Various

𝘼 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙖’𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 80𝙨/90𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙗 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙, Volition Cuts Vol. 1 pays tribute to trailblazing label Volition Records, reissued by Efficient Space with a 12” picture sleeve.

Emerging from Andrew Penhallow’s time at GAP Records, which imported Cabaret Voltaire, The Fall and Factory titles into the region, Volition redirected its focus to nurturing homegrown talent. With bold design, uncompromising packaging and crossover remixes, the label became a key force connecting indie, electronic and rave cultures across Australia and New Zealand.

This volume brings together defining moments: Sisters Underground’s iconic ‘In the Neighbourhood’, a cornerstone of NZ rap and R&B later remixed into hip-house form by Robert Racic; Boxcar’s industrial-tinged synth-pop given a Miami freestyle rework by Tony Garcia; Sexing The Cherry’s bleep-heavy meltdown from the *High* compilation; and Single Gun Theory’s ambient-pop piece ‘Fall’, reimagined as a Goa trance rush by Stuart Crichton and Apollo 440’s Norman Fisher-Jones.

Volition Cuts Vol. 1 captures the fearless innovation of a label that bent the major label system to its will, leaving a legacy still felt in the region’s underground and mainstream scenes alike.