Law & Auder
| Law & Auder Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder | Phil Earle and Meria Nearchu |
| Distributors | 3MV/Sony; Cooking Vinyl; Shellshock |
| Genre | Experimental electronic music, jungle, drum'n' bass, dub, ambient |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | London, England |
Law & Auder Records is a British independent record label, production collective and electronic-music promoter founded in London in 1993 by Phil Earle and Meria Nearchu. Its catalogue encompasses jungle, drum and bass, dub, ambient, experimental electronica, modular synthesis and cross-cultural electronic music.
The label is associated with themed compilation projects including Avantgardism, East-Westercism, Female of the Species and Modularism, as well as artist releases including Luke Vibert and B. J. Cole's collaborative album Stop the Panic. Law & Auder also organised club nights, album launches, the Monastery of Sound festival series and internet-radio programming.
History
Law & Auder was founded in London in 1993. Co-founder Phil Earle compiled and curated many of the label's various-artists albums. Early Law & Auder releases had a catalogue and release association with Blue Angel Records, which was connected with Rising High International. The relationship involved joint release credits, related catalogue numbering and artists who appeared across the labels' catalogues. During the late 1990s, several Law & Auder releases were distributed in the United Kingdom by 3MV in association with Sony Music. The label subsequently worked with Cooking Vinyl. By 2000, releases including High Density.1 and V-Neck's Dub Fiction were distributed by Shellshock.
Catalogue and musical approach
Avantgardism
The Avantgardism series explored experimental and leftfield approaches to drum and bass. Releases included Avantgardism: Drum'n'Bass, the Avantgardism EP and Avantgardism Volume 2: One Giant Bleep for Mankind. A retrospective review in NOW Magazine placed the compilation in the period when drum and bass was comparatively jazz-influenced and rhythmically complex, before the dominance of techstep.[1]
An album-launch event for the second volume was held at the Powerhaus in Finsbury Park in November 1998. The bill included Finitribe, Muslimgauze, Fructose, Bedouin Ascent, Luke Vibert, DJ Hustler, Spongeboy & Tench and Caspar Pound.
East-Westercism
The East-Westercism series combined jungle, drum and bass, ambient and dub-influenced electronic production with South Asian instruments, scales and musical traditions.
Releases in the series included:
- East-Westercism
- East-Westercism EP
- Further East-Westercisms
- East Westercisms Volume 3
Contributors included Talvin Singh, Kuljit Bhamra, Bedouin Ascent, T-Power, Muslimgauze, David Toop, Rhys Chatham, Luke Vibert, Joi, James Hardway, Freeform and State of Bengal.
The first album was launched at an event titled East Westercism: An Anokha Special at the Blue Note in Hoxton Square on 23 June 1997. The bill included T-Power, Summit, Bedouin Ascent, Luke Vibert, Mixmaster Morris, Witchman and Cloud 9.
A further event, A Night of Further East Westercisms, was held at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts) in London on 4 April 1998. Performers included James Hardway, Finitribe, Fructose, Summit, Joi, Muslimgauze, Bedouin Ascent, Luke Vibert, Mixmaster Morris, Doppler 20:20, Spongeboy & Tench, Tandori Space and State of Bengal. Visuals were provided by Glimpse and Autopilot.
Female of the Species
Female of the Species was a compilation and live-event project centred on women working in electronic and experimental music.
Artists associated with the project included People Like Us, Magz Hall, DinahBird, Kaffe Matthews, Laura B, Addie Brik, Andrea Parker, Mira Calix, Neotropic, Apache 61, Spinsta, Lady Fuzz, Mee and Ariel & The Flames.
NME reviewed the compilation and described it as experimental work by a varied group of female electronic artists.[2]
Pete Lawrence reviewed the album in the March 1999 issue of Top Magazine.
Several tracks from the project received airplay on John Peel's BBC radio programmes, including recordings by People Like Us, Magz Hall, Starfish Enterprise and DinahBird.
The project was presented live at the Big Chill, the Spitz, 93 Feet East, the Foundry and Union Chapel. It subsequently developed into the related X-Chromosomes event series.
Live presentations
Law & Auder presented Female of the Species Live at the Big Chill at Larmer Tree Gardens on 7 August 1999.
A further event was held at the Spitz Bar on 8 March 2001, featuring Kaffe Matthews, Ryo Co and Laura B, with DJs Magz Hall and Carrie.
