8 reissue labels you need to know about

Just shy of two-years-old, Athens of the North already has a reputation for its feverish reissuing of some of the most looked-for disco and soul tracks. Specialising in 45s, the Edinburgh-based label has made waves with its painstaking approach to getting quality, licensed music to the masses. Like waiting 12 years to release The Reality Band and Show’s extremely rare ‘Gangster Boy’ which prior to the reissue, had copies “out of any sensible person’s reach” on eBay according to label founder Euan Fryer.

They were also launched into the spotlight in 2016 with a reissue of the track that closed Plastic People. Spirit of Love’s gospel hit ‘The Power of Your Love’ topped Phonica’s charts for weeks and had been all but forgotten about until Floating Points dropped it last year.

Essential listening: Bileo ‘You Can Win’

While not exclusively a reissue label, the Amsterdam record store has spent the best part of the last 20 years cultivating a back catalogue of obscure electronic groovyness. Working on a love for the music rather than the bottom line, their philosophy has seen them look far into the past to release some of the best records of the present.

Japanese video game composer Soichi Terada was given a career thanks to Rush Hour’s 'Sounds From the Far East' album which compiled the producer’s early 90s tracks into a much-loved 2015 release, launching him onto the international clubbing circuit with a tour of live shows.

Other artists like disco/boogie maestro James Mason (who’s original records can be found on the internet for a cool £1700), and the pumping Push/Pull album 'Bang The Drums', have either been made affordable or plucked from nowhere to be consumed by a new generation.

Essential listening: Soichi Terada ‘Do It Again’