A Crash Course from the Ravers

This has been brewing since October last.

On an Abu AMA share, I mentioned a vague connection between Abu & Spiral Tribe. It was more a connection to Mutoid Waste Co., which is a German sub-set of Spiral Tribe. Frenz of NSS Richard sez:
     "Thank you. Talking about 'vague links to Spiral Tribe' I would love a deep dive into network23 and a lot of things Spiral Tribe related".

I have been working on that idea ever since & decided I just needed to wrap it up here & now. Because of the breadth of material from these crazy ravers, this turned into quite the adventure. 

 

Spiral Tribe is an arts collective & free party Sound System formed in 1990. It organised free parties, festivals. raves in the UK, then later Europe in the 1990s. The three founding members of Spiral Tribe/SP23 were Mark Harrison, Debbie Griffith & Simone Feeney. 

 

In late 1990, Mark Harrison with his brother Alexander, friends Debbie Griffith, & Simone Feeney hired some sound equipment. They put on a pair of squat parties in North London called De-tension at the Skool House. These were the first where the name Spiral Tribe was used & identified as a collective. Margret Thatcher's regime had decided to crack down on illegal music gatherings. Under the guiding of Tory MP Graham Bright, the acid house-targeted 1990 Entertainments (Increased Penalties) Bill raised fines for unlicensed parties from £2,000 to £20,000 with the possibility of six months jail time for organisers.

By spring of 1991 Spiral Tribe had bought their own Sound System. That summer they set up at the Longstock free festival in Hampshire. The Tribe rolled up with their four-&-a-half-Kilowatt rig, rocked Longstock 'til the end & then never went home again.

In fact, between their 1990 humble beginning & 1994  the collective organised over 30 free parties, raves, & festivals in both indoor/outdoor locations. Spiral Tribe were true pioneers, creating a rougher style of Techno that would become the backbone of the illegal rave scene in the early to mid 90s. The Sound System combined pagan beliefs with New Age traveller culture turning their raves into teknivals. After a few years inactivity, the collective reformed in 2011 as SP23 & continues to organise events. 

 

Spiral Tribe was involved in the infamous Castlemorton Common Festival,  the UK's biggest illegal rave. Sound Systems including Spiral Tribe, DiY, Bedlam, Adrenaline, & Circus Warp congregated in Malvern in Worcestershire in May 92. They created a temporary mini rave-town...an organic, unorganised, five-day party for an estimated 20,000-50,000 ravers. Following Castlemorton, many of the Tribe were arrested, their vehicles/Sound System impounded. Soon, the term 'rave' became part of UK law with the 1994 Criminal Justice Act. 

 

If you are new to Spiral Tribe this is an ideal place to start. 

 

Spiral Tribe - Spiral Tribe Sound System (The Album), Big Life 519423-2, 1993.
all decryption codes in comments

Breach the Peace    
Do Et    
Seven    
23 Minutes Warning    
Forward the Revolution    
World Traveller Adventurer    
Ragga Boom    
Track 13 (Criminal Drug)    
Sirius 23    
Earth-Worm    
Going All the Way    
Predator

 

 

 

Following Castlemorton, Spiral Tribe's reputation had become large. This led to Martin 'Youth' Glover, Killing Joke bassist giving them free reign of his Brixton studio. Spiral Tribe then signed a record deal with Big Life Records that included a sizable cash advance. The Tribe used this advance money to build a mobile studio. They then needed someone with studio skills. They turned to Simon Carter.

Some of the records Spiral Tribe played at Castlemorton were made by Simon Carter as part of Earth Leakage Trip who'd put out tunes on Rising High & had the first release on Moving Shadow.

 

 

Earth Leakage Trip - Psychotronic EP, Moving Shadow SHADOW 1, 1991.

