Symp.tom

About

Symp.tom was a Dutch record label that was founded in 2004 as a subdivision of Neophyte Records, meant as an outlet for releasing the divergent material of Mental Wreckage and Mute. Originally it was intended to revive Mid-Town’s Darkside label for this purpose, but after giving it some careful thought it seemed better to create a whole new label for better distinction.

Symp.tom’s releases were mostly focused towards dark and industrial orientated hardcore techno, while also giving its artists enough freedom to work on experimental projects from time to time. One of the label’s peaks was that it was given the opportunity to host its very own “Industrial Hardcore Area” at the 2009 edition of Nightmare Outdoor, featuring a strong and suited line-up of artists. Also worth mentioning were Symp.tom’s own editions of the Nightmare Outdoor CD compilations, widening the variety with darker and more underground material. Additionally, the label’s 4th compilation, Life Below 20Hz, is considered to be one of the best representations of industrial hardcore techno among fans of the genre.

Main producers of Symp.tom were Mental Wreckage and Mute. (who both were also its founders, label managers & art directors), followed up by The Relic a while later. Throughout the years, the label’s roster was accompanied by guest artists like Moleculez, The Outside Agency, Sei2ure, [c.ORP] and Meccano Twins, the latter delivering an excellent remix on Symp.tom 3.

In 2011, Symp.tom came to an sudden and unexpected end when their record company Mid-Town Records went bankrupt and auctioned off their entire label catalogue to Cloud 9 Music BV. Most of Symp.tom’s artists decided to move on to Dark Descent, which is run by The Relic. As a tribute to its Symp.tom roots, that label started up a special sub-series of releases called Revisited: Symp.tom in 2017, which so far involved remixes of classic Symp.tom tracks like Lawaai and White Darkness.