FEATURE > https://inverted-audio.com/feature/the-burrell-connection-looks-back-on-10-years-of-craigie-knowes 

For Zander Hay - better known as @theburrellconnection - music has always been as much about people as it is about sound. His new EP for @craigie-knowes, 'I Waste My Time So You Don’t Have To', arrives as the label marks its 10th anniversary, a milestone that means more to him than most. Not only has Zander released music with the Glasgow-born imprint, he’s also been quietly running their PR from behind the scenes since the early days, helping to tell their story to the world.

That dual role makes this release feel like a full-circle moment. The EP gathers together material shaped in the club, in the bedroom, and most importantly, in the company of friends. Lead cut “E Before I” has already been heard echoing through Berlin basements, including in a live version taken from Zander’s performance at Tresor, invited by LNS and DJ Sotofett. The B-side heads deeper, pairing the dubbed-out force of “Celestial” with the warm, widescreen pads of “Ensemble” - tracks that carry what he half-jokingly calls his “signature sound,” something he’s been chiselling away at for over a decade.

Zander speaks candidly about the title of the record, pointing to the endless hours spent in pursuit of something original. He’s unflinching in his criticism of DJs hiding IDs or passing off other people’s tracks as their own - a reminder that, for him, credit and community go hand in hand. “Music is not a luxury, it’s an essential,” he insists, and it’s clear that ethos drives not just his own practice, but also the way he moves through the scene.

That scene has taken him from Glasgow, where he cut his teeth at La Cheetah Club and soaked up records at Rubadub, to Berlin, where he now co-runs Slurp of the Antics with Valcat - a party deliberately centred on live performance in a city often saturated with DJ culture. Between the drizzle-soaked after-hours of Scotland and the intensity of Berlin’s underground, he has carved out a practice that feels both grounded and exploratory, rooted in place yet open to evolution.

At the heart of it all is Craigie Knowes. For Zander, the label’s story is bound up with his own - from being pushed creatively by deadlines and honest feedback, to finding genuine friendship with Max, Mitch and the wider CK family. “Friendship!” he says without hesitation when asked about the most rewarding part of his journey so far. That word runs like a thread through his reflections: from teenage trips to Sub Club on borrowed IDs, to afterhour residencies, to the countless connections made through music over the years.

As he sets up a new studio, offers tuition, and continues to develop his live shows, Zander isn’t slowing down. 'I Waste My Time So You Don’t Have To' is more than a title; it’s a snapshot of where he’s at right now - committed, outspoken, and still finding joy in the graft. For him, the story of Craigie Knowes at 10 isn’t just about a label’s legacy, but about the friendships that make the music possible.

The Burrell Connection - Celestial [Craigie Knowes]

🎧 https://inverted-audio.com
💿 https://inverted-audio.store

Nov 22 - Broken Ear x Inverted Audio, Arch 535, London https://ra.co/events/2283410
Oct 19 - Wax On Tap Record Fair, Grow Hackney
Oct 11 - In-Store: Federsen - 'Altering Dimensions' Release Party
Aug 30 - Broken Ear x Inverted Audio, The Goose, London
Aug 16 - In-Store: Havantepe 'Rain on Window' Release Party
Aug 15 - DJ Antepop All Night Long at New Forms, Chelsea
Aug 8-10 - Trevinos x Houghton Festival
Jun 28 - Brixton Brewery Record Fair
May 25 - Wax On Tap Record Fair, GROW Hackney
May 10 - In-Store: Dying In Beauty 'Return To Origin' EP
Apr 12 - Record Store Day Open Deck Party
Mar 1 - In-Store: Stólar Records with Will You & Philipp Priebe (live)
Jan 25 - DJ Antepop, Jumbi Peckham
Jan 19 - Wax On Tap Record Fair, Grow, Hackney Wick
Jan 18 - In-Store: Matsssiii (Project Indigo), Inverted Audio Record Store

