The Formative Years – Troubleman Unlimited Records
If my memory serves me well, it must have been in 1994 when I went to a local branch of a bank to get physical US $s, put them in an envelope along with a hand written letter and mail ordered the Superpowers compilation tape, Rye and the Coalition, Unwound as well as the Rorschach / 1.6 Band 7”s directly from Mike Simonetti's Troubleman Unlimited record label.
When the fare arrived, I was hooked by the energy and ingenuity of the bands he put out and continued blindly ordering whatever was released adorned with a logo derived from Miles Davis artwork, under the banner of a label that was named a 1970s blaxploitation flic.
Having emerged from the context of the ABC No Rio scene with DIY zine and tape releases, what I specifically liked about Troubleman Unlimited Records is that it evolved in terms of breadth not unlike my personal preferences did, which allowed me to be exposed to what felt fresh-sounding musical styles at a time when it felt like whatever was emanating from the traditional hardcore punk context was redundant and stagnating.
After losing track for close to a decade, I was delighted to discover that Simonetti founded the Italians Do It Better label based on his love for electronic pop and European disco, which put out acts like Chromatics and Glass Candy.
