diskak)

EVA ‘II’ 7-inch (Chicken Attack)

Faucheuse ‘Rêve Électrique’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction / Restock)

Faze ‘Big Upsetter’ 12-inch (11PM)

Forced Humility ‘Forced Humility’ 7-inch (Mendeku Diskak)

Gaoled ‘Bestial Hardcore’ 12-inch (Iron Lung)

Golpe ‘Subisci. Conformati. Rassegnati.’ 7-inch (Static Shock)

G.O.O.N ‘God’s Only Option Now’ 12-inch (Convulse)

Heiress ‘Nowhere Nearer’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Ignorance ‘Nothing Changed’ 7-inch (Iron Lung)

Impotentie ‘Zonder Titel Deze Keer’ 12-inch (Mendeku Diskak)

Iris Paralysis ‘Dormant Visions’ 12-inch (Hieb & Stich)

Killing Frost ‘Years In Permafrost: Recordings 2021-2024’ 12-inch (Mendeku Diskak)

Lasso ‘Parte’ 12-inch (Sorry State)

Laura Agnusdei ‘Flowers Are Blooming In Antarctica’ 12-inch (Maple Death)

Life / Destruct ‘ To Stop The Conflict’ 12-inch (Desolate)

Paprika ‘Paprika’ 7-inch (Iron Lung)

Pest Control ‘Year Of The Pest’ 12-inch (Quality Control HQ)

Prey ‘Loathing’ 12-inch (Doom And Gloom)

Rotary Club ‘Sphere Of Service’ 12-inch (Iron Lung)

Suffocating Madness ‘Unrelenting Forced Psychosis’ 12-inch (Toxic State)

The Losers ‘Land Of Opportunity’ 12-inch (11PM)

Träume ‘Wrzask’ 12-inch (Quality Control HQ)

Tv Dust ‘Transition’ 12-inch (Maple Death)

Unbroken ‘Life. Love. Regret. – 30th Anniversary Edition’ 2×12-inch (Indecision Records)

Undertow ‘At Both Ends’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

X2000 ‘Gótico Tropical’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

Yellowcake ‘A Fragmented Truth’ 7-inch (Not For The Weak / Restock)

Zikin ‘Bala Galdua Zure Buru Galduan’ 12-inch (Mendeku Diskak)

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Foundation Vinyl newsletter!  We have a stacked line-up, so lets dive straight in.

To kick things off, we have four cracking featured new arrivals.  First up on La Vida Es Un Mus, the frantically claustrophobic self-titled debut album from Second Death, who feature members of Permission, Subdued, and Last Affront.

Then, we take a rather mellower turn with the the hazy dreamscapes of The Green Child on Looks Familiar, a co-release between Upset The Rhythm and Hobbies Galore.

To round things off with a bang, we have two new albums on Symphony Of Destruction – the politically charged blackened hardcore of Rogo on their debut LP, In Un Mondo Senza Violenza, and the return of the searing raw hardcore punk of Inferno Personale on La Scelta É Tua.

Also courtesy of Symphony Of Destruction, we have the European press of a series of three benefit compilation tapes raising funds for humanitarian aid to Gaza.  Bands contributing typically rare, or previously unreleased, tracks include A Culture Of Killing, Alien Nosejob, Belgrado, Burning Kitchen, Chain Cult, Class, Fairytale, Golpe, Gurs, Hellschock, Miss España, Mižerija, Neutrals, Nightwatchers, Quarantine, Rat Cage, Rogo, Scarecrow, The Ire, and Uzu.  For full details of the contributing bands and beneficiary non-profit organisations, check out the feature below.

And as always, we end with an updated London gig listing, which includes a just announced Negative Gears European tour (London 15/02).  Plus, there is a quick run down on some of the cracking records heading our way over the next few weeks.

This is the European press by Symphony Of Destruction of a series of three benefit compilation tapes co-ordinated by Philadelphia punks, The Dissidents.  All profits are donated to non-profit organisations delivering on-the-ground humanitarian aid in Gaza.  Each tape comprises typically rare, or previously unreleased, tracks contributed by bands drawn from across the hardcore punk community.

All profits are donated to the following non-profit organisations: Gaza Soup Kitchen, Gazaesims, Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, ANERA, Palestinian Red Crescent Society, MSF / Doctors Without Borders, Palestinian Legal, 1for3, and Heal Palestine.

