Juno Plus Podcast 98: Going Good Records

The founders of the excellent South London label pull together a wondrous 90-minute selection of curios, oddities and unknown gems.

Curation is a somewhat over-used term when applied to record labels, yet from the off there has been a clear sense that the figures behind Going Good Records have a defined idea of how the label should come across, from the artists they chose to work with to the way the finished records look. Very much living up its name, the five releases so far from Going Good Records feel like the end results of some well thought out plans, with the artists the label has worked with so far suggesting the founders, Brian Not Brian and Salik Z, have successfully transferred their finely honed digging skills to hand-picking lesser known talents.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and applied to Going Good it demonstrates how ahead of the curve the label has been in picking out material from Moon B or Aquarian Foundation; their respective Entropic Feelings and Silent Teaching 12″s were the first introduction for many selectors and collectors. Indeed it can be argued that Going Good have played their part in the upwards trajectory of the like-minded Vancouver collective Mood Hut that Aquarian Foundation are part of, with the South London label also granting Cloudface’s excellent Wyre Drive tape a vinyl reissue.

But enough of the label, we know Brian Not Brian and Salik Z are accomplished and knowledgeable selectors, as we’ve enjoyed their irregular Going Good HQ mixes. Brian Not Brian’s reputation stretches even further, with inductions into the hallowed Trushmix hall of fame, a contribution to Blackest Ever Black’s Krokodilo Tapes series, a rare ability to play £1 records that sound £100 records and capacity to astound with mind-bending Eurythmics B-sides on Facebook threads.

The offer to do a mix for our podcast series has been on the metaphorical table for some time now and the submitted 90-minute set “selected, mixed & recorded by Brian Not Brian / overseen & guided by Salik Z” more than matches our expectations. The usual back and forth of questions and answers has been put aside this time so you can immerse yourself fully in a sublime mix.

A tracklisting for the mix was lost on a PC that died