The X-Chromosomes series included events at 93 Feet East in August
and September 2001 featuring Supanaut/Isabel Waidner, People Like
Us/Vicki Bennett, Magz Hall and Addie Brik.
An event titled A Load of X-Chromosomes was held at the Foundry on 14 June 2002. A larger X-Chromosomes event followed at Union Chapel on 22 June, with a bill including Andrea Parker, Mira Calix, Neotropic/Riz Maslen, People Like Us, Bit-Tonic, Spinsta, Apache 61, Lady Fuzz, Laura B, Space Puppy, Mee and Ariel & The Flames.
Stop the Panic
In 2000, Law & Auder released Stop the Panic, a collaboration between electronic musician Luke Vibert and pedal-steel guitarist B. J. Cole. The album combined electronic beats and programming with pedal steel, jazz, country, exotica and Hawaiian influences.
Pitchfork reviewer Paul Cooper gave the album a score of 6.7 and discussed its unconventional combination of pedal steel and electronic production.[3]
The Guardian reviewed Vibert and Cole's Scala performance during the album's launch period. Betty Clarke described the record as a collage of international musical influences and noted the performance's combination of drum and bass, jazz, hip-hop, big-band and Hawaiian elements.[4]
A later review in The Observer stated that Cole had received high praise for his collaboration with Vibert.[5]
Different territorial editions were associated with Law & Auder, Cooking Vinyl and Astralwerks.
The related Drum'n'Bass'n'Steel EP was released on 25 November 1999.
Dub and experimental releases
Law & Auder's dub and experimental catalogue included Dub Auder, Step into Dubism, V-Neck's Dub Fiction and Millipede, The Law & Auder Assembly, Minimalism: More or Less, High Density.1, Summit's Tree Dwelling Rituals and Galerie Stratique's Nothing Down-to-Earth.
High Density.1 featured Luke Vibert, Bedouin Ascent and Muslimgauze.
Minimalism and Minimal Casino
The compilation Minimalism: More or Less explored minimalist and experimental electronic music. In 1998, Law & Auder staged Minimal Casino, its album-launch event at The 333 in Hoxton, featuring Witchman.
Modularism
The later Modularism series focused on music produced with modular synthesisers. Modularism 2: Noises Off was released on 8 July 2018 and contains 30 tracks by 30 artists, including Andrew Huang, Benge, Elizabeth Parker, Fragile Self, Metamono, Vile Electrodes and Zoe Blade.[6]
The album was compiled by Phil Dickson-Earle, mastered by DivKid Ben, and featured cover art and design by Jonathan Barnbrook.[7]
Law & Auder Collective
The Law & Auder Collective was a flexible studio project centred on Phil Earle, working with guest producers, musicians and vocalists from London's early jungle scene. It did not have a fixed membership.
Recordings associated with the collective included "Gimme (The Weed)", "Can't Tekkit", "Num Yo Ho", "Acid Jungle", "All Junglists", "Big It Up", "Boomstick", "Bust the New Jam", "I Feel It", "It's Alright", "Lively Body" and "Too Right". Some were later collected on Watch the Ride! – Oldskool Jungle.
Live events and promotion
Rehabilitation
Law & Auder ran a monthly club night titled Rehabilitation, also known as Rehab, at the Foundry near Old Street in London. The night combined live electronic performances, resident and guest DJs, video work and visual art.
Monastery of Sound
Law & Auder organised the recurring Monastery of Sound electronic music festival at a 12th-century monastery in Normandy, France. The first two editions took place in 1998 and 1999. A third edition, Monast3ry of Sound 2K, was scheduled for September 2000 but was cancelled.
Other events
Law & Auder promoted events at the Blue Note, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Powerhaus, The 333, the Spitz, 93 Feet East, Electrowerkz, the Foundry and Union Chapel.
Online radio
Rebuffer.com
Law & Auder operated an internet-radio project titled Rebuffer.com, associated with electronic-music streams, DJ sets, artist programming and event information.
Rehab-Live
In 2001, Law & Auder produced Rehab-Live, a two-hour internet-radio programme broadcast every other Sunday through PureDM.
Radio airplay
Law & Auder releases received repeated airplay on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 programmes. On 4 May 1999, Peel played W.O.T?'s "Blood Thirsty" from Female of the Species.
On 13 May 1999, he played People Like Us's "Suger & Splice" from the same compilation.
