Spiral Tribe
2 mixes · 1997
From London, England
Biography
Spiral Tribe formed in 1990 out of squats in west London, building a free party sound system dedicated to what became known as free tekno, hardcore techno played at unauthorized outdoor raves. By 1991 they'd built a 4.5 kW rig and taken to the road, playing free festivals across southern England and Wales, and adopted an egalitarian ethos that let local DJs play alongside them, describing themselves as "the people's soundsystem."
In May 1992 they were central to the Castlemorton Common Festival, an unsanctioned five-day party that drew an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 people after police blocked travelers from reaching the annual Avon Free Festival, becoming the UK's largest illegal rave. Thirteen members were arrested afterward and charged with public order offenses, in a trial that ran four months and cost the UK government £4 million, and the event helped spur passage of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994, which specifically targeted music played at gatherings featuring "a succession of repetitive beats."
Members released music on the collective's own label, Network 23, and the group reformed as SP23 in 2011, continuing to organize events.