Other Side -
No Idea
This Side -
Psychotronic
Over 92

 

 

 

With Carter's guidance they outfitted an old trailer with studio equipment. This became the legendary mobile studio, Studio 23, with resident producers Carter (Crystal Distortion) & his friend 69db (who would become the other half of Spiral Tribe Liveset & R-Zac). This led directly to Network 23.

Spiral Tribe launched their Network 23 label in 1994, releasing 37 records over a two-year period, creating the hard tec/tribe techno blueprint. Although they only released records from 94-96, their sound would dominate the Teknival scene for the next decade. In 2005 Network Repress was set up, to re-release material from Network23. In 2011 the collective reformed as SP23 & continues to organise events. Network 23 records were initially sold at Spiral Tribe's free parties. The label's cult status only started to grow after it closed down. Many of their records have gained recognition as techno classics. The obscure nature of the label has led to speculation as to whether some records actually exist.

 

 

Network 23 - Everything Counts in Large Amounts, Domino Records DMN120, 1993.

Everything Counts in Large Amounts
Everything Counts in Large Amounts (instrumental version)
Black GRP
Outward Bound

 

 

 

 

In the early 2000s, Expressillon, a French techno label run by Renaud Gay, a member of one of the first French Sound Systems, Teknokrates began reissuing Spiral Tribe related material under their Netwk Repress sublabel. Sadly Renaud passed away October 25, 2017.

Here is a compilation of associates & friends, members of the Spiral Tribe Sound System, barely scratching the surface as to the depth of their reach... 

 

 

Various - Network 23: Meltdown Mickey, Expressillion Ntw23cd, 2004

Beat Frequency - Crystal Distortion    
Blue Spiral - Crystal Distortion & Meltdown Mickey
L.S.Dub 2    
Stink.2    
Innerspace    
R-Zac - 69db
Red Spiral - Crystal Distortion
Black Plastic - Prangsta
Please Wake Up    
Power House    
CD02 2 - Crystal Distortion    
The Max - Meltdown Mickey + 69db    
Drum Trax - DJ Tal    
Take 4 Red Caps - L.S.Dub    
Ard-Drive - Meltdown Mickey + 69db

 

 

 

 

Simon Carter, the man behind Network 23, is perhaps best known as Crystal Distortion & as one-half of the Spiral Tribe Liveset, which became R-Zac (along with 69db). 

 

 

Crystal Distortion - The Things 14m Not Supposed to Do..., Expressillon EXPRCD16, 2004.

Hypnotism Hop    
OH51    
Am I a Pimp
A    
Only Wish    
Cheeky Groover    
B    
Car Chase    
Bahm Bahm Baah    
C    
Punky Broosta    
Supa Skat    
D    
Ctrl+Alt+Spliff    
The End?

 

 

 

 

Going full circle, 2008s Respect to the Hardcore Mother Earth! was a 2CD release. CD1 is Spiral Tribe Sound System (The Album) which is where this mega-post all began. CD2 is a reissue of Spiral Tribe's very first release, 1993s Tecno Terra with four bonus tracks.

 

 

Spiral Tribe - Respect to the Hardcore Mother Earth! CD2, Expressillon EXPRSPICD, 2008.

Tecno Terra -
Tecno Terra (Pyramid mix)    
Connector    
Unknow Source    
Oracle    
Digital Swamp    
M.I.5.    
Darkside    
4 Lands

bonus tracks -     
All Spirals    
Black Plastic    
Intent 2 Supply    
DJ Nasty

 

 

 

 

Moving forward to more recent times, here are two more current SP23 promoted EPs. These are called Lost Tapes, but this is 21st Century Spiral Tribe music. Time has mellowed the Tribe, it seems. Perhaps new chemicals involved??? This is dark ambient Trance from outer space.

 

 

Network 23 - The Lost Tapes Volume 1, Network 23 self-released, 2017.

The Shimmering Stars
Sylvania
Dharma Joy

 

 

 

 

Network 23 - The Lost Tapes Volume 2, Network 23 self-released, 2017

The Face of Eden
Ice Cascade
Cast Adrift

 

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