Deepening the comic tones using cosmic relief, and lively vibes, La Science des Imbéciles (Ludicrous System), Brigitte Barbu’s sophomore sonic adventure, manifest a blurry creation intersecting orbital audio paths and damaged smoking instruments. Could have easily been called Birdless Science but it wouldn’t be funny…
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Repress!
Volume 1 of dubs from legendary UK soundman Lloydie Coxsone, originally released in 1975.
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Sometimes, things "just happen". For months, we’d been working away on various projects and then, without really thinking about it, The Black EP just happened. It seemingly appeared from nowhere.
We’d been talking about the old days; making music with friends and dodgy kit, renting small practice rooms and using makeshift recording studios. It was such a common thing back then, you could pick a dusty space in a half-derelict building for as little as £25 a month. In those days, the Cabs and Human League had studios with posh-sounding names, but in reality, they were the same old workspaces long abandoned by the industries they were built for. Nevertheless, the grand names made them sound magical.
Sheffield had thousands of these spaces, and some still exist today, but their abundance and low-cost made Sheffield a very active place. Someone was always doing something. They’d exploded onto the scene in a flurry of excitement before disappearing just as quickly.
There’s something about these little mesters (workshops) that we believe lives in the very consciousness of Sheffield. It’s one of the reasons we never really had big scenes like Manchester or Leeds. The Hacienda would've never been built here.
We don’t really do big gangs or have that kind of mentality. We tend to exist in little pockets, often leaving each other alone. It would be 30 years before any member of The Black Dog talked to Cabaret Voltaire. Sure, we’d stood outside their practice room as kids, trying to listen in, but never felt any reason to approach. Sheffield is like that.
Once we had the first two tracks of the Black EP, we set off to see Jon at Do It Theesen, where he manually cut the tracks to an extremely limited set of 7" singles using a vinyl lathe. It just felt right to go back to the old ways; a small gang creating something special in workshops and sheds. There’s something very satisfying about it, a perfect circle, if you will.
We pushed further by adopting old practices, working with one synth per person and limiting the use of our computers. We only stopped short of putting everything on beer crates. It seems like madness these days, but there is raw creativity within these confines. Pretty much every band started this way. Depeche Mode travelled to the studio on the London Underground for their first appearance on Top Of The Pops, all lugging a synth each. That's how we approached the creation of this album; stripped back, raw and minimal - it just felt so right.
And then there’s the competitive element that was influenced when the original Human League split and became Human League MK II and Heaven 17. Both continued to use the same studio to write what became the albums "Dare" and "Penthouse and Pavement". There is something about that drive that is very Sheffield, just making stuff and hoping everything falls into place.
In Sheffield, we do things differently, because that’s how we are built. away on various projects and then, without really thinking about it, The Black EP just happened. It seemingly appeared from nowhere.
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Eric Clapton, one of music’s most influential and successful recording artists, joined Reprise Records in 1983, launching a prolific period that spans 30 years and encompasses some of his most celebrated work. This limited edition, 12-LP boxed set revisits Clapton’s first six albums for Reprise along with an LP exclusive to this collection that features rarities from the era, including a previously unreleased remix of “Pilgrim” by co-writer and long-time Clapton producer Simon Climie.
The Complete Reprise Studio Albums – Volume I contains newly remastered versions of six studio albums pressed on 180-gram vinyl: Money and Cigarettes (1983) as a single LP, and Behind the Sun (1985), August (1986), Journeyman (1989), From the Cradle (1994), and Pilgrim (1998) as double-LPs. Behind The Sun and August were originally released as single LPs; both are now 3-sided double albums to avoid long LP sides and to maximize the audio quality.
The final LP in the collection, Rarities (1983-1998) brings together eight rare recordings from this era, including live versions of “White Room” and “Crossroads” that were both featured on the B-side on the 1987 single “Behind The Mask.” Another B-side, “Theme From A Movie That Never Happened” (Orchestral), appeared in 1998 on the Grammy winning single, “My Father’s Eyes.”, and a cover of Albert King’s “Born Under A Bad Sign” (an outtake from Grammy winning album From The Cradle).
All the music included in this collection was mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering and the lacquers for the LPs were cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering.
Volume I spans 15 years and touches on some of Clapton’s biggest studio albums. It begins with Money and Cigarettes, the guitarist’s eighth solo studio album, which he co-produced with Atlantic Records’ legend Tom Dowd. Released in 1983, it reached the Top 20 in the U.S. and the U.K. and introduced the hit single “I’ve Got A Rock ’n’ Roll Heart.”
Clapton worked with Phil Collins to produce his next album, Behind the Sun, which peaked at #8 in the U.K. The album would earn platinum-certification in the U.S. thanks to hits like “Forever Man” and “She’s Waiting.” Collins returned to co-produce the next album, August, as well. Certified gold in the U.S., it featured a trio of Top 10 singles – “Miss You,” “Tearing Us Apart,” (a duet with Tina Turner) and the #1 smash, “It’s In The Way That You Use It.” Clapton co-wrote the latter with Robbie Robertson and co-produced the track with Dowd. The song was also featured in The Color of Money, the 1986 blockbuster film starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise.
