In 1993, in the small southern Norwegian town of Flekkefjord, young Joakim Haugland launched the Smalltown Supersound label to release the lo-fi, home-recorded sounds being made by him and his small town friends. Inspired by the DIY ethos and aesthetic of legendary US punk/hardcore label SST, Haugland went on to release a diverse slew of sounds over the next quarter century, carving out a niche and a reputation for smart, genre-hopping blends of disco, funk, lo-fi, electronic, indie rock, and more. To celebrate 25 years, friend of the label and adept disco/house producer Prins Thomas has crafted a sprawling retrospective DJ mix of the Smalltown Supersound catalogue, titled The Movement of the Free Spirit. In addition, Haugland has created this playlist giving a peek behind the catalogue into the inspirations behind Smalltown Supersound, from Arthur Russel to Robert Wyatt, King Tubby to Chris & Cosey, and Sonic Youth to Serge Gainsbourg. Dig into the sounds behind his Smalltown Supersound here.Founder Joakim Haugland says, "As all music nerds, we like playlists. This playlist was made the dogme way, in a couple of hours in a brainstorm. But the tracks on this playlist are taken from albums that I feel are made by auteurs, albums that I feel have a soul and something unique; in short, albums I wish we had released on Smalltown Supersound."
