Dreams of Electric Bleep review: Classic cuts from a golden age of Irish electronic music

The late 1990s and early 2000s in Irish music is usually remembered as an era dominated by boy bands and a scourge of singer-songwriters. Male troubadours flourished in the wake of the success of that adopted Irishman David Gray, while formulaic pop from the likes of Westlife and Boyzone accounted for a colossal amount of physical sales in the prestreaming era. But it should never be forgotten that this was a very vibrant and exciting time for Irish techno and electronica.

Sunil Sharpe, who has tirelessly campaigned for an overhaul of our draconian licensing laws to drag Irish club culture into the 21st century, releases this thrilling sonic document on double 12in vinyl on his Earwiggle label, plus a digital compilation on Bandcamp. Clubs nights such as Phunk City in the Funnel paved the way for imprints such as D1 Recordings, the Dublin Electronic Arts Festival, and innovative independent promoters programming their own nights. The Dublin duo Decal, who spearheaded Phunk City and U:Mack, open this cracking compilation of electronic gems. Some of these tracks are more than 20 years old but still sound futuristic and fresh.

Magnetize, Metroneem, Americhord, Phil Kieran, Takeover Sound, Chymera and John Braine all contribute to this timely collection of Detroit-inspired electronic wizardry. Together in the dark – to paraphrase Takeover Sound’s title – a generation bonded to this scorching soundtrack during this scene’s halcyon days.