Exclaim.CA

Released by Dublin-based Major Problems, and with tracks from the likes of L.A.-based performance art collective Big City Orchestra, English multimedia composer Philip Jeck and '80s Italo-disco group Plus Two, part of the compilation's appeal is its international eclecticism. Many of these tracks are also quite rare, and the tales of its globetrotting curation are already legendary.
 
While most everything here has merit, of arguably prime importance is the trio of "Final" by Genevan composer Olivier Rogg, "Kalatashew Waga" by '80s Ethiopian/American synth-funk band Admas and "Uttoz Gives A Song" by Swedish analog outfit Frak. All three evoke the '80s (yes, the Frak track was recorded in '92), but an alternate version of the decade, one that occurred at the fringes, that we might have caught glimpses of but never fully experienced. The nostalgia here is indefinable but highly effective.
 
Compassion Crew has done a great service unearthing these gems, and has helped at least one group (Frak, who are still active) achieve a higher profile. It's a fine example of a DJ/producer expressing his own tastes through the work of others and creating a cohesive whole out of disparate elements. Compassion Crew Presents: Compassion Cuts, Tapes, and Acetates is highly recommended for fans of the rare and strange. (Major Problems)

Boomkat Product Review:

Manna for the disco freaks from a god of digging; Compassion Crew presents: Compassion Cuts, Tapes & Acetates unearths a haul of hardly-known and totally obscure gems ranging from Frak doing acidic piano house to a wrecked Philip Jeck flip of Walter Gibbons & Arthur Russell, and much more besides.

Like the Light Sounds Dark collections, the set uncovers eleven prickly fruits from overgrown areas of the record store, lofts and untouched collections, and rearranges them as a somehow coherent collection that plays thru like one of the maddest mix tapes you can imagine, whilst equally standing up as a DJ-ready batch to spike the ‘floor. 

It’s most alluring to to us for gear such as Olivier Rogg’s ’88 drum machine oddity, Final and that swanging acid bass on Plustwo’s highly in-demand Stop Fantasy (7” Version) or Admas’ wild ’84 Ethiopian boogie throw-down, Kalatashew Waga, but you know everyone’s gonna have their favourite here.

In a word: choice!

From <https://boomkat.com/products/compassion-cuts-tapes-acetates>

Juno Download

In an age when finding obscure music is easier than ever before, you have to admire those who go that extra mile to unearth hidden gems. In theory, anyone with an Internet connection, disposable income and enough time on their hands could discover long overlooked “buried treasure”, but very few then take the time and effort to track down the music’s creators in order to license and re-issue these forgotten releases. Congratulations, then, must go to Irish DJ, producer and record collector Compassion Crew, an artist whose previous releases for Running Back, Dolly and Horn Wax outlined an eccentric, atmospheric and left-of-centre approach to house and techno productions.

Some years back, the man of mystery decided he was going to put together a compilation of unfeasibly obscure and expensive gems. His friends at Irish imprint Major Problems agreed to release it, and so he set about tracking down the artists and labels behind the obscure cassettes, acetates, promos and private press records he wanted to include. According to the label’s sales notes, that process took him from “the American Midwest to Rome, Germany and beyond” in a bid to get sign-off. That he achieved it is a hugely impressive feat, even if it did take him years chasing loose ends and potential lost causes.

Of course, this would mean little if the music on Compassion Cuts, Tapes & Acetates was below par. Deep digging only gets you so far; it’s the quality of the music you unearth that counts. Happily, the Irish record collector has ticked that box and then some. What’s most enjoyable about Compassion Cuts, Tapes & Acetates isn’t the quality of the individual tracks included, but rather the effortless eclecticism on show. Compassion Crew has simply gathered together a bunch of great tunes he likes, thought deeply about sequencing, and presented them for our listening pleasure. It feels a bit like he’s handed us a homemade cassette compilation of his post-club listening faves, in the manner of music-obsessed teenagers in the 1980s and early ‘90s.

This nostalgic approach can be heard throughout the obscure track list. Thus, the fluttering flutes and drowsy orchestration of library music composer Roger Davy’s “Brumes Sur Mars” is followed by the X-rated post-punk experimentalism of Big City Orchestra’s “Kitty Push Here”, while the stargazing synths, electro rhythms and fuzzy guitars of Henry Hektik and Thomas W J Sutter’s epic “Infernal Jet Waltz” casually make way for the out-there, low-slung new wave weirdness of Defuser’s “Bouquet of Weeds”.

These juxtapositions are never jarring, despite the stylistic shifts, and allow Compassion Crew to squeeze in some genuinely brilliant musical moments. Many will already know the life-affirming, piano-driven bliss of Frak’s unnaturally cheery 1995 cut “Uttoz Gives A Song”, but less will be familiar with Plustwo’s baggy, electrofunk-influenced 1982 Italo-disco gem “Stop Fantasy” – or, for that matter, the tumbling Balearic jazz-funk of Swiss composer Olivier Rogg’s sublime 1988 album cut “Final”. The latter feels like it’s ripe for reissue on Music From Memory, though on this occasion, Compassion Crew got there first.

 From <http://www.junodownload.com/plus/2016/04/20/various-artists-compassion-crew-presents-compassion-cuts-tapes-acetates/>