Bytes is super excited to announce the reissue of the killer 1990s electro EPs by SEM (aka Damon Baxter, who would go on to record as Deadly Avenger).
The original 12”s have been out of print since they were released on J Saul Kane’s Electron Industries imprint in 1995 and 1996. They have never been available digitally. With the original masters MIA, the tracks have been lovingly remastered from vinyl by Keith Tenniswood, who as part of Two Lone Swordsmen (alongside the late Andrew Weatherall), knows a thing or two about producing top-notch electro music. The resulting tracks feel like they could have been recorded yesterday, but have also stayed true to the rawness of the source material.
There is scant information about SEM online, with most of the responses lost in the mists of time… However, SEM was popular with Dave Clarke, who in 1996 included ‘Phox’ on his X-Mix (Electro Boogie) compilation mix, which found SEM in exalted company, alongside tracks by electro legends such as Hashim, Imperial Brothers, Model 500, Elektroids, LFO and Dynamix II. On release, when SEM was played at a club in Detroit, punters queued to get a track ID. Robert “Children” Miles included ‘Red Dragon’ on his 1997 In the Mix compilation. More recently, Helena Hauff featured ‘Hybrid’ on a mix for Radio 1.
If you want to know how highly regarded SEM is by those who know, just check out the comments from the fans below the various tracks uploaded on YouTube. “Quite possibly the greatest electro track ever.” “True electro classic.” “Super high-grade utterly Class A electro!” “This must have been sent down from the god of electro! Divine!”
So yeah, this is the real deal, electro music worthy of comparison with the work of the pioneers and representing the core values of the original old-school style — thumping 808 beats, analogue synths, fierce basslines, B-Boy stylings and dystopian sci-fi strings worthy of Vangelis or John Carpenter.
Some history… back in the mid-90s, Damon Baxter was a hip-hop/electro and kung-fu obsessed teenager living in the middle of England. His equipment was minimal — a sampler, a mixer, one speaker and an Atari ST. So when he was asked to put together some music for a promo campaign for an independent clothing company, he went straight to the sound that he grew up with — electro.
“I clearly remember the first time I heard electro,” Damon recalls. “Peter Broadhurst was blasting it in the corner of the playground at school, I walked by and heard it and it changed my life. I’d never heard anything like it before, it was otherwordly to me. I fell straight into hip-hop culture from that point onwards.”
Return of the Great, under the moniker OSC (named after a synth) was the first record Damon made, sampling the iconic bassline from the electro classic We Come to Rock by the Imperial Brothers. This would set the blueprint for SEM (named after another bit of gear — the Synthesizer Expander Module), which came together after Damon clocked an advert in the news section of NME. J Saul Kane (who recorded as Depth Charge) was starting a label, Electron Industries, and was looking for new artists. Damon sent in a demo and Kane called him at his mum’s house and asked him to go down to London to sign a deal.
Damon released two EPs as SEM – Phox (1995) and The Demon EP (1996). By the time of the release of The Demon EP, Damon had already started making music under the Deadly Avenger name, producing a widescreen sound in thrall to film scores and dirty hip-hop beats. SEM was shelved as Deadly took the box seat, becoming a pioneer of the Big Beat sound and going on to remix the likes of Travis, Manic Street Preachers, Elbow and The Charlatans. Damon now runs uSuper! Records and is in demand as a composer, with his music featured in adverts, sport shows, TV programmes and movie trailers.
Back to the present… One of the first messages Joe Clay (Bytes co-owner) sent when he set up the label was to Damon to see if he wanted to resurrect SEM. Joe met Damon when he worked for Illicit Recordings in the early-00s, the label co-owned by Damon that released his debut album as Deadly Avenger. The pair bonded over their love of old-school electro, finding many shared experiences from their childhoods. It’s taken five years, but these tracks are finally available for a new generation who don’t want to shell out loads of money on Discogs to buy the original 12”s. And their release coincides (just about) with the 5th anniversary of Bytes, consider this our birthday treat to you!
SEM – Phox/The Demon is available digitally and on limited edition CD, as well as a rare as hen’s teeth “collectors edition” minidisc. Pre order here for a May 17th, 2024 release.
