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With his Familiar Five EP, London-based producer Marcus Marr has taken his darkest and most thrillingly outré turn yet. Recorded through the long dark nights in the splendid isolation of his Brixton studio, lead single “Familiar Five” is a tale of bizarre transformation that points up the fragile boundaries between dreams and reality. 

“Familiar Five” feels like an outsider anthem. “It’s about being a freak and accepting it – being happy to be a freak,” notes Marr. He narrates the song with his finest deadpan lip-curl, managing to make the lyrics sound suggestive, malevolent and wildly empowering all at once. “It was sounding quite sinister as I was making it, and I thought a voice would sound good on it,” recalls Marr. “I was reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Kafka’s Metamorphosis as well,” he remembers. Other diverse influences setting the track’s fabulously unnerving tone include Marr’s readings about “familiar spirits” – the occult animals believed to assist medieval witches in their nefarious deeds. 

The other songs featured on the Familiar Five EP include “Love Release,” which taps into the energy and live power of his DJ sets; “High Times,” a track that’s influenced by his love of early 80’s dance music (“I was definitely thinking of Nile Rodgers in 1979, 1980, there... I have a bit of a thing for that period at the beginning of the ‘80s before drum machines took control of dance music.”); and previous single “Rocketship.” 

Marr is no stranger to collaboration, working with Australian musician Chet Faker on 2015’s Work EP. Work yielded two hit singles, “Birthday Card” (Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 first play, #1 Hype Machine) and “The Trouble with Us” (#1 Hype Machine). The Familiar Five EP, however, shows him in his individual element, an artist and performer who understands just how to make superb music for both man and machine. 

A regular at Berlin’s famed nightclub Berghain/Panorama Bar since 2014, Marcus Marr recently toured in North America with The Juan Maclean. He has previously toured with the likes of Hot Chip, Floating Points, Jacques Greene and Optimo, and has performed at the highly-regarded MoMa PS1 Warm Up series, Day For Night Festival, and Art Basel Miami. Marcus has also contributed mixes to Beats in Space and Boiler Room. 

Tracklist:

1) Familiar Five
2) Love Release
3) High Times
4) Rocketship

This remix 12" ships June 2018

Tracklist:
A1) Love Release (Ara Koufax Remix)
A2) High Times (Gerd Janson Discotheque Remix)
B1) Familiar Five (Justin Van Der Volgen Remix)
B2) Rocketship (Prosumer's Re-Transmission) 

Marcus Marr's 'Familiar Five: Remixed' EP, due digitally on May 18 via DFA Records, features remixes from Justin Van Der Volgen, Prosumer, Gerd Janson and Ara Koufax. In addition to a digital release, the EP will be available via limited edition 12” vinyl. 

“It was fun to ask some of my favourite producers to remix these tracks,” notes Marr. “I love Gerd’s remixes and play them loads. Prosumer is a great producer and I’ve been a fan of his for ages. Justin Van Der Volgen I also love - his originals and his remixes are always interesting. And Ara Koufax I’ve been a fan of since their tune ‘Brenda.’” 

Marr is no stranger to collaboration, working with Australian musician Chet Faker on 2015’s Work EP. Work yielded two hit singles, “Birthday Card” (Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 first play, #1 Hype Machine) and “The Trouble with Us” (#1 Hype Machine). The Familiar Five EP, however, shows him in his individual element, an artist and performer who understands just how to make superb music for both man and machine.

Hand stamped white label promo in plain sleeve.
(dfa 2235 / 2010)

 

A. In The Dark Of The Night

B. In The Dark Of The Night (Clap Rules Remix)

Hand stamped white label promo in plain sleeve.
(dfa 2205 / 2008)

 

A. Underwater

B. Underwater (Alternative Dub Version)

Please welcome back to the program Museum Of Love, the erstwhile duo of Pat Mahoney and Dennis McNany who have returned to the DFA fold with a perfect 7”, two songs like two sides of a coin.

"After Us" is a simple, buoyant pop song heavily tempered by warnings of a bleak future. The old "sugar with the medicine" approach. 

"Look Of Disgust" is its perfect foil. A notty, almost industrial sounding wind up that ends just like a slap in the face.

Both songs were mixed by Nick Millhiser and mastered by Bob Weston. Purple vinyl pressed at Third Man Pressing in Detroit, MI.

