Alternative Blueprint Records - experimental label & club night

Hi Hive crew,
Thought I'd put a post out for my underground record label - Alternative Blueprint. It started as a club night back in 2000, and released 14 records over the years (with a 10 year break!)
Scroll down for a selection of videos, and read a bit about a heartfelt underground rave collective from 20 years ago (before some of you were even born no doubt!), now immortalised on the Hive blockchain. Old-skool heads loving the fresh vibes of experimental dance music.

This image pretty much sums up the vibe of the nights

The label started life as a club night back in 2000 in the South-West UK. Born from the renowned free party (rave) scene of the mid-late 90's, the Alternative Blueprint DJs started off playing at illegal raves in fields & woodlands around Somerset, Devon, Bristol, Cornwall & London. Maximum carnage ensued!

Moving indoors for the club nights, we played all sorts - ragga Jungle, drill n' bass, IDM, breakbeat, big beat etc. in the main room & reggae, ambient, funk, soul & jazz upstairs in the chill-out room. Warp, Rephlex, Ninja Tune and similar iconic labels were our inspiration. I remember winning a ticket to the Warp Records "We Are 10" party in London in 1999, and seeing Rob Beckett (Warp boss) standing at the back surveying the dance floor and his artists making everyone move & thinking "I'd love to make that happen". One of the most inspiring moments of my life.

Myself on the right, and Arthur DJing back to back

The nights were locally legendary, and we were thrilled to occasionally get people coming down from London and Bristol to our small Westcountry town for the night out!! Good times. Some of my best times. Young, free & the feeling anything was achievable. We put a lot of effort into the nights which ran for about 4 years, with a few breaks for venue changes etc. The nights lost momentum as one of our DJ's died, the club was shut down and one-by-one events conspired to stop the party. Also the overall local scene seemed to die out, and the local nightlife went from vibrant to zero very quickly it seemed.

The Jive Inspector, Ali Hurrell R.I.P.

There was a 10 year break from releasing anything (life got busy, family, mastering work with www.fatasfunk.com & other life stuff got in the way) but I did put out a record again back in February 2021... AB release #14.

The Alternative Blueprint sound is a mixture of underground electronica, dubstep, wonky hip-hop featuring UK & LA rappers, breakbeat, experimental blues and industrial jazz. A strange brew. Live instruments, no samples and solid experimental ethos. No fear for commercialism. We tried to make our music beautiful, difficult, abstract, delightful, gripping, challenging and non-conformist.

Raving hard

Back in the day we got a few spins on BBC Radio 1 Mary Anne Hobbs show, Rinse FM, Resonance FM, The Selector Radio & a few other good shows.

Landed a few features & reviews in Clash Magazine, DJ Mag & a few other print mags & online review sites, most of which don't exist any more now!

AB crew

The label remained in the underground, but we sold some 12" vinyl & CD (old-skool!). I think we put out some interesting music you might like, if you have more esoteric tastes.

LINK TO OUR RELEASES ON ALL PLATFORMS

The first Alternative Blueprint record in 10 years - "Built From Memories" by Automated Acoustics had some airplay on Resonance FM & a few other stations.
AUTOMATED ACOUSTICS SITE

Tak Tent Radio did an hour-long Alternative Blueprint showcase mix curated by me, with a pick from the archives & unreleased material - seriously some of the heaviest, most intense music ever broadcast on FM frequencies haha.

LISTEN TO THE TAK TENT RADIO ALTERNATIVE BLUEPRINT DISCOVERY SHOW

I've had a load on my plate again with switching up of family life, moving house & working hard renovating the new place to make a fresh studio suitable for professional mastering etc. (it has the most perfect acoustics!)
I'm aiming to release more regularly again in 2022.

Our artists:
Automated Acoustics
Vagabond Skills
Optikatechniqua / Optikatech
The Jive Inspector
Amor Veneris

Coming soon in 2022:
Industrial Battle Orchestra
Baron Wasteland
More...

Thanks for reading, and hopefully listening! All pictures by Matt Smith.

SOME MUSIC VIDEOS FROM THE ARCHIVES (MORE PICS AT THE BOTTOM)