For further details on the wider project and full track listings, check out: www.thedissidents.bandcamp.com

This section lays no claims to being a definitive listing!  It is simply gigs coming up in London that catch my eye and that I think people who read this newsletter might be interested in.  I will always try and highlight where a show forms part of a wider UK tour.

7^th December Svdestada, Wreathe, Head Of The Baptist (The Dev)

12^th December Alvilda, Music City, Zeropolis (The Waiting Room)

17^th December Terror, Nasty, Combust plus more (229 / UK Tour)

17^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Wristmeetrazor, Dry Socket, Long Goodbye, Vicarage, Hour Of Reprisal, Closed Hands (New Cross Inn)

18^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Ringworm, Bitter Wood, Broken Vow, Malignant, No Relief, Impunity, Imposter plus many more (New Cross Inn)

19^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Stormo, Sorcerer, Shooting Daggers, Perp Walk, Cassus, Hidden Mothers plus many more (New Cross Inn)

23^rd January One Step Closer, Dynamite, Life Of One, Uzumaki (New River Studios / Sold Out)

9^th February Bent Blue, Major Pain plus more (New Cross Inn)

14^th February Adult, Spike Hellis, Sacred Skin (Corsica Studios / UK Tour)

15^th February Negative Gears plus support (New River Studios / UK Tour)

24^th February Love Letter, Heavy Hex plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

7th-8^th March Damage Is Done 4.5 Weekender (Line-up and venues to be confirmed)

8^th March Misantropic, Nujorvik, Wreathe, System Of Slaves, Traidora (New Cross Inn)

16^th March Ignorance plus support (New River Studios / UK Tour)

15^th April Thou, pageninetynine, Moloch (Scala)

December

Atomic Prey ‘Atomic Prey’ 12-inch (Iron Lung)

Golpe ‘Subisci. Conformati. Rassegnati.’ 7-inch (Static Shock)

Ignorance ‘Nothing Changed’ 7-inch (Iron Lung)

Paprika ‘Paprika’ 7-inch (Iron Lung)

Pest Control ‘Year Of The Pest’ 12-inch (Quality Control HQ)

Träume ‘Wrzask’ 12-inch (Quality Control HQ)

January

Bent Blue ‘So Much Seething’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Corker ‘Hallways Of Grey’ 12-inch (Feel It / Restock)

Faucheuse ‘Rêve Électrique’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction / Restock)

Heiress ‘Nowhere Nearer’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Lasso ‘Parte’ 12-inch (Sorry State)

Suffocating Madness ‘Unrelenting Forced Psychosis’ 12-inch (Toxic State)

Unbroken ‘Life. Love. Regret. – 30th Anniversary Edition’ 2×12-inch (Indecision Records)

Undertow ‘At Both Ends’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Yellowcake ‘A Fragmented Truth’ 7-inch (Not For The Weak / Restock)

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Foundation Vinyl newsletter!  I managed to catch two very different shows last week.  On Thursday night, that all-too-rare luxury of a gig that I could walk to, with the first night of the Attempting Something weekender being held at Spanners in Brixton.  Housed in a half-sized railway arch, Spanners is small (capacity can’t be more than 50 people) yet perfectly formed and proved an excellent setting for a show focused on electronic-leaning acts.

Brendan Wells of Uranium Club played a mesmerising set, the abrupt end to which shocked you into realising just how much you had been drawn into his reverie.  I’m not entirely sure what instrument he was playing, but the closest I can come to describing it is a non-wind bagpipe channelled through a series of effects boxes and pedals.

And earlier in the evening, Fiscal Harm aka Al Aldous, fused saxophone and percussive electronics into an insidiously entrancing dub-meets-jazz deconstruction.  The tracks when he was joined by a flautist were particularly haunting.  Both sets were also an intriguing insight into the travails of the solo performer in juggling all of the elements of their performance, not least the need to shed your shoes to ensure sufficient precision in pedal / button toe pushing.  A big thanks to Another Subculture for organising Attempting Something – it sounds like the whole weekend went off in style!