Hand stamped white label in plain sleeve. Numbered xxx/100. 
(dfa 2461 / 2015)

Featuring Pat Mahoney (LCD Soundsystem) and Dennis McNany

 

1. Monotronic (Baldelli & Dionigi Remix)

2. Who's Who Of Who Cares (Baldelli & Dionigi Remix)

Museum of Love is the musical project of Pat Mahoney (Founding member of LCD Soundsystem) and Dennis McNany (Jee Day).

Hand stamped white label promo in plain sleeve. 
(dfa 2422 / 2014)

Featuring Pat Mahoney (LCD Soundsystem, drums) & Dennis McNany (Jee Day)

1. Horizontalator

2. Down South

3. In Infancy

4. The Who's Who Of Who Cares

5. Learned Helplessness In Rats (Disco Drummer)

6. Monotronic

7. The Large Glass

8. And All The Winners (Fuck You Buddy)

Hand stamped white label in plain sleeve. 
(dfa 2453 / 2013)

Featuring Pat Mahoney (LCD Soundsystem) and Dennis McNany.

 

A. Never Let It End

B. Never Let It End (Hardway Bros Remix) 

"A merciless triumph" - The Wire

You must surrender. Because if you’ve followed Naum Gabo over the past 15 years - across various 12-inches, styles, and notable labels - and you’re listening to “F. Lux,” their first proper album, then you’re probably wondering how you wound up here, all the way down, barely able to see through the brain-clogging atmosphere and towering low-end.

“F. Lux” is deep, enthralling listen, alternating between moments of pounding, world-ending techno (“Schinokapsala” and “This 1¨º∆”) and sharply imagined, surrealist scenes painted with metallic machines ("Aora" and "Haerstag"). There is light to be found in the darkness, but the only way out is through.

Naum Gabo are Glasgow’s Jonnie Wilkes (also known as one-half of DJ duo Optimo) and James Savage (prolific mastering engineer). F. Lux was written and produced entirely by them at their Glasgow Hottrax Studios and mastered by James Savage. The album's front cover artwork is a painting by cherished Scottish painter, Andrew Cranston. The vinyl was pressed at MPO in France using lacquers cut by Bob Weston in Chicago.

1. Aora
2. Tols
3. Schinokapsala
4. Hebust Cometh
5. Haerstag
6. This 1¨º∆
7. Nothing In My Hand
8. Parasymptofelia

Bright AF for your spring and summer. Single color pocket print on a Comfort Colors 1717 Neon Lemon blanks.

Improving non-stop. Single color pocket print and two color sleeve print on Ivory Comfort Colors 1717 blanks.

Exit Entrance is the DFA debut for Kohei Matsunaga aka NHK yx Koyxen. 

Kohei has been making / releasing music since 1997 and has recorded for such iconic labels as Mille Plateaux, Important, Pan & Diagonal. His latest recordings explore intricate drum programming, lush melodies & sparkling arrangements. Touchstones include the legendary Clicks & Cuts compilations from the 1990’s as well as Aphex Twin & Autechre. RA called his music “bombastic techno funk….unpredictable but rarely disappointing.” 

Exit Entrance is a collection of new songs that snap and flicker unlike anything Kohei has done in the past. There is a clarity and beauty to these tracks that bursts out of the speakers in a three dimensional way, matching the 3D glasses that the artist wears during all his live performances. The elegant arrangements and crisp drum breaks match the concise song titles – Kohei foregoes the typical impenetrable track names made up of numbers and shorthand, and opts for a more direct emotional sincerity through the sonic themes of the record. 

Not all the music here falls into the same exact formula. As the album heads towards a close, after several tracks of harmonious beauty, we get “Outset (for Mika Vainio),” a somber hushed techno tune, dedicated to his late friend and musical collaborator, who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year as the record was being completed. What follows after this track is perhaps the real catharsis, as “Dented” ominously kicks off with acidic stabs and rolls into a tumultuous dirge of gritty techno. 

In this regard, Exit Entrance can play out like a life cycle, a mini opera of birth and beauty, of sorrow and mourning. It is one of the most direct and honest records Kohei has ever made, and DFA is beyond proud to present this work from such an esteemed creative force in the electronic avant-garde world of music.

Track Listing:
1) Meeting
2) Finding
3) Intention
4) Dignity
5) Notice
6) Mutually
7) Outset (for Mika Vainio)
8) Dented

 COMPACT DISC AVAILABLE ON DFA BANDCAMP 

NHK yx Koyxen returns to DFA with Reflexes, a vivid, thorough revisiting of Exit Entrance, his 2017 debut for the label. Reflexes reimagines key songs and motifs from the first album, combining them with new material to create an entirely unique body of sonic permutations. 

