STRATIS - “ALL LET SLIP”
Hailing from Greece and working primarily in Germany, Antonios Stratis was one of seemingly innumerable small-time music artists with some low-end equipment, a scant few cassette releases, and a dream. It’s easy to believe that we live in a musical era which is uniquely marked by the predominance of independent artists, and it’s certainly true that it’s now easier than ever before to be an electronic musician based in the “bedroom” of common idiom, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of passionate people finding a way to make it happen in the 20th Century, too. “All Let Slip” is a particular gem of the 80s underground scene, with a dance beat that’s beyond irresistible and very affable pseudo-rapped vocals. Part of me thinks that its muddy, low-tech sound is part of its charm--I and many others enjoy the work of “lo-fi” contemporary artists who deliberately imitate this effect for its pleasing qualities, after all. But another part of me has to wonder what this song might have sounded like if it were made without the constraints of budget and technology that make it what it is--that is, what the platonic ideal of “All Let Slip” that existed in the minds of Stratis and his collaborators sounded like. Could it be an entirely different song?
