Published
Fri, Aug 27, 2010, 12:30
- The English production outfit, now a three-piece, will release its debut album this fall.
UK-based outfit Darkstar will release their debut album, North, this fall via Hyperdub.
Since we last heard from Darkstar, the group has added vocalist James Buttery to its lineup, though co-founder James Young says this hasn't changed the feel of their music too drastically. "It's part of the grain, interwoven with the synths, distortion and all the other things we like fucking with... Synthetic and effected vocals just sound better on our tracks I think."
In an extensive interview with labelhead Kode9, Young discussed the dreary circumstances that led to the album's creation. "The burden of making an album in a dingy two bed in Clapton was overwhelming and the hardest thing I have ever had to do," he says. "My lyrics started to reference things that happened to me in the North and the sonics and arrangements became anti-colour. We'd had enough of glowing synths... Aiden and myself both lost people close to us while making the album and no matter how hard we tried to escape to focus on recording we'd always be pulled back up by something."
The album features mostly new tracks by Darkstar, plus their acclaimed single "Aidy's Girl Is a Computer" and a rework of "Squeeze My Lime," which appears here as "When It's Gone." The album's first single will be "Gold," which imitates The Human League's "You Remind Me Of Gold" played at 33rpm instead of the intended 45. A music video for "Gold" is currently in the works.
Tracklist
01. In The Wings
02. Gold
03. Deadness
04. Aidy's Girl Is a Computer
05. Under One Roof
06. Two Chords
07. North
08. Ostkreuz
09. Dear Heartbeat
10. When It's Gone
Hyperdub will release North on October 18th, 2010 in the UK and one day later in the US.