Customer Reviews

Relics - A Transmat Compilation [RARE]

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Well, after a 17 year search for this Detroit techno "holy grail" I have finally found it! It popped up of all places a small record store in my hometown of Pasadena, Cali. How it got there I'll never know but it had my name on it when I found it last week. I've seen this CD appear and disappear on eBay for crazy amounts of money. I even contacted Derrick May and the Transmat label asking if there would ever be a reissue. All answers were discouraging. A number of years ago the vinyl version got "repressed" but all 3 copies I bought had the same pops, clicks and surface noise which showed that a someone repressed this using a considerable played copy as the source material. Anyway, see that the LP was unofficially repressed I was hoping that the CD would also see an unofficial repressing but nothing ever happened. The CD version of Transmat Relics contains many more tracks not featured on its vinyl counterpart!

The tracks that stand out for me are the short interludes. Track# 7 is my favorite track off this release and sadly it was edited down to 1 minute when it reappeared on the Innovator 2xCD by Derrick May along with other butchered tracks from this compilation. A nice version of the classic "Strings of Life" appears on this comp along with great Psyche (aka Carl Craig) "Crackdown" tracks. The Model 500 (aka Juan Atkins) "Info World" track is the only electro sounding track on this release but manages to fit right in. What would a Detroit techno compilation be without Juan Atkins, right? All in all this is a great introduction to anyone interested in the early days of Detroit techno and what's surprising is that a lot of these tracks date back to 1986! As we approach the year 2010 these tracks still do not sound dated to me and still sound very fresh today. 313 - bow down!