Exit Entrance represented a subtle change in Matsunaga’s prolific discography (including releases for Mille Plateaux, Important, Pan and Diagonal) – the tracks held a newfound warmth and sincerity, while also retaining his revolutionary techno weirdness. Tiny Mix Tapes described the record as “intricate, lush electronic songs with simple titles that make you feel feelings,” while Boomkat praised its “lucidly crisp set of breakbeat techno and electro tricks.” 

Reflexes is warmer, more rich in texture and tone than Exit Entrance. Perhaps this is due to its emphasis on spontaneity and live hardware recordings when combined with the original tracks. In the process of recording the album, Kohei was not able to save any audio stems, so when asked about the possibility of making a few remixes, he instead created new iterations of Exit Entrance from scratch. 

Anyone familiar with Kohei’s training as an architect could invoke an ability of reconstruction here, but his process acts more as a testament to the way he is willing and able to make hard sounds malleable. Reflexes is both delicate and sharp, a shapeshifting maze of mood and melody, an ideal reflection of his past work and what is to come. 

**THIS IS A PRE-ORDER ITEM. YOUR RECORD WILL SHIP OUT BEFORE THE RELEASE DATE OF September 7, 2018. TRACKING WILL BE PROVIDED WHEN THE ITEM SHIPS.**

“Echo”, the first album for DFA from acclaimed Norwegian avant garde pop vocalist Nils Bech. It is set for release on October 14th.

A busy stage actor and singer already well known in his native Norway for three albums released on Oslo’s Fysisk Format, “Echo” marks a pivotal turning point for Bech, and something of a radical sonic departure too. The keys to the seachange lie with Bech’s new collaborator, the young underground DJ, producer and beat maker Drippin’, known for his work with American rap artists such as LE1F and Cakes Da Killa. As a result, where his previous work was strange, ethereal and otherworldly – completely and utterly unique - “Echo” throbs with a renewed sense of vigour and urgency, without losing any of the idiosyncratic beauty which marked Bech’s work out before.

The sound created here is strange and immediate. Stuttering sharp bass kicks combine with clanging 5-alarm snare drums made of glass, orchestra stabs and melancholy piano lines jump in and out of the arrangements. These new elements and ideas are married to the already singular voice of Nils Bech, with “Echo” becoming something new, exciting and 100% Norwegian - homegrown and ready for the world. Just listen to new track “Waiting” for evidence of his truly inimitable vision, as martial drums anchor Bech’s floating, weightless vocals, to create something swoonsome, beguiling and defiantly its own creature.

The music comes to full fruition when performed live, as proven at two packed performances at the 2016 By Larm Festival where Nils was joined onstage by both Drippin’ & Øyvind Mathisen, who also produced, arranged and played on the album alongside Bech. Make sure not to miss the completely original and striking sound of Nils Bech.

Tracklist:

1. Waiting
2. Too Little Too Late
3. Glimpse Of Hope
4. Please Stay
5. Drip, Drip
6. Let Go
7. Echo
8. Jealousy
9. A Sudden Sickness

black vinyl edition and CD feature a full color art inner sleeve. 

Vinyl only release -  no digital download. 

Tracklist:
A – LCD Soundsystem – Throw
AA – Paperclip People – Throw

A newly reissued edition of "Throw" by Paperclip People, accompanied by LCD Soundsystem’s interpretation of the iconic song on the flip. Released originally in 1994, "Throw" is perhaps the best known single from Carl Craig’s long running alias; a joyous distillation of Craig’s house, techno, and disco influences .

In 2010, LCD Soundsystem recorded a studio version of "Throw," after the song became a live staple, a a natural fit for a band that never met a 4/4 lock groove it didn't like. The cover was used a bonus track during This Is Happening.

In 2010, Planet E and DFA Records partnered to release a split 12" version of "Throw." This is a repress of that 12".