And then on the Friday I was off to The Dome for Unbroken’s final (and only second ever) UK show.  As I headed up to the gig, it struck me how few times I have had to endure this rather soulless hangar, bearing in mind its impressive longevity – Bolt Thrower (a rather different venue in those pre-refurbishment days!), Burn, and Static Shock Weekend IV.  But if you were picking a band to make short work of it, Unbroken would surely be near the top of that list.  The skate punk-emo magpies Shooting Daggers warmed things up in spirited fashion, before Deaf Club unleashed a typically visceral set.  If there is a band who seem to be the physical manifestation of their own music, it is Deaf Club, as they twist and writhe in convulsive unison with their acerbic hardcore assault.

And then, it was to the main event.  Unbroken were in rampantly imperious form and the chance to hear, indeed feel, tracks like Razor and In The Name Of Progress live again was utterly intense.  But what the show reminded me of most is the sincerity and generosity of spirit that has always defined the band.  Their music is the embodiment of the understanding that the personal is political, that how we live our own lives shapes the society around us.  And also, perhaps sharpened by the tragic loss of Eric Allen, the appreciation of the courage that is required to recognise, rather than to suppress, our own vulnerabilities.  An absolute privilege.

And so, what do we have lined up this week?  We have two great new releases from Maple Death Records – the euphoric melancholy of The Wound from Qlowski and the darkly enticing, cosmically inclined folk of Sprecato from James Jonathan Clancy.  Then we have the bleakly contagious debut album, The Abandoned Flesh, from Zuletzt on No Front Teeth, before we round things off in style with the triumphant return of Straw Man Army with Earthworks on La Vida Es Un Mus.

As always, we end with an updated London gig listing, which includes just announced dates for Adult (14/02) and Ignorance (16/03).  Plus, there is a quick heads up on some of the cracking records heading from our way, including new releases from Atomic Prey, Golpe, Ignorance, Inferno Personale, Paprika, Rogo, Second Death, and The Green Child over the next couple of weeks!

This section lays no claims to being a definitive listing!  It is simply gigs coming up in London that catch my eye and that I think people who read this newsletter might be interested in.  I will always try and highlight where a show forms part of a wider UK tour.

29^th November Big Problem, Silica, Hellscape, Snub (The Shacklewell Arms)

29^th November Despize, Imposter, Disengagement, Infinite Wisdom (Peckham Audio)

29^th November Pitchshifter, Black Gold, The Sad Season (The Garage)

30^th November Poor Old Dogs, Dead Raze, The Fish Mittens, Inner London Violence (Magdalen Hall)

7^th December Svdestada, Wreathe, Head Of The Baptist (The Dev)

17^th December Terror, Nasty, Combust plus more (229 / UK Tour)

17^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Wristmeetrazor, Dry Socket, Long Goodbye, Vicarage, Hour Of Reprisal, Closed Hands (New Cross Inn)

18^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Ringworm, Bitter Wood, Broken Vow, Malignant, No Relief, Impunity, Imposter plus many more (New Cross Inn)

19^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Stormo, Sorcerer, Shooting Daggers, Perp Walk, Cassus, Hidden Mothers plus many more (New Cross Inn)

23^rd January One Step Closer, Dynamite, Life Of One, Uzumaki (New River Studios / Sold Out)

9^th February Bent Blue, Major Pain plus more (New Cross Inn)

14^th February Adult, Spike Hellis, Sacred Skin (Corsica Studios / UK Tour)

24^th February Love Letter, Heavy Hex plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

7th-8^th March Damage Is Done 4.5 Weekender (Line-up and venues to be confirmed)

8^th March Misantropic, Nujorvik, Wreathe, System Of Slaves, Traidora (New Cross Inn)

16^th March Ignorance plus support (New River Studios / UK Tour)

15^th April Thou, pageninetynine, Moloch (Scala)

December

Atomic Prey ‘Atomic Prey’ 12-inch (Iron Lung)

Faucheuse ‘Rêve Électrique’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction / Restock)

Golpe ‘Subisci. Conformati. Rassegnati.’ 7-inch (Static Shock)

Gurs ‘Gerran Bizi Gara’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction / Restock)

Ignorance ‘Nothing Changed’ 7-inch (Iron Lung)

Inferno Personale ‘La Scelta É Tua’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

Paprika ‘Paprika’ 7-inch (Iron Lung)

Pest Control ‘Year Of The Pest’ 12-inch (Quality Control HQ)

Rogo ‘Rogo’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

Second Death ‘Second Death’ 12-inch (La Vida Es Un Mus)

The Green Child ‘Look Familiar’ 12-inch (Upset The Rhythm)

Träume ‘Wrzask’ 12-inch (Quality Control HQ)