Journeyman, Clapton’s 1989 follow-up, reached #2 in the U.K. where it was certified platinum. An international sensation, the record was certified platinum in Canada and gold in Argentina, Australia, France, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The album was certified double platinum in the U.S., scoring #1 hits on the Mainstream Rock charts with “Pretending” and the Grammy winning single “Bad Love.” The album had two more Top 10 hits in America with “Before You Accuse Me” (#9) and “No Alibis” (#4).
Following the runaway success of his 1992 live album Unplugged, Clapton returned in 1994 with From The Cradle. A blues covers album, it featured his versions of songs recorded by some of the bluesmen who influenced him, including Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Freddie King and more. The album was certified triple-platinum in the U.S., where it topped the Billboard 200. It also reached #1 in the U.K., making it his only #1 album in the U.K. to date. In addition, From The Cradle won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.
The final release on VOLUME I is Pilgrim, Clapton’s 1998 Grammy Award winning 13th solo studio album. It reached the Top 10 in more than 20 countries, including the U.S. (#4) and the U.K. (#3). A passion project for Clapton, the album was certified platinum in America thanks to hit singles like, “My Father’s Eyes,” “Circus,” “Born In Time” (penned by Bob Dylan) and the title track.
Money and Cigarettes (1983)
• Everybody Oughta Make A Change
• The Shape You’re In
• Ain’t Going Down
• I’ve Got A Rock ’n’ Roll Heart
• Man Overboard
• Pretty Girl
• Man In Love
• Crosscut Saw
• Slow Down Linda
• Crazy Country Hop
Behind the Sun (1985)
• She’s Waiting
• See What Love Can Do
• Same Old Blues
• Knock On Wood
• Something’s Happening
• Forever Man
• It All Depends
• Tangled In Love
• Never Make You Cry
• Just Like A Prisoner
• Behind The Sun
August (1986)
• It’s In The Way That You Use It
• Run
• Tearing Us Apart
• Bad Influence
• Walk Away
• Hung Up On Your Love
• Take A Chance
• Hold On
• Miss You
• Holy Mother
• Behind the Mask
Journeyman (1989)
• Pretending
• Anything For Your Love
• Bad Love
• Running On Faith
• Hard Times
• Hound Dog
• No Alibis
• Run So Far
• Old Love
• Breaking Point
• Lead Me On
• Before You Accuse Me
From the Cradle (1994)
• Blues Before Sunrise
• Third Degree
• Reconsider Baby
• Hoochie Coochie Man
• Five Long Years
• I’m Tore Down
• How Long Blues
• Goin’ Away Baby
• Blues Leave Me Alone
• Sinner’s Prayer
• Motherless Child
• It Hurts Me Too
• Someday After A While
• Standin’ Round Crying
• Driftin’
• Groaning The Blues
Pilgrim (1998)
• My Father’s Eyes
• River Of Tears
• Pilgrim
• Broken Hearted
• One Chance
• Circus
• Goin’ Down Slow
• Fall Like Rain
• Born In Time
• Sick And Tired
• Needs His Woman
• She’s Gone
• You Were There
• Inside Of Me
Rarities Vol. 1 (2022)
• Stone Free
• Crossroads – Live
• White Room – Live
• Theme From A Movie That Never Happened (Orchestral)
• Pilgrim – Remix *
• 32-20 Blues – Live
• County Jail Blues – Live
• Born Under A Bad Sign*
* previously unreleased
expected to be published on 30.09.2022
It's always a treat here at Circus Company to be able to shed the light on a lesser known talent. After all, it's a philosophy we have built the label on, but there's no denying we need to have that personal connection with the artists whose music we release. In the case of San Francisco act Moniker, our own dear Dave Aju has a previous history with Kenneth Scott from the duo, having lent some vocals to his 2009 jam 'What Do I Do' So it is that we come to release this, the first fully fledged vinyl offering from Scott and his studio partner Emilio Orlandi after years spent treating Californian crowds to their live, hardware-driven sound. The machines definitely rule the roost in the world of Moniker, but unlike so much of the current obsession with analogue noise and the lo-fi aesthetic, Scott and Orlandi instead coax heartfelt emotion and hand-crafted grooves from an array of beat boxes and synthesisers without making any self-conscious moves to demonstrate how .undigita' they are. Instead, the music takes priority, coming forth in soothing waves of harmonious chords, captivating leads and understated drums that speak volumes for simplicity and soul within deep house. The live aspect of Moniker's mission undoubtedly shines through, manifesting itself in smart switch-ups and breakdowns, impulsive edits and subtle variations that can only result from an on-the-fly jam. Mainly though, this is an exercise in satisfaction, speaking to the same pleasure neurons that would have been tickled the first time you heard Metro Area. In keeping with the warm tones of the original material, Patrice Scott makes for a thoroughly welcome addition to the fold.
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