It all started with a fan letter…

“Hey Peter, just noticed you on a Rhys Chatham link. Just want to say I adore your work, I had a release on DFA recently, and they sent me some of your releases you did with Jonathan - so brilliant! I’ve had “Condo” track for a while, this completely catches my personality and when I feel disillusioned or need comfort, I always put this on, and it makes me feel good and strong.....i will stop gushing now! Thank you! Nik Colk Void x”

This was Peter’s reaction…

“I was quite flattered and was glad that ‘Condo’, one of my lesser-know tracks, was being appreciated. (I was also curious, because the most-viewed clip of ‘Condo’ on Youtube is actually a slowed down version: someone played the 12” 45rpm EP at 33 rpm. The result, however, is quite beautiful.)

I responded, said I hoped we could meet the next time I am in London, and Nik then suggested that she had a track that she was working on, and would I like to listen to it and possibly collaborate. I am always game for a new challenge, so I said sure and Nik sent an mp3.

I was immediately struck by the haunting and evocative nature of the track, the analog synths feeling fresh and familiar at the same time, the vocals having a primal quality of breath and phrasing. I loaded the track into Ableton and instinctively began recording some overdubs. I used analog (Prophet 5) and digital (Moog iPad) synths and a soprano saxophone. I then sent a mix to Nik.

Nik responded quite positively, and over the next few weeks we exchanged files back and forth, experimenting with different mixes and submixes. After a couple of dozen rough mixes, accompanied by email discussions among the three of us (Gabe had entered the process after the first few exchanges,) we settled on a final mix. Shortly after we had a final mix, I synchronized the track with a video that my partner Kit Fitzgerald was working on. This long extended shot fit the music perfectly, and we had a video for ‘Beachcombing’. (A still from this video serves as the artwork for the 12”.)

Initially, there was going to be a one-sided 12”, with ‘Beachcombing’ the only track. Nik then wrote to me that Dominic was also interested in working on a track, and would I be interested in working on a B-side with Dom. Of course, I readily agreed, and I received an mp3 of synth tracks. As previously, I began building up tracks, using the alto sax (rather than the sopranino used on Beachcombing) and the addition of a vintage Korg vocoder.

Once again, a series of file exchanges of mixes, submixes and discreet tracks ensued, and we finally settled on mix #26a. There is kind of a sweet quality which surprised the both of us.”

Peter Gordon and his Love of Life Orchestra--as a new audience discovered upon hearing the FabricLive.36 compilation, a handpicked mix from LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy and Pat Mahoney that opened and closed with Gordon's "Beginning of the Heartbreak / Don't Don't"--are testament to the incredible musical innovations happening in New York City in the late 1970s. Those two compositions, underpinned with disco and gilded with noisy guitar bursts, hanging piano chords and saxophone wails, exhibit not only Gordon's kaleidoscopic vision as a musician, but his precision as a producer and composer. Featuring avant-experimentalists and downtown legends David Byrne and Arto Lindsay as well as Love of Life Orchestra cofounders Gordon and David Van Tieghem, the tracks shine a light on the work of an artist whose influence on dance music is recognizable more than three decades later. 

Gordon's hefty contribution to music is given an up-close look with Love of Life Orchestra, a retrospective of the composer's work. Compiled here are the aforementioned singles and songs that show the breadth and quality of Gordon's output. "Extended Niceties" unfurls a dizzying call-and-response between blaring sax and synths, while the expansive "Roses on the Disco Floor" builds in intensity, size and tempo as it nears its epic end. "Still You" and "Beautiful Dreamer" by Justine & The Victorian Punks (a collaborative project with New York-based visual artist Colette) feature disco grooves and sweetly voiced melodies. "Iago's Escape," which begins with dramatic strings and quasi-operatic vocals, unexpectedly incorporates klezmer-influenced clarinet. "That Hat" is a quirky experiment incorporating early hip-hop beats and featuring vocals from pioneer Arthur Russell, New York Doll David Johansen and Rebecca Armstrong.

The album is rounded out with "Another Heartbreak / Don't Don't Redux," Gordon's own reworking of the seminal opening medley, which freshly reinterprets the original's sax lead and adds new synthesizer parts. Throughout this impressive catalog, harmoniously interwoven strains of jazz, rock and neoclassical, add texture and color to these wonderful songs. Love of Life Orchestra, taken as a whole, serves as ample testimony to the far-reaching scope of Gordon's musical sensibilities and a reminder of his enduring musical legacy.