January

Bent Blue ‘So Much Seething’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Corker ‘Hallways Of Grey’ 12-inch (Feel It / Restock)

Heiress ‘Nowhere Nearer’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Lasso ‘Parte’ 12-inch (Sorry State)

Suffocating Madness ‘Unrelenting Forced Psychosis’ 12-inch (Toxic State)

Unbroken ‘Life. Love. Regret. – 30th Anniversary Edition’ 2×12-inch (Indecision Records)

Undertow ‘At Both Ends’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Yellowcake ‘A Fragmented Truth’ 7-inch (Not For The Weak / Restock)

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Foundation Vinyl newsletter!  Upset The Rhythm laid on a belter of a show at Number 90 on Thursday evening, with a Hygiene and Uranium Club double header.

Hygiene opened proceedings and it was certainly the first time I can remember them hitting the stage swathed in dry ice.  From then on it was a classic Hygiene set of tightly crafted, choppily melodic post-punk that weaved a stark yet sardonically observed montage of the degraded public services, skewed economic priorities, and political corruption that have come to define our hollowed out society.  Set stand outs were, perhaps, the title track from their recent 15 Minute City EP and Replacement Bus from 2019’s Private Sector full-length – never have the words ‘No one told me about the planned engineering works’ been uttered with such forlorn frustration!

And then, it was my first chance to catch Uranium Club live and I was intrigued to see how their singular brand of precise yet inherently experimental punk would translate to a live setting.  And its fair to say that my high expectations were comfortably exceeded.  The rhythm section forced itself to a more prominent position with spry flair, while the constantly interchanging vocals were brought more vividly into focus as the band’s modern day parables were wryly revealed.  But the highlight was the jousting guitarists as they unleashed an infectious layering of the powerfully repetitive with thrilling eruptions of virtuosic flair.  Quite the show.

And so what do we have in store this week?  First up, we have two much anticipated represses – the second pressing of Love Letter’s searing debut album from earlier this year, Everyone Wants Something Beautiful, and then a fresh run of Habak’s hauntingly beautiful 2020 second full-length, Ningún Muro Consiguió Jamás Contener La Primavera.  Then, we get our fuzz on – we have the second full-length of desolate metallic-tinged death rock from Human Trophy, Primary Instinct, and the bruising return of Armor on Afraid Of What’s To Come.

To round things up, we have an updated London gig listing, including a just announced Thou / pageninetynine show (15th April) and a ‘hold the dates’ for the return next year of the Damage Is Done weekender (7th-8th March).  Plus, there is a quick heads up on some of the great records soon heading our way!

This section lays no claims to being a definitive listing!  It is simply gigs coming up in London that catch my eye and that I think people who read this newsletter might be interested in.  I will always try and highlight where a show forms part of a wider UK tour.

20^th November Deaf Club plus screening of ‘Don’t Fall In Love With Yourself’ (The Black Heart)

21^st November Undying, Cauldron, Sentience (New Cross Inn)

21^st November Attempting Something Weekender featuring Brendan Wells’ Plant Music, Fiscal Harm, No Home, Megzbow And Vinegar Tom (Spanners)

22^nd November Unbroken, Deaf Club, Shooting Daggers, Hellscape (The Dome)

22^nd November Attempting Something Weekender featuring Gimic, Gamma, Ritual Error, Sublux, Rubber (Avalon Cafe)

23^rd November Deviated Instinct, Agnosy, Verrat, Rank, Traidora (New Cross Inn)

23^nd November Attempting Something Weekender featuring R.Aggs, Holiday Ghosts, Dean Rodney And The Cowboys, Vaiapraia, Marcel Wave, Grazia plus more  (Ivy House)

24^th November Grief Ritual, Wreathe, Cady, Jotnarr, Grim Harvest (Signature Brew)

29^th November Big Problem, Silica, Hellscape, Snub (The Shacklewell Arms)

29^th November Despize, Imposter, Disengagement, Infinite Wisdom (Peckham Audio)

29^th November Pitchshifter, Black Gold, The Sad Season (The Garage)

30^th November Poor Old Dogs, Dead Raze, The Fish Mittens, Inner London Violence (Magdalen Hall)

3^rd  December Coliseum, Harrowed, Ritual Error, No Bueno (New Cross Inn / Cancelled)

7^th December Svdestada, Wreathe, Head Of The Baptist (The Dev)

