Ali here from Overload Magazine (Bristol, UK). It's been interesting to follow this User thing over the past few days, especially as we're running a double-page feature on Birmingham in the next issue of the mag and the last thing we want to do is print something that is false or misleading. Please don't take this as gospel, I report what I hear...
I've heard a lot of different stories from a lot of different sources about User records. I've been led to believe that Richard Harvey (the name that appeared on a couple of old Downwards EPs) was just the name used for licensing on the Hawtin mix. This is quite possibly the case, although I did also hear once that Richard Harvey was a dustman from Birmingham (!). I personally don't think Richard Harvey ever existed. Integrale informed me many months ago that User is Dean Cole. Indeed, I have a fax interview with User (Dean Cole) completed back in February. Clearly it is difficult to verify answers by way of a fax interview (which is one of the reasons I always like to interview artists face-to-face). Abuser, on the other hand, I've been led to believe (from UK DJs) is not Dean Cole, but a certain NY producer who has been cropping up in this discourse. I have also been told (rightly or wrongly) by a couple of UK DJs that the same chap was also repsonsible for some early User output. I must admit that the production styles of all the User records do seem to vary, which leads me (rightly or wrongly) to believe it may be more that one producer producing the trax. Dean Cole's recent release on his own Corrosion label had plenty of generic User tendencies to it, yet the promo of User 10 reviewed in our last issue seemed different still. One thing that has struck me about all this comes back to the 'faceless' techno thing. User records are highly effective dancefloor tools, nothing else - even commercial UK DJs like Sasha have been playing them. It would be easy for someone to have laid claim to early User productions and be milking the cashcow after a couple of releases, but this didn't happen. As the plot thickens, obviously people want answers. I report what I have been told. If someone can fill in the gaps, I'd be a happy man. Cheers Ali Overload Media -- ----- Original Message ----- From: Nuutti-Iivari Meriläinen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: 313 <313@hyperreal.org> Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 11:58 AM Subject: Re: [313] richard harvey explanation On Mon, 2 Oct 2000, janos wrote: > > Corrsion http://www.sonox.com/label.box?id=CO39775e70b3c77 > I haven't been paying too much attention since the Corrosion label has completely blown past without me even noticing, even when the releases have been under Cole's own name. Oh well, time to catch up. Nevertheless, I've also heard that Reality Or Nothing on Housewerk is one of Cole's projects as well. True/false? I haven't heard anything on the label/by the artist, but my sources tell me that it is more house than releases on any of the User labels. Also, there's one more label, Abuser, on which he has released one 12" with both sides being the same (or I have a defective copy). USER09 came out a while back (I had to wait for a new pressing since the first one was defective) but I haven't had the time to check it out too well yet. But since I've liked the previous 8 on User, 6 on 00xA and the one on Abuser, I think it'll be as good (and probably as variable) as the older ones. Always the trainspotter, -- nuutti-iivari meriläinen gordon at diversion dot org http colon slash slash www dot diversion dot org slash --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