2024
Dec 15 - Record Fair at The Greyhound, Peckham
Dec 7 - In-Store: Blank Mind with Sam Purcell & H.CHILD, Peckham
Dec 1 - First Press Record Fair, Brighton
Nov 3 - Record Fair at The Greyhound Peckham
Oct 26 - Brixton Brewery Record Fair
Oct 11 - In-Store: Kulture Galerie
Oct 6 - Wax On Tap Record Fair
Sep 28 - Transmissions Festival, Hackney Wick
Sep 14 - Inverted Audio Record Store Anniversary // Ozel AB, Chuggy, Antepop
Sep 1 - Pacific Tavern Record Fair, London
Aug 8-11 - Trevino's Record Fair, Houghton Festival
Aug 4 - Pacific Tavern Record Fair, London
July 28 - Brixton Brewery Record Fair with Accidental Records
July 13 - Antepop at Jumbi Peckham
June 15 - Antepop All Night Long at Rons
June 8 - In-Store: Overload Liverpool with The Cyclist & Waxtek
May 18 - In-Store: Baroque Sunburst
May 4 - In-Store: Ramjac Corporation
Apr 13 - Antepop All Night Long At Rons
Apr 6 - In-Store: Dying In Beauty
Mar 22 - Joe Davies, JVXTA, Antepop, Beeches at The Waiting Room
Mar 8 - Boaksi In-Store (Project Indigo)
Mar 3 - Leyton Record Fair
Jan 21 - Brixton Brewery Record Fair: Inverted Audio x Out Of Joint Records

2023
Dec 16 - Christmas In-Store
Dec 2 - Joe Davies (Smallville Records) In-Store
Nov 18 - Ben Kaczor (Dial) In-Store
Sep 15 - Inverted Audio Record Store Launch
Aug 18 - The Carpet Shop, DR MYSTERY, Nightwave, Antepop, Dweedo
Aug 10-14 - Houghton Festival Record Fair
July 15 - Brixton Brewery Record Fair: Inverted Audio Store x Out Of Joint Records
Jun 3+4 - Near Mint East London Record Fair
May 7 - Near Mint Brighton Record Fair
Feb 19 - Peckham Record Fair

2022
14 May - Inland, New Magic Media, Freddie Hudson, Pablo Garduño at Fuchs2, Prague
25 March - Konduku, Kate Miller, Severja, DJ Heartbreak at ÆDEN

2021 
05 Nov - Rhyw, Gramrcy, Golden Medusa, DJ Heartbreak at ÆDEN
03 Sept - GiGi FM, Vivian Koch, Jesse G, DJ Heartbreak at ÆDEN
01 Sept - Flaminia, Ireen Amnes, JacqNoise, Peter Kirn at ://about blank
07 Aug - Levon Vincent, Margaret Dygas, Catharsis Soundsystem
28 July - Ignez, Inland & Magna Pia, Sam Goku, Toxido Mask at ://about blank

2020
May 30 - Inverted Audio Live From Fiese Remise
Apr 24 - Inverted Audio x Wilde Renate [Cancelled]
Apr 3 - Diskothek Melancholie 2 [Cancelled]
Feb 11 - HÖR Berlin, Carsten Jost, Fred Mann (live), Antepop
Feb 08 - His Master's Voice, Fred Mann, Stereociti, Antepop at Zur Klappe 
Jan 17 - Jacques Bon, Alexis, Antepop at Zur Klappe

2019
Dec 7 - Benedikt Frey, LDY OSC, Antepop at Zur Klappe
Nov 8 - DJ Rubio (live), BNJMN, Antepop at Zur Klappe
Sep 13 - Christopher Rau, Carsten Jost, Antepop at Zur Klappe
Aug 10 - Gramrcy, DJ Assam, Antepop at Zur Klappe
July 10 - 10 Years of Inverted Audio: Kassem Mosse, Low Jack, Antepop, Elise at Griessmuehle

2018
Nov 10 - Inverted Audio meets Newtype Rhythms, Chalet Berlin
Oct 12 - Inverted Audio meets TOYS Berlin, Farbfernseher
Aug 31 - Doc Sleep, Laura BCR, Antepop at LAUT, Barcelona
Aug 31 - Inverted Audio x Discos Paradiso In-Store, Barcelona
July 5.6.7 - Inverted Audio Campfire Headphase stage at Farr Festival
April 19 - Deeper Than Deep at Paloma, Berlin

2017
July 13 - 16 Inverted Audio Stage at Farr Festival
May 13 - Peckham Rye Music Festival, Inverted Audio Stage
Mar 3 - Emotional Response / Emotional Rescue x Inverted Audio, Brilliant Corners
Jan 20 - Inverted Audio x Smallville Records, Peckham Palais

2016

Feb 5 - Inverted Audio x 45 ACP (L.I.E.S. Records) at Bussey Building

2015

Nov 13 - Inverted Audio x Young Male (White Material) at Bussey Building

Comments

Pulse

Minerva

bazedjunkiii

Eclair Fifi

Somewhere else right now

Fergus jk McQueenie