17^th December Terror, Nasty, Combust plus more (229 / UK Tour)

17^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Wristmeetrazor, Dry Socket, Long Goodbye, Vicarage, Hour Of Reprisal, Closed Hands (New Cross Inn)

18^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Ringworm, Bitter Wood, Broken Vow, Malignant, No Relief, Impunity, Imposter plus many more (New Cross Inn)

19^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Stormo, Sorcerer, Shooting Daggers, Perp Walk, Cassus, Hidden Mothers plus many more (New Cross Inn)

23^rd January One Step Closer, Dynamite, Life Of One, Uzumaki (New River Studios / Sold Out)

9^th February Bent Blue, Major Pain plus more (New Cross Inn)

24^th February Love Letter, Heavy Hex plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

7th-8^th March Damage Is Done 4.5 Weekender (Line-up and venues to be confirmed)

8^th March Misantropic, Nujorvik, Wreathe, System Of Slaves, Traidora (New Cross Inn)

15^th April Thou, pageninetynine, Moloch (Scala)

Next Week

James Jonathan Clancy Band ‘Sprecato’ 12-inch (Maple Death)

Qlowski ‘The Wound’ 12-inch (Maple Death)

The Green Child ‘Look Familiar’ 12-inch (Upset The Rhythm)

Zuletzt ‘The Abandoned Flesh’ 12-inch (No Front Teeth)

December

Atomic Prey ‘Atomic Prey’ 12-inch (Iron Lung)

Faucheuse ‘Rêve Électrique’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction / Restock)

Golpe ‘Subisci. Conformati. Rassegnati.’ 7-inch (Static Shock)

Gurs ‘Gerran Bizi Gara’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction / Restock)

Ignorance ‘Nothing Changed’ 7-inch (Iron Lung)

Inferno Personale ‘La Scelta É Tua’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

Paprika ‘Paprika’ 7-inch (Iron Lung)

Pest Control ‘Year Of The Pest’ 12-inch (Quality Control HQ)

Rogo ‘Rogo’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

Second Death ‘Second Death’ 12-inch (La Vida Es Un Mus)

Straw Man Army ‘Earthworks’ 12-inch (La Vida Es Un Mus)

Träume ‘Wrzask’ 12-inch (Quality Control HQ)

January

Bent Blue ‘So Much Seething’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Heiress ‘Nowhere Nearer’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Lasso ‘Parte’ 12-inch (Sorry State)

Unbroken ‘Life. Love. Regret. – 30th Anniversary Edition’ 2×12-inch (Indecision Records)

Undertow ‘At Both Ends’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Foundation Vinyl newsletter!  Friday night I popped along to a belter of a Quality Control HQ gig at Number 90 in Hackney Wick.  The blackened crust of Traidora got the evening off to a lively start and we were then treated to an utterly rampant Stingray.  Such was the anticipation, the pit exploded into life during the sound check and did not let up for the duration.  Trench Demon, perhaps, the highlight of an absolutely stellar set.

Then it was the rare privilege of catching Iggor Cavalera in the flesh with his current project Petbrick.  I had the pleasure of seeing Sepultura a couple of times in their very early 1990s’ heyday and, while the hair may be a touch greyer, it is fair to say that Cavalera has lost none of his remarkable virtuosity and power as he laid down a remorseless percussive barrage to propel the waves of dissonant electronics conjured by his co-collaborator Wayne Adams.

And then to round the evening off, L.O.T.I.O.N Multinational Corporation, whose last planned London show was scuppered by the pandemic.  Their set steadily ramped up its intensity, hitting its full stride with the crushing climax to Cybernetic Super Soldier.  From that point on, we were mercilessly engulfed by their pounding, clanking fury.  The band were also joined on stage by Lulu of Fairytale for a euphoric rendition of their Cybernetic Super Lover remix.

And this week’s line-up?  We have four cracking new arrivals.  First up, debut full lengths from Alambrada with Ríos De Sangre and Bato with Human Cancer.  Then, we have a repress of Mižerija’s self-titled EP and State Manufactured Terror’s 7-inch, The US Government Is A Kleptocratic Doomsday Cult.

Plus, we have an updated London gig listing, including a just announced Bent Blue / Major Pain show (09/02), and a quick heads up on some of the great new releases coming our way with records from Love Letter, Habak, Human Trophy, and Armor landing next week.

