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Tracklist:

a: x-ray eyes

b: x-ray eyes (extended trash can dub)

Credits:

recorded at relax and enjoy (london) and dfa (nyc)  

produced and mixed by james murphy for the dfa

engineered by al doyle and james crump (london) / korey richey and pablo morales (nyc) 

mastered and cut by bob weston at chicago mastering service

cover photo by stephen nebesney 1987

pressed at paramount pressing in denver, co

silkscreening done at press friends machine in los angeles, ca and kayrock screenprinting in brooklyn, ny

Produced by James Murphy for DFA Productions.

Back in stock with the original 24"x36" folded poster insert! If you already have the record, you can order the poster on its own here.

Double LP in a gatefold jacket with matte finish and a silver foil stamp on the cover.

Pressed at Citizen Vinyl.

Tracklist:

Side A
01. Get Innocuous!
02. Time to Get Away

Side B
03. North American Scum
04. Someone Great

Side C
05. All My Friends
06. Us v Them

Side D
07. Watch the Tapes
08