Tracklisting:

1. Beginning of the Heartbreak / Don't Don't
2. Extended Niceties
3. Don't Don't (Reprise)
4. Roses On The Disco Floor
5. Still You
6. Beautiful Dreamer
7. Iago's Escape
8. That Hat
9. Another Heartbreak / Don't Don't (Redux)
   
   

Optimo (like DFA!) is many things. A party? Yes. A pair of DJs and a record label, too. But it’s also an impish spirit, a focus on community and a dedication to new sounds in old forms. They’ve been part of the extended DFA family for eons - Johnnie Wilkes and JD Twitch played James’ residency at APT back when dinosaurs roamed Manhattan, and their now-retired weekly party in Glasgow hosted many DFA acts during its run.

In the spirit of having more music from our trusted friends and family on these digital record shelves, we have a selection of releases from their label, Optimo Music, available. More on this one straight from the source below...

**

Optimo Music is delighted to present our 2nd Peter Zummo release, this time featuring all new music. This release is a mini album containing 30 minutes of music cut at 45rpm. It is a suite of songs based around this amazing track, "The Tape Is Chill".

Some words from Mr. Zummo -

In this project for Optimo, the listener can hear that my musical food pyramid has musicians at top, or maybe they are at the bottom. In any case, they are important. That is why, from track to track, I selected segments in which one player or another is featured in the take. Some may think that we musicians do multiple takes to get the perfect performance, but I like to find the special interactions lurking in each excursion. Different players came forward in each of the takes, which were recorded in the studios Seaside Lounge and Headroom, in Brooklyn, and live in performances at Cube Cinema, in Bristol, U.K., as well as in Long Island City and on Staten Island, New York.

In order to escape the tyranny of the lyric, I am exploring in this release the possibilities of nonsensical and non-emotional lyrics. These kinds of lyrics bring the singing voices into the mix without an overweening message. The tracks include open-form compositions in which the duration was not specified.

SIDE A: SAO PAULO / VIBE DE VERAO
SIDE B: 9000 / GELO SECO

Earlier this year the São Paulo duo Phillipi & Rodrigo dropped their beautifully uplifting debut album ‘Paciencia’, which earned the backing of an eclectic array of supporters. Now Phillipi is set to release his debut solo EP ‘Amadurecimento’

While ‘Paciencia’ pulsated with a euphoric beach party vibe, Phillipi’s solo project explores much darker territory. By uncompromisingly maximising the bass alongside a relentless beat, lead track ‘São Paulo’ is immediately oppressive and ominous. That intensity only amplifies as it’s blown open with tribal percussion, almost whispered vocals and glitchy synth stabs. ‘Vibe De Verao’ then takes a more progressive approach, with minimalist techno constantly evolving in surprising and inventive ways.

The EP’s second half extends Phillipi’s impossible-to-pigeonhole approach. In complete contrast to the preceding tracks, ‘9000’ is cinematic in scope and lighter in tone, feeling like the score to a lost ‘70s sci-fi cult classic that’s been reworked for 2019. And ‘Gelo Seco’ caps an unorthodox sonic adventure by setting a spliced, stuttered vocal simple around a dancefloor-friendly soundscape - making the title, the Portuguese phrase for dry ice, entirely appropriate.

Recorded, Produced and Mixed at DEEWEE
Art Direction : Ill-Studio
Photography : Maxime Verret

DFA2139 / 2004

A. Get Up / Say What (DFA Remix)

B1. Get Up

B2. That's The Way I Like It

The return of DFA Veterans Prinzhorn Dance School. Single LP features many fine songs, including "I Want You", "Your Fire Has Gone Out", and (my personal favorite) "Crisis Team", which you may listen to below. Includes an instant digital download.

Tracklisting:

1. Happy In Bits
2. Usurper
3. Seed, Crop, Harvest
4. I Want You
5. Your Fire Has Gone Out
6. Crisis Team
7. The Flora and the Fauna of Britain In Bloom
8. Turn Up the Light
9. Sing Orderly
10. Right Night Kay West
11. Shake the Jar

DFA EMI UK 7" / dfaemi7 2178 / 2007 / picture sleeve

 

A. Crackerjack Docker

B. Service, Service

“When our first album came out,” Tobin Prinz (guitar, voice) remembers, “we were awkward, miserable...” “Nervous, uncooperative” chips in Suzi Horn (bass, voice, drums), pausing just long enough for Tobin to supply the punchline - “and now look at us!”  

Prinzhorn Dance School are still recognisably the same spiky Brighton-based duo whose ultra-rigorous debut cut through the excess of 2008 like a scimitar through bacon fat. But with their trademark stripped-down intensity now winningly off-set by moments of unabashed tenderness, their third album Home Economics continues and even accelerates the move away from austerity and into human warmth begun by its acclaimed 2011 predecessor Clay Class. 

