SSR Records: In Retrospect

Hi Scores and Crammed Discs present SSR Records: In Retrospect, nine tracks from the vast SSR catalog originally created between 1990 and 1996 and now remastered for today’s dance floors. Released on premium gatefold sleeve double LP with extensive liner notes and through all digital platforms.

Hi Scores is beyond excited to present SSR Records: In Retrospect. This 2LP compilation album presented in a beautiful gatefold sleeve and through all digital platforms, wishes to highlight the immense and hard to grasp legacy of the Brussels based label. SSR Records was founded in 1988 by Marc Hollander as a sub label of his Crammed Discs and spanned the nascent years of house, acid, rave, trance, new beat, hip-hop, future jazz and broken beat, collaborating internationally and racking up close to 200 releases until it was put to sleep in 2002. Far ahead of their time, SSR Records released music of both European and North American artists that hadn’t broken through yet, such as those collected on this compilation: Move D, Nu Era, Gemini, Bjørn Torske, Glenn Underground or Matthew Herbert.

SSR Records was run by Crammed Discs chief Marc Hollander and Minimal Compact singer Samy Birnbach aka DJ Morpheus. SSR Records: In Retrospect comes with extended liner notes, exploring the pivotal milestones in the history of the adventurous label and zooming in on the origins of all records featured on the compilation.

All nine tracks on SSR Records: In Retrospect were selected by Hi Scores’s head honcho Kong DJ and have been remastered. Created between 1990 and 1996 and in the at the time pioneering spheres of house, breakbeat, electro and trance music, these treasures from the vast SSR catalog today stand as a stunning testimony to a truly remarkable and timeless musical legacy.

Kong DJ: ‘While collaborating with Crammed Discs on the releases of Aksak Maboul in 2016 and Zazou / Bikaye in 2018 on Ensemble, I began to grasp the impressive catalog of the label and its sub labels, including SSR. Surprised by the tiny footprint SSR had left on the world wide web - often the case for labels ceased before the internet revolution - I wrote an article for British website The Vinyl Factory. This would later prove to be the first step towards this compilation album, collecting favorites from the label as a kid in a giant candy store.’

Crammed Discs are currently exploring their archives, and are digitally releasing over 250 tracks (mostly from the SSR catalogue) which only ever came out on vinyl and were therefore unavailable for decades. Each consisting of a compilation and several artist EPs and albums, the first two phases came out in 2022, while phase 3 is rolling out in the spring of 2023:
Rare SSR Electronica 1989-94 (Crammed Archives 1)
Rare Global Pop 1980s (Crammed Archives 2)
Rare SSR Electronica 1994-01 (Crammed Archives 3) 

Compiled by: Koen Galle aka Kong DJ
Remastered by: Wouter Brandenburg
Graphic design by: Léo Fouan
Distribution by: Newsdistribution.be & EPM Music
Thanks to: Marc Hollander, Samy Birnbach, Sofia Rasquin, Hanna Gorjaczkowska

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