Strike (Counter Records Sampler)/ Various - Strike (Counter Records Sampler) / Various

Ack in 2006 the good people of Ninja Tune decided they wanted to start a rock label. But not any old, boring, run-of-the-mill rock label. Not a rock label pumping out the latest British indie four piece bands, or carefully crafted facsimiles of classic rawk. Not a label peopled by ironic Hoxtonites playing pisstakes of ACDC. Not a rock label licensing in already-successful US acts and re-packaging them for the UK market. A rock label that took the same irreverent, iconoclastic, vaguely psychedelic attitude towards that type of music as the parent label had taken to various aspects of dance music. The results of this project are just now beginning to reach fruition and what better way to celebrate (and introduce listeners to a rapidly expanding roster) than with a "Pay-No-More-Than-2.99" sampler showcasing some of the finest moments from the misfits, freaks and visionaries shaping the labels sound' "Strike!" is as varied and uncategorisable as the musicians making up the labels roster. Drawn from Liverpool, the West Country, Wisconsin, Australia, Darlington and so on and living everywhere from Los Angeles to Baltimore to New York as well as London (and, erm, Darlington), the only thing they share in common is their attempts to re-write the rule book of what can be done with their chosen form of expression.