Sandwell District @ Animal Farm, 23 Apr

The very definition of cloak and dagger, the techno imprint has no address, no website or MySpace presence, not even an email address; a fax number printed on the record inlays offering the only means of contact.

With support coming from all corners (Marcel Dettmann, Ben Klock, Miss Kitten and Danny Tenaglia are fans), the label invokes the spirit of Germany’s Basic Channel with its anti-marketing stance and stripped-back, less-is-more sound.

Named after an area of Birmingham, Sandwell District is closely affiliated with another of the city’s techno stables, Downwards and the two rely largely on the same pool of artists - Female, Ian J. Richardson, Function and Regis – for their output.

The Sandwell District live experience sees Function (U.S. producer/DJ, Dave Sumner) and Regis (Brit, Karl O’ Connor) combine digital and analogue equipment to establish the kind of creative environment in which they feel they can truly express themselves as artists and the pair will be backed by extra sound so that they can give the Sub's speakers a serious workout.