The starting point for the new record was the band’s “amazing” first US shows - two of their own and a triumphant showing at DFA’s 12th anniversary - in May 2013. Inspired by their American adventure, Prinzhorn Dance School brought the recording process into the heart of their everyday lives. Played and recorded on the move between different flats in Brighton and Hove, then wheeled around town on a hard-drive wrapped in a sleeping bag in a specially-adapted suitcase, Home Economics gave them an escape route from “that frustration you feel when you spend days trying to recapture the intimacy of a particular moment”, Tobin remembers. “This time we could just use the original take, so sometimes these songs are almost like field recordings”. 

All the best six-track albums - The Fall’s Slates, Orange Juice’s Texas Fever - know exactly what they want to say and how they intend to say it. Home Economics shares that infectious sense of urgency. There’s not an inch of spare meat on it - from Reign’s snatched moment of optimism, through Battlefield’s restorative meeting of minds with an urban fox on a drunken walk home in the early hours, to Let Me Go’s concluding tribute to “a love that won’t rewind and will not be deleted”. Spindly yet sensuous, together and alone, exquisitely sad but somehow full of hope, Prinzhorn Dance School knit together disparate and even opposite fragments into an utterly satisfying whole.

DFA 7" / dfa 2255 / 2010 / picture sleeve

 

A. Seed, Crop, Harvest

B. Off The Radar, Off The System

DFA EMI UK 7" / dfaemi 2171 / 2007 / picture sleeve

 

A. Up! Up! Up!

B. Hamworthy Sports And Leisure Centre

DFA EMI UK 12" / dfaemi 2189 / 2007

 

A1. You Are The Space Invader

A2. Wheat For The Locust

B. You Are The Space Invader (An Optimo (Espacio) Mix)

 

DFA EMI UK 7" / dfaemi7 2189 / 2007 / Picture sleeve with promo sticker

 

A. You Are The Space Invader (Re-recorded with The DFA)

B. 1,2,3,4,5

DFA EMI UK 7" / dfaemi 2161 / 2007 / Picture sleeve 

Ltd. 500

 

A. You Are The Space Invader (Original Version)

B. Eat, Sleep

“Randy Bewley and Michael Lachowski’s simple lines display untoward rhythm and melody, respectively. Curtis Crowe bangs away so obdurately it’s hard to understand why he didn’t become rich. Vanessa Briscoe Hay barks and brays whatever incantatory phrases seem called for. Timeless. Cool.” Robert Christgau, Dean of American Rock Critics 

“[Pylon] stands as shockingly modern and unparalleled these many years later.”  Michael Stipe, R.E.M. 

1983 was a banner year for Pylon. The Athens quartet released their second album, Chomp, on Atlanta-based DB Records, toured the country extensively, and played several opening slots for then-up-and-comers U2. And then, without a hint of explanation, they quit. 

Their final show at the Mad Hatter in Athens, Georgia, was, as was always the case, a frenzy of minimal disco thud, post-punk guitar scree, and deliriously inspired howl. Oh, and dancing — always dancing — both in the crowd and on stage. The gig was recorded (both audio and video) for a failed PBS pilot called Athens Shows, and the tapes were put away and forgotten. That is, until now. 

Around three years ago, after Pylon’s DFA reissues hit the street, Chunklet CEO (and card-carrying member of the Pylon Fan Club) Henry Owings emailed the band bemoaning the lack of bonus material on the CDs, which sparked a larger conversation. “My favorite Pylon is live Pylon,” said bassist Michael Lachowski, with which Henry wholeheartedly agreed. Following a cordial sit-down at Michael’s apartment over the New Year’s holiday of 2015, an exhaustive search began for live recordings by Pylon. More specifically, live recordings from Athens in the early ’80s. Oh, and that sounded as good, if not better, than their proper full-length albums. 

Numerous dead ends followed, but finally, and somewhat fittingly, the multitrack recordings of Pylon’s final performance at the Mad Hatter in 1983 were unearthed. Once the tapes were transferred and subsequently mixed, the explosive and compelling sounds raised one very significant question: Why in the world did Pylon quit? 

For a band whose legacy, in their original incarnation at least, was two full-length albums and a handful of singles, Pylon were first and foremost a live band who weren’t as interested in working in a studio. Pylon’s raison d’être was performing for a crowd, and now there’s conclusive validation. 

