Sandwell District – End Beginnings

More vivid than Feed-Forward and less entombed in its own grayscale mystique, this regrouped Sandwell District stirs the ashes with tribal churn and lysergic drift, not so much a reinvention as a necessary evolution. New blood helps—bandmates, features, maybe even sunlight—nudging the textures into kaleidoscopic suggestion. Melody peeks through the concrete, and the rhythms don't just exist, they move. A clear step up from its predecessor, not by abandoning the ruins, but by planting something new among them.

The pressing quality of this one are fucking amazing!!!! Dynamics are soooo much good!!!!! Compare totally with my streamer when i play it in tidal!!! So true. Really guys ... Congrats PIAS.

***One big fail** : sleeves due static electricity affect the vinyl and left small scuffs when push it ... Not so smart from the label. Use other normal sleeves and keep the original just in the case.

The first vinyl is very much Sandwell-ish, with regards to its clinical precision in of rhythm and layering.
The second one is somewhat deeper, and also more melodic than what I would have expected from a collab between Function and Regis. Feels a bit like a nod to the late Juan Mendez, which I find very interesting to listen to.

"Will You Be Safe?", and the D Side as a whole are my favourite parts so far, but I can already feel how the other tracks are starting to show their individual character on the second listen.

Great pressing, excellent quality, no surface noise whatsoever.
(edit: like... literally no surface noise. I just set the channel gain to +12 on my mixer and the parts between the tracks were dead silent.)

Has anyone noticed how similar the artwork is to the Juan Atkins/Moritz van Oswald Borderline series?

There's a Juno Records version with signed print of side D artwork, 50 copies. I'd put it in but it's a complete duplicate of this and I can't be bothered entering everything!

Gorgeous music

Excellent album of lush, dark techno, no duds to be found. So many subtle details across every track. Rewards repeat listens. RIP Silent Servant. You would be proud of this one.

Pre-ordered without listening to a single song, and I was not disappointed, incredibly beautiful album, you can listen to it all the way through, super sound

Interested buyers , please check out for Boomkat ….plenty in stock !!!!!

First release from Sandwell District without any input from Juan aka Silent Servant. Track D8 title just makes me sad knowing he’s no longer around.
Anyway, the album sounds completely different to any of the other Sandwell District material and is definitely heading on a different path. My favourite track is “Least Travelled”” and is definitely the darkest track on the album.Tinged with sadness with the loss of Juan, but a must own album.

Heavy New Order "Temptation" influence (tribute ?) on the lay-out work.