Factory Floor

Yellow jacket + Black vinyl edition. 

At long last, Factory Floor presents their highly anticipated self-titled debut album. A vivid snapshot of a progressive band smashing through yet another ceiling, it’s the first full-length statement from the group that earned a powerful reputation on the strength of the “Fall Back” and “Two Different Ways” singles for DFA—not to mention early releases for Optimo Music and Blast First Petite. Leading up to the release of Factory Floor, the band will play select European festival dates this summer.  

Produced and recorded by the group in their North London warehouse space on a vintage mixing desk originally used by Dave Stewart three decades ago to record all the Eurythmics’ early hits, Factory Floor is a visceral trip through the band’s repertoire. The record opens with “Turn It Up,” their most minimal track to date, mixed in astonishing detail by Timothy “Q” Wiles (VCMG, Afrika Bambaataa). “Here Again” is almost (but not quite) their pop song, replete with cascading arpeggios counterbalanced by bubbly synth melody lines and plaintive vocals. 

Factory Floor also contains the definitive version of “Two Different Ways,” followed by the muscular and sleek “Fall Back.” “How You Say” finds the band channelling New York’s dance underground—think ESG and Delta Five. “Work Out” is anything but; despite the desultory title, it is in fact sinister street-sound electro. The album closes out with “Breathe In,” a funkified acid disco classic. 

Perhaps the most unlikely aspect of Factory Floor’s rise to notoriety is their versatility. Even their most ardent of fans describe their sound as punishing, yet they are equally at home playing raves, alternative festivals, art galleries, cinemas, nightclubs and rock shows; on top of that they’re as likely to collaborate with members of Throbbing Gristle and New Order (not to mention Richard H. Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire, Simon Fisher Turner and Peter Gordon) as they are with contemporary artists such as Haroon Mirza and Hannah Sawtell.

Tracklisting:

1. Turn It Up
2. Here Again
3. One
4. Fall Back
5. Two
6. How You Say
7. Two Different Ways
8. Three
9. Work Out
10. Breathe In

Tracklist:

1. Meet Me At The End
2. Relay
3. Slow Listen
4. 25 25
5. Dial Me In
6. Wave
7. Ya
8. Upper Left

Factory Floor return in 2016 with 25 25, their second album and the follow up to their acclaimed 2013 self-titled debut. With their music stripped to a mesmerising dance of percussion, fragmented voice and melody, it captures the next vital stage in the evolution of one of the UK’s most restless and exploratory groups.

The dazzlingly sharp, dubbed-out acid disco of ‘Meet Me At The End’ opens 25 25 in a surge of raw momentum. Both Factory Floor’s sparsest and most overtly club-centred track to date, it sets the tone for the rest of the album. Written and recorded by Gabriel Gurnsey and Nik Colk Void in late 2015 and early 2016, it’s the product of the last three years of intensive musical activity — non-stop live performances, artistic collaborations, writing new music and reconfiguring the limits of their sound.

Inspired by playing a growing number of late night club shows, the pair’s music gradually evolved into the sound captured on their second album and in their current live incarnation: a stark, ultra-minimalist and eerily soulful dancefloor pulse, yet one that still bears Factory Floor’s unmistakable hallmarks of hypnotic repetition and jagged, punkish intensity.

That their second album is as distinct from its predecessor as their debut was from their earliest singles is unsurprising — a desire to explore, to push their own boundaries, is hardwired into Factory Floor at DNA level. Emerging in 2009 the group gained a reputation for their stunning live shows, which pummeled audiences with waves of electro-shocked rhythm. From the death-rattle of early single ‘A Wooden Box’ through their debut’s convulsive singles ‘Two Different Ways’ and ‘Fall Back’ and into 25 25’s skeletal ‘Wave’ and ‘Dial Me In’, their music has continued to forge links between industrial, post-punk and the UK’s post-acid house dance lineages.

The close friendships and collaborations they’ve established along the way attest to those connections, among them Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti of Throbbing Gristle/Chris & Cosey, Perc, Optimo, New Order and Simon Fisher Turner.

Mixed with razor precision by David Wrench (FKA twigs, Caribou), the results are all the more forceful for that newfound space. ‘Relay’ is a spooked vocal house anthem, with Void’s voice processed into a thrillingly metallic chant. ‘Wave’ and ‘Slow Listen’ are deadly, perpetual motion machine dance tracks infused with the frontier spirit of Sheffield bleep and industrial techno. And the title track itself sums up the duo in 2016; its jarring repetitions and disorienting melodic motifs are somehow classic Factory Floor, yet shot into sparse, strangely moving new spaces. “You get into your own world and use your own vision,” says Void of the process of writing 25 25. “This really is probably the most ‘me’ record that I’ve ever done.

This package includes both Factory Floor 2xLP albums at a special bundled price.

"Factory Floor" (DFA2392)

"2525" (DFA2525)

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.”

DFA is pleased to announce three 12" vinyl singles, consisting of remixes of "How You Say" from Factory Floor's self-titled debut LP.

This one (DFA2438) features a remix by Gunnar Haslam, who released a striking debut album last year on L.I.E.S., as well as a lean percussive house 12” single on Chicago’s Argot Records. The flip consists of a remix from Helena Hauff, who released her debut 12” single on Werkdiscs last year and quickly followed it up a new single under the alias Black Sites. 

Tracklist

A1 - How You Say (Gunnar Haslam Remix)

A2 - How You Say (Helena Hauff Remix)

DFA is pleased to announce three 12" vinyl singles, consisting of remixes of "How You Say" from Factory Floor's self-titled debut LP.

This one (DFA2432) consists of remixes from the acclaimed Daniel Avery (Phantasy) and DFA alumni Invisible Conga People, who recorded a 12" for DFA in 2011 and have not been heard from since (until now). 

DFA is pleased to announce three 12" vinyl singles, consisting of remixes of "How You Say" from Factory Floor's self-titled debut LP.

This one (DFA2439) features two unique remixes by Bookworms (L.I.E.S. / Confused House), which marks his return to DFA following an anxious remix of The Night Patrols by Larry Gus in 2013. It reinforces the deep and dark acidic sounds he has become so well known for, taking this hypnotic single and tweaking it out for maximum impact.  

Tracklist

A1 - How You Say (Bookworms Remix)

A2 - How You Say (Bookworms Remix 2)