Pylon Live is a double vinyl album recorded on the band’s home turf at the culmination of their powers, and the results could not be more stellar. An all killer, no filler set with nothing left on the cutting room floor, Pylon Live includes powerful versions of the Pylon canon from their first and second LPs and even the hard-to-find song “Party Zone” (previously available only on a DB Rec comp) and their never-before-released rendition of the “Batman Theme.” 

When compared to the band’s prior body of work, Pylon Live bookends all of it; some might even say it’s a better representation of this Athens quartet, who thrived on bouncing around on stage infinitely more than sitting in a studio. 

There’s little arguing that the Athens powerhouse trifecta of R.E.M., the B-52’s, and Pylon is peerless. And while all three bands have achieved great critical acclaim, only the first two had the commercial acclaim they deserved. Pylon Live intends to correct that. 

Pylon Live was released on July 25, 2016, the birthday of deceased Pylon guitarist Randy Bewley, with release events scheduled for this summer in Atlanta and Athens. 

Tracklist

1 - Working Is No Problem
2 - Driving School 
3 - No Clocks
4 - Altitude
5 - Gravity
6 - Crazy
7 - K
8 - Cool
9 - Italian Movie Theme
10 - Buzz
11 - Danger
12 - Reptiles
13 - Stop It
14 - Feast On My Heart
15 - Beep
16 - M-Train 
17 - Volume
18 - Weather Radio
19 - Party Zone
20 - Batman

DFA 2279 / 2011 / Picture sleeve

A. Deerhunter - Cool (cover version)

B. Pylon - Yo-Yo (Remix by Calvinist)

(Calvinist = Clem Waldmann (UI) / Sasha Frere-Jones (UI) / vocals by Alexis Krause (Sleigh Bells))

dfa 2213 / 2009

 

A. Tumbling Cubes

B. Trap Door

DFA is thrilled to now offer releases from Voluminous Arts, the new label from Gavilán Rayna Russom, in our online store. Rayna has released a ton of music on DFA under aliases like Gavin Russom, Delia and Gavin, Black Meteoric Star and The Crystal Ark, and she's also been a member of LCD Soundsystem. She's since released music on a bunch of other labels (all of it very good!) and started Voluminous Arts in 2017.

Learn more about Voluminous Arts here.

Official blurb below...

Digital download codes to be provided after purchase.

**

Jamaica Queens born artist Rat Porridge’s work is layered, complex and presents multiple entry points from which one can absorb its potent combination of intensities. One of these is the translucent green of the cassette tape and cover artwork that hold her inaugural release on Voluminous Arts in physical form. Another is the title of this debut album, Live from the Plant. Together these two creative choices already present an interwoven set of meanings and associations that allow entry to the depths that lie within her surging condensations of sonic information. The color green evokes both effusive botanical growth and the toxic sludge produced by manufacturing, while the words “Live” and “Plant” evoke similar associations through language. In her own words, “it’s very multi-meaning, the ‘plant’ is the organic plant of earth, and then there’s the ‘plant’ of the industrial plant. The plant could be a lot of different things, and it’s all those things.”

On Live from the Plant, Rat Porridge uses the permeable and malleable properties of sound to engage the relationships between these multiple meanings in ways that orient themselves towards healing and towards ancestral time, rather than colonial models of binary opposition and categorization. Space and its relationship to the body is a core concept connecting multiple threads of meanings in Rat’s work. Her songs are permeated by field recordings, gathered from spaces, such as shuttered shopping areas, within her environment that have been left empty of commerce and full of possibility after outliving their use to extractive commodity-based market interests. They also reverberate with the physical spaces in which they were recorded; bedroom and basement, critical and traditional sites of underground artistic exploration and community building. Her voice resonates from within the space of her physical body and echoes back from the rooms she works in, creating one of many cumulative forms of repetition present in the work. Repetition also plays a role in her lyrics, which repeat enough times to give listeners added meaning with each engagement. This awareness of space, and of one’s place and power within it grows from her engagement with performance art, activism and the communities she is a part of. As one listens to the album, it becomes a transcription of these interrelated activities, one that charts a trajectory of both individual and collective healing as she ecstatically expands on the rhythmic cycling present in both dance floor oriented music and what mental health practitioners refer to as “circular thinking”. 

