London’s Create Define Release celebrates 20th anniversary with new compilation featuring Om Unit, Coco Em, Mr. Beatnick, more: Listen

London community organisation Create Define Release (CDR) is releasing a compilation to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Listen to 'Vol. 1' below.

CDR has curated 17 tracks by its network of London producers and event contributors, plus international friends and family, for its first compilation, out now. Om Unit, Mr. Beatnick, Coco Em, Hector Plimmer, Shunaji, Divalicious K, Daisuke Tanabe Vida Voyage and Reginald Omas Mamode IV feature on the tracklist, as well as CDR founder Tony Nwachukwu, AKA The Wach. His cut, 'So Much Stronger' with Imani Uzuri, was initially played by Gilles Peterson on his BBC Radio 1 show back 2001 and was thought to be lost before getting an official release, though it's been recently unearthed from the CDR archives.

CDR began as a night at Plastic People for aspiring producers to workshop and test out their music in 2002 under the "Sessions" heading. In the decades, the Black-led community-driven organisation has become a key platform for knowledge-sharing and producer support with its efforts to democratise releasing music outside of hype cycles and exclusive networks.

In 2021, CDR relaunched their in-house label with a trio of singles, some of which feature on the new compilation.

Listen to the compilation via Bandcamp.