Spurred on by his frustration with the lack of British support and knowledge of the music that he was into at the time, Tortured Records was launched in January 1997 by label owner, Billy Nasty. Techno was going through a particularly bad spell in the late nineties, and especially in the UK. Many of today's highest profile producers and DJs were just beginning to establish themselves, whilst many of the artists and DJs involved with the scene since its infancy had either become disillusioned with the music or were keeping a relatively low profile. Adam Beyer had just recently launched his Drumcode label, now one of the most popular outlets for club-based techno, but you would have significant difficulty highlighting other major developments during the same period.
Tortured has developed into one of the best British techno labels, and is hugely respected worldwide. The label seeks to champion new talent alongside already established global stars. Over seven years, the label has consistently released quality 12inches from artists including: Adam Beyer, Cari Lekebusch, Umek, Steve Rachmad, Gaetano Parisio, Thomas Krome, Marco Carola, Marco Bailey, The Advent, Space DJz, Bryan Zentz, Stanny Franssen, Joel Mull and Jel Ford. The labels releases have also been given the remix treatment by: Oliver Ho, Ben Sims and Dave Angel. Billy himself has produced releases for Tortured under the aliases: Barb Wired (with Richard 'Cherry Bomb' Brown), Pom-e-granite and Kamaflarge.
Profile courtesy of Tortured Records.
catalog# | record title | artists | format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Total: 17 records | ||||
PAIN 003 | The Gathering | District 1 | 12" | |
PAIN 004 | Sound Associates | Power Cuts | 12" | |
PAIN 005 | Source EP | The Previous | 12" | |
PAIN 006 | Shadow Boxing | Alex Handley | 12" | |
PAIN 007 | Dependency | Co-Habits | 12" | |
PAIN 009 | Mechanisms 1 | Mumps | 12" | |
PAIN 010 | On Line EP | Craig Walsh | 12" | |
PAIN 017 | Sudden Scene EP | Various | 12" | |
PAIN 021 | Mechanisms 2 | Mumps | 2x12" | |
PAIN 023 | Pain023 | Gaetek | 12" | |
PAIN 027 | Bang 2 Rightz | Space DJz | 2x12" | |
PAIN 028 | Grudge 2 | Grudge | 12" | |
PAIN 029 | When It Has To Go Fast EP | Stanny Franssen | 12" | |
PAIN 030 | But Wait ... There's More | Jel Ford | 12" | |
PAIN 035 | Dark Funk Matters EP | Cari Lekebusch | 12" | |
PAIN 037 | The Imperial Measurez EP | Ben Long | 12" | |
PAIN 038 | Machine Drive | Paul Mac | 12" |