On 10 July 2002, Peel played Dinah Bird's "Sound Obsession" from Female of the Species Vol. 2.
Other Law & Auder-associated tracks played by Peel included recordings by Mung, Magz Hall, Starfish Enterprise, Luke Vibert and B. J. Cole, and material from The Law & Auder Assembly.
Artwork, logos and production
Law & Auder used several visual identities during its history. The
original 1990s label logo was designed by Wilf Smith, while an updated
identity was produced by The Designers Republic.
A later digital-era logo was used for online releases.
Artwork and design credits across the catalogue included Richard Gallon, John Roome, Mitcho and Natasha, Nick Witte-Vermeulen, Erika Steenkamp, Dan Conway, Bruno Caurat and Jonathan Barnbrook.
Several releases were mastered by Martin Giles, with CTS Studios appearing in the production credits. Releases including Avantgardism, East-Westercism and Further East-Westercisms carried a separate credit for three-dimensional audio enhancement by B.A.S.E.
Selected discography
| Catalogue number | Artist | Title | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| LA ANGECD | Various artists | Avantgardism: Drum'n'Bass | 2×CD |
| LA ANGE 2LP | Various artists | Avantgardism: Drum'n'Bass | 2×LP |
| LA ANGE 2CD | Various artists | East-Westercism | 2×CD |
| LA ANGE 1EP | Various artists | Avantgardism EP | 12-inch EP |
| LA03LP | Various artists | Avantgardism Vol. 2 | 2×LP |
| LA01 | Force of Angels | Methods to My Madness EP | 12-inch EP |
| LA04CD | Various artists | Avantgardism Volume 2 | 2×CD |
| LA04CD | Various artists | Further East-Westercisms | 2×CD |
| LA05 | Various artists | Minimalism: More or Less | 2×CD |
| LA6 | Isabel Waidner | Die Kopfhören EP | 12-inch EP |
| LA10 | Summit | The Eclipse EP | 12-inch EP |
| LA13CD | Various artists | Female of the Species | 2×CD |
| LA14CD | Various artists | The Law & Auder Assembly | CD |
| LA17CD | Summit | Tree Dwelling Rituals | CD |
| LA15CD | V-Neck | Dub Fiction | CD |
| LA18DL | Various artists | East Westercisms Volume 3 | digital |
| LA18EP | Various artists | East Westercism EP | 12-inch EP |
| LA20CD | Luke Vibert and B. J. Cole | Stop the Panic | CD |
| LA25P | Luke Vibert and B. J. Cole | Drum'n'Bass'n'Steel | 12-inch EP |
| LA26CD | Galerie Stratique | Nothing Down-to-Earth | CD |
| LA31DL | Various artists | Step into Dubism | Digital |
| LA32 | Addie Brik | Ghostbastards EP | 12-inch EP |
| LAHD01 | Various artists | High Density.1 | 12-inch EP |
| LA30CD | Various artists | Modularism: Music from Somewhere on the Spectrum | 3×CD/digital |
| LA32DL | Various artists | Female of the Species Volume 2 | Digital |
| LA34DL | Various artists | Modularism 2: Noises Off | Digital |
| LA33CD | Myoptik | Maritime Mileage | CD |
Critical reception
Law & Auder releases and events received coverage in publications including NME, The Guardian, The Observer, Pitchfork and NOW Magazine.[8][9][10]
Further print coverage has been reported in The Wire, Time Out London, DJ Magazine, Melody Maker, Top Magazine and Mixology, but complete bibliographic details are still needed.
See also
References
- ↑ "Avantgardism". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- ↑ "Various – Female of the Species". NME. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- ↑ Cooper, Paul (25 January 2000). "Luke Vibert: Stop the Panic". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- ↑ Clarke, Betty (19 May 2000). "Partners apart". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- ↑ Woodcraft, Molloy (25 July 2004). "FYA For Your Attention". The Observer. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- ↑ "Modularism 2 – Noises Off". Bandcamp. Law & Auder Records. 8 July 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- ↑ "Modularism 2 – Noises Off". Bandcamp. Law & Auder Records. 8 July 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- ↑ "Various – Female of the Species". NME. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- ↑ Clarke, Betty (19 May 2000). "Partners apart". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- ↑ Cooper, Paul (25 January 2000). "Luke Vibert: Stop the Panic". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 August 2026.