Anatomy of a Record: Def Wish Cast, 30 Years On

Some records take thirty years to reach the format they were always meant for. This is one of them, and the story of how it got here says plenty about how things get done at Milesago.

Knights of the Underground Table was recorded in a small suburban studio in Western Sydney and saw a limited run on CD and cassette in 1993. One of the first full-length Australian hip hop albums, it was sold hand to hand through the underground, reaching a legion of fans here and abroad. A genuine landmark, and for three decades it never saw a vinyl press. The original CDs and tapes stayed locked away, rarely surfacing, out of reach to anyone who came to it late.

Getting it onto wax was never simple. The masters had a complicated history, and tracking down usable source audio presented its own challenge. For years, getting it pressed to vinyl proved elusive.

The door opened with a 7". When we pressed DWC A.U.S.T. for the OZ45 Archive, that single cut lifted from the album was the foothold that led to the whole thing.

And we didn't do it by halves.

Double 12" at 45rpm on 140 gram wax, cut that way to pull the highest dynamic range out of the raw vintage recording. Remastered by Khesrow Rasta and Blunted Stylus at K-Rasta Studios. Hams at Milestone Workshop dressed it in a gatefold built from the actual Sydney State Rail Authority network map of the era, finished in UV varnish. Photography from Marcelo Pena. Extensive liner notes from Blaze aka Idiot Proof.

Thirty years later, Knights of the Underground Table rose again.

Def Wish Cast — Knights of the Underground Table · MLP001 · 2xLP · 45rpm · Milesago 2022