With repetition and a circular continuity at their pulsing core, Rat Porridge’s works on Live from the Plant unleash a regimentation-shattering energy that is saturated with multiple temporalities, locations and emotions. Rat’s music, with all of its texture and performance, subverts expectations of what healing art should be: “I feel like there’s an association with so-called ‘healing’ music that it should only be soft, ambient or like easy listening or something like that… relaxing… I listen to things like that, and it's not like I’m not using some of those sounds… but there’s something with just like addressing the brokenness, or addressing the really difficult parts as well, that is like, a step towards the deeper healing.... I’m opening up and so is the art.”

dfa 2291 / 2011

Written by Aaron Pfenning (Chairlift) and Dev Hynes (Blood Orange)

 

A. Equal Dreams Featuring Solange Knowles

B1. Equal Dreams (Instrumental)

B2. Asleep With The Lights On

 

DFA / REKIDS 12" / DFA2204 / 2008

A. Brooklyn Club Jam

B. Brooklyn Club Jam (Brennan Green's Version)

dfa 2342 / 2012

 

A1. Changes (Eluvium Remix)

A2. Changes (Zongamin Remix)

B1. Love & Light (Mickey Moonlight Remix)

B2. Love & Light (Max Gross Regurge)

Hand stamped white label promo in plain sleeve.
(DFA RONG DFARONG 08 / 2008)

 

A1. Double Fisted

A2. Double Fisted (Prins Thomas Disko Miks)

B1. Double Fisted (Prins Thomas Version)

B2. R.I.P. Mike Conley

This has been our go-to record tote (Q-Tees - 14L Shopping Bag) for awhile. If you got a free tote at any of the LCD AMEX shows in NYC the last few years, this is the same one!

 12 oz./yd², 100% heavy cotton canvas with 20 1/2" canvas webbed handles and a 9" handle drop.

Single color print on one side.

The debut album from DFA veteran Shit Robot, this classic double LP comes in an adorably illustrated gatefold sleeve, and features vocal contributions by James and Nancy of LCD, Planningtorock, Alexis from Hot Chip, and Juan Maclean. Highly recommended, you can't beat this price! Comes with a bonus CD copy AND an instant digital download. You have no excuse.

Tracklisting:

1. Tuff Enuff?
2. I Found Love
3. Losing My Patience
4. Take 'Em Up
5. Grim Receiver
6. Simple Things (Work It Out)
7. Answering Machine
8. I Got a Feeling
9. Triumph!!!

Limited edition of just 200 copies 

1 - OB-8
2 - Torpedo

A driving, introspective house banger from the inimitable Shit Robot. Featuring vocals by Ian Svenonius from Nation Of Ulysses / The Make-Up / Chain & The Gang, and a remix by Serge Santiago! 

TRACKLIST: 
A) Simple Things (Work It Out) (Main Mix)
B) Simple Things (Work It Out) (Serge Santiago Version)

Another slamming version of Simple Things (Work It Out) featuring a remix from Mr. Todd Terje. The credits say "More Cowbell by Todd Terje", need we say more?

A) Simple Things (Work It Out) (Main Mix)
B) Simple Things (Work It Out) (Todd Terje Version) 

dfa 2262 / 2010

 

Written and Produced by JAMES MURPHY and MARCUS LAMBKIN (Shit Robot)

A. Tuff Enuff? (Long Version)

B. I Found Love (Wild Geese Remix)

DFA Records is proud to present We Got a Love, the sophomore full-length by Shit Robot a.k.a. Dublin native Marcus Lambkin. Recorded in Germany and New York, the nine-track album includes the killer recent singles, “Feels Real” and “We Got a Love.” 

Like Lambkin’s 2010 debut From the Cradle to the Rave, We Got a Love sports an array of guests that include DFA veterans Nancy Whang, Museum of Love and Luke Jenner (The Rapture), plus hip-house hero Lidell Townsell and Australian singer Holly Backler. The album’s distinctive artwork was created in collaboration with Irish graffiti artist Maser.

 Track List:

1. The Secret (Feat. Reggie Watts)
2. Dingbat (Feat. Museum Of Love)
3. Do That Dance (Feat. Nancy Whang)
4. Do It (Right) [Feat. Lidell Townsell]
5. Feels Real (Feat. Luke Jenner)
6. Space Race
7. Feels Like (Feat. Holly Backler)
8. We Got A Love (Feat. Reggie Watts)
9. Tempest