Various - The Return Of Ralf Edstrom: A Grimsby Fishmarket Compilation

Facts "The Return of Ralf Edström", a compilation of independent music, will be released on September 3rd. It drops onto the unsuspecting toes of a world in which personal taste is everything but personal – thanks to algorithms, nobody actually gets to develop one.

Album curator, label owner and tireless crate-digger Marcus Törncrantz has dug deep into current global left-field pop music, from Singapore to Turku.

Among the selected artists are genuine oddballs, punk-disco freaks and sophisti-poppers who together paint a picture of an alternative state of mind. This music exists in defiance of today’s polished, AI-aided, comfortably functional slop. It renders irrelevant the question of whether we need musical genres or sub-genres at all. After all, it’s just music… and what great music it is. Tastefully off-kilter, gently psychedelic, heart-warming. Decidedly anti-macho.

To put this LP into context, 35-odd years ago there were two compilation cassettes. First came "Grimsby Fishmarket 4 – Norrköping 0", followed by "Second Half". Both displayed a close kinship with the rosters of Mike Alway’s él Records, Siesta in Spain, Le Grand Magistery and Heavenly. Törncrantz, an independent pop svengali if there ever was one, captured a certain European indie sensibility in full bloom. Those tapes would later become seminal, even era-defining.

At first glance, today’s world seems like a very different place. But look closer and perhaps things haven’t changed so much. There are still benevolent forces that encourage joy over jadedness and wonder over safety. "The Return of Ralf Edström" dares the listener to prove otherwise.

Only four of the tracks have previously been released on vinyl; the rest are exclusive to this compilation. The vinyl LP is strictly limited to 300 copies. You won’t find the album on any streaming platform, and you won’t be able to stumble across these tracks online. "The Return of Ralf Edström" exists only here, on white wax.

Ville Särmä