Before Staggs came upon the German Shepherd in the clearing they delivered a series of statements of intent which had caught our ear. Staggs was always going to be a good companion for German Shepherd, they were the epitome of outsider music, completely and unapologetically unique. After our series of releases by Staggs we felt that a selection of those pre-German Shepherd recordings would make a fine addition to our catalogue, at least whilst Staggs were chewing the cud over newer material.

This omnibus of 15 songs reflects the finest of those five releases collating and remastering the best examples of early Staggs. They present music in an entirely different manner to accepted norms, subverting the anticipated, an aural antidote to the banal and benign. A slap in your face, albeit a sonic one, to jar you from complacent listening habits. They do not fit into any easy genre classification in that they gnaw at the fabric of those constructs and re-imagine them from a Staggs perspective. Expect to be amazed, shocked, surprised, and annoyed, but also anticipate laughter, wonder and aural satisfaction.

Staggs is Michael T Scott and Paul Ridley. They were born out of a one-off experimental remix of their own anarcho-punk track from the early 80s. The production is wholly contemporary but the anger of that era lives on in their energy, lyrical content and vocal expression. With a healthy cynicism towards British culture contained in the wealth of nostalgic samples and a bizarre smattering of French language thrown in for good measure. They give a sly “clin d’oeil” to 1970/80s Britain.

“Creative oddball DIY alt-hop, with a punk attitude and an oblique point to make”. Flies on You

“Like Heaven 17 after too many funny mushrooms, astonishing”. The Shend.

“An amazing mix of sounds and genres melded into a seamless piece mirrors, but does not ape, John Zorn’s early 8os experiments in composition and form.” Aural Delights Blog


Vive Les Staggs