This section lays no claims to being a definitive listing!  It is simply gigs coming up in London that catch my eye and that I think people who read this newsletter might be interested in.  I will always try and highlight where a show forms part of a wider UK tour.

14^th November Uranium Club, Hygiene plus more (Number 90 / UK Tour)

16^th November Future Of The Left plus support (The Garage / Sold Out)

20^th November Deaf Club plus screening of ‘Don’t Fall In Love With Yourself’ (The Black Heart)

21^st November Undying, Cauldron, Sentience (New Cross Inn)

21^st November Attempting Something Weekender featuring Brendan Wells’ Plant Music, Fiscal Harm, No Home, Megzbow And Vinegar Tom (Spanners)

22^nd November Unbroken, Deaf Club, Shooting Daggers, Hellscape (The Dome)

22^nd November Attempting Something Weekender featuring Gimic, Gamma, Ritual Error, Sublux, Rubber (Avalon Cafe)

23^rd November Deviated Instinct, Agnosy, Verrat, Rank, Traidora (New Cross Inn)

23^nd November Attempting Something Weekender featuring R.Aggs, Holiday Ghosts, Dean Rodney And The Cowboys, Vaiapraia, Marcel Wave, Grazia plus more  (Ivy House)

24^th November Grief Ritual, Wreathe, Cady, Jotnarr, Grim Harvest (Signature Brew)

29^th November Big Problem, Silica, Hellscape, Snub (The Shacklewell Arms)

29^th November Despize, Imposter, Disengagement, Infinite Wisdom (Peckham Audio)

29^th November Pitchshifter, Black Gold, The Sad Season (The Garage)

30^th November Poor Old Dogs, Dead Raze, The Fish Mittens, Inner London Violence (Magdalen Hall)

3^rd  December Coliseum, Harrowed, Ritual Error, No Bueno (New Cross Inn)

17^th December Terror, Nasty, Combust plus more (229 / UK Tour)

17^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Wristmeetrazor, Dry Socket, Long Goodbye, Vicarage, Hour Of Reprisal, Closed Hands (New Cross Inn)

18^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Ringworm, Bitter Wood, Broken Vow, Malignant, No Relief, Impunity, Imposter plus many more (New Cross Inn)

19^th January Reality Unfolds Weekender featuring Stormo, Sorcerer, Shooting Daggers, Perp Walk, Cassus, Hidden Mothers plus many more (New Cross Inn)

23^rd January One Step Closer, Dynamite, Life Of One, Uzumaki (New River Studios / Sold Out)

9^th February Bent Blue, Major Pain plus more (New Cross Inn)

24^th February Love Letter, Heavy Hex plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

8^th March Misantropic, Nujorvik, Wreathe, System Of Slaves, Traidora (New Cross Inn)

Next Week

Armor ‘Afraid Of What’s To Come’ 12-inch (11PM)

Habak ‘Ningún Muro Consiguió Jamás Contener La Primavera’ 12-inch (Alerta Antifascista / Repress)

Human Trophy ‘Primary Instinct’ 12-inch (Iron Lung)

Love Letter ‘Everyone Wants Something Beautiful’ 12-inch (Iodine Recordings / 2nd Press / Restock)

Later In November

Faucheuse ‘Rêve Électrique’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction / Restock)

Gurs ‘Gerran Bizi Gara’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction / Restock)

Inferno Personale ‘La Scelta É Tua’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

James Jonathan Clancy Band ‘Sprecato’ 12-inch (Maple Death)

Pest Control ‘Year Of The Pest’ 12-inch (Quality Control HQ)

Qlowski ‘The Wound’ 12-inch (Maple Death)

Rogo ‘Rogo’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

Second Death ‘Second Death’ 12-inch (La Vida Es Un Mus)

Straw Man Army ‘Earthworks’ 12-inch (La Vida Es Un Mus)

Träume ‘Wrzask’ 12-inch (Quality Control HQ)

Zuletzt ‘The Abandoned Flesh’ 12-inch (No Front Teeth)

December

Bent Blue ‘So Much Seething’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Heiress ‘Nowhere Nearer’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)

Lasso ‘Parte’ 12-inch (Sorry State)

Unbroken ‘Life. Love. Regret. – 30th Anniversary Edition’ 2×12-inch (Indecision Records)

Undertow ‘At Both Ends’ 12-inch (Indecision Records)