Volume magazine

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Volume magazine was a series of compact disc compilation albums with accompanying books which were published in the UK in the early to mid 1990s. Each edition came packaged as a 192-page booklet the size and shape of a jewel case, with the CD stored inside, either in pouch or using a standard CD clip attached to the inside back cover. The booklet included features on each each artist who was included on the CD. Volume One, the first issue, was published in September 1991. Volume also released several double-CD compilations, including the Trance Europe Express and Trance Atlantic series, a mix release called TEXtures, and two best-of compilations. These special editions were packaged in double-disc jewel cases, and each came in a box with Volume's standard-sized 192-page booklet. The brand's visual trademark was photographs of tropical fish, with a different species appearing on the cover of each issue.

The music artists featured in the magazine ranged widely from indie guitar groups to ambient artists like The Orb, to trip-hop artists Massive Attack, to electronic body music artists Nitzer Ebb, to hip-hop act Cypress Hill, to post-punk band Public Image Ltd., to name but a few. Electronic music was featured quite heavily.

The booklet contained interviews and bios of various bands and musical artists, with discographies and "favorite tracks" lists of the artists. The tone of many of the articles was irreverent, and much of the filler material was riotously funny. For example, in the Wasted compilation's companion booklet, several short blurbs entitled "The Diary of Dave Stewart's Beard" are written from the perspective of a beard, in which it pontificates whether it will be shaven, and describes its attempts to hide itself in shame after the poor performance of its owner's latest album.

[edit] Issues

• Volume One - September 1991
• Volume Two - November 1991
• Volume Three - May 1992
• Volume Four - August 1992
• Volume Five - December 1992
• Volume Six - April 1993
• Volume Seven - July 1993
• Trance Europe Express - September 1993
• Volume Eight - November 1993
• Volume Nine - March 1994
• Trance Europe Express 2 - May 1994
• Volume Ten - July 1994
• Volume Eleven - August 1994
• Trance Europe Express 3 - October 1994
• Volume Twelve - December 1994
• Trance Atlantic - January 1995
• Volume Thirteen - 1995
• Wasted: The Best of Volume, Part I - 1995
• Sharks Patrol These Waters: The Best of Volume, Part II - May 1995
• Volume Fourteen - 1995
• Trance Europe Express 4 - July 1995
• Trance Atlantic 2 - October 1995
• Volume Fifteen - November 1995
• TEXtures - April 1996
• Volume Sixteen - July 1996
• Trance Europe Express 5 - November 1996
• Volume Seventeen - January 1997

The Trance... albums concentrated exclsuively on electronic music. Of the two "best of" compilations, Wasted rounded up electronic/dance tracks, while Sharks Patrol These Waters concentrated on guitar-based bands.

A 12" and CD single were also released (without a booklet, though the 12" came with a tropical fish poster) to promote the two "Best Of" compilations. The single contained "Belfast/Wasted" by Orbital from Wasted and "Innocent X" by Therapy? from Sharks Patrol These Waters.