Ralph Cumbers describes his latest release as "an open love letter to underground dance music culture". Out earlier this month on Magic and Dreams, Inner Space Break Free harks back to ye olde days of hardcore and rave, with influences not so much worn on its sleeve as emblazoned across the back of a friggin' great fluoro jacket.

The album is available on cassette only ("I’m releasing it on tape because I adore them, and all my music is made on a cassette 4-track, so it feels kind of right"), and is dedicated to "the tunes, DJs, soundsystems, noisy neighbours and pirate stations that have inspired me and repeatedly turned my head inside out over the last two decades", says Cumbers. Rave on, we say.

 

'Inner Space Influences' mixes up many of the classic dance tracks that influenced Inner Space. If you've not checked out Mr Clef's other mixes on Spannered, we recommend you seek out his excellent dub mixes here and here, and last year's tremendous African mix here. You can also read Spannered's interview with him from 2006.

 

Tracklisting: 

• David Shrigley - What There Is
• Autechre - Inhake 2
• Hashim - Al-Naafyish (The Soul)
• Nexus 21 - Real Love
• The Beatmasters - Hey DJ / I Can't Dance
• Tricky Disco - Tricky Disco
• Betty Boo - Doin' the Do (remix)
• A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray
• Technotronic - Pump Up the Jam
• Altern 8 - Real Time Status
• KLF - What Time Is Love?
• Inner City - Let It Reign (Altern 8 You Know the Score mix)
• Plaid - Anything
• Orbital - Chime (Ray Keith mix)
• Sabres Of Paradise - Chapel Street Market 9am
• Da Posse - In the Heat of the Night
• Altern 8 - DJ Nex's Break
• Rachel Wallace - Tell Me Why
• Hackney Hardcore - Dancehall Dangerous
• 2 Bad Mice - Hold It Down
• Inky Blacknuss - Drumulator
• AFX - Untitled
• Inky Blacknuss - Desolator
• David Shrigley - What There Is

 Inner Space Break Free (cassette + download code) is out now.