F.U.S.E vinyl box set to sell for £300!

Dimension Intrusion. A 1993 album from Richie Hawtin released under his F.U.S.E alias, first via his own Plus 8 imprint and later via Warp as part of their Artificial Intelligence series — electronic music refashioned for home listening with sci-fi movies a strong influence.

Twenty-five years on, original CD copies of Dimension Intrusion are still relatively easy to come by. The 2LP version not so much. Even harder to find are vinyl copies that haven’t done a tour of duty in a DJ box.

A near mint vinyl copy of the F.U.S.E album sat up high on the rarities wall at Hard Wax for the best part of two years. The asking price? €150. Last month it vanished, presumably sold. At the time of writing the most affordable NM/NM copy available on Discogs sits in Italy at €80.

To mark Dimension Intrusion‘s 25th anniversary, a new vinyl box edition will feature the original album resequenced and expanded across 3LPs, an expanded Train-Tracs 2LP (formerly a remix EP) and, for the first time on any format, a 2LP of 1993 album Computer Space, recorded by Hawtin during the same sessions; under the stairs at his parent’s house.

Tracklist (previously unreleased tracks marked in bold):

Dimension Intrusion (3 x 12“)
A1: A New Day
A2: Downbeat
A3: Slac
B1: F.U.
B2: Dimension Intrusion
C1: Substance Abuse
C2: Another Time (Re-visited)
D1: Theychx
D2: Nitedrive
E1: UVA
E2: Into The Space
F1: Mantrax
F2: Time Stop
F3: Logikal Nonsense

Train-Tracs (2 x 12”)
A1: Train-trac
A2: Drum-trac
B1: Last-trac
B2: The Day After
C1: Train-abuse
D1: Kaboose

Computer Space (2 x 12”)
A1: Computer Space
B1: Runner
C1: Sanctuary
D1: Last Day

All vinyl is white. All audio has been remastered.

Matthew Hawtin’s original artwork has also been expanded to feature a set of signed ‘artist-grade’ art prints. That the box is handmade speaks to the small production nature of this project: 500 copies.

Brace yourselves though. Not only is the music from another dimension. So is the pricing: The pre-order says hello at £300 (US$400): unusually steep for a box set with this much (little?) music. Pricing that re-contextualises Hard Wax and Discogs seller pricing as positively sane. Getting crude with the maths and artwork notwithstanding, this box set pegs each of its seven pieces of vinyl at £42.

No word yet on whether the contents of the Dimension Intrusion 25th Anniversary box will enjoy separate (black vinyl?) issue but a ‘digital release’ is planned for late April / early May.

One benefit of downloads and vinyl purchases is that they aren’t subject to the unpredictable nature of streaming services’ global licensing deals.

You can listen to the original master of Dimension Intrusion on Spotify here. In Germany, Tidal show only the Train-Tracs EP here and Qobuz comes up empty-handed.

Further information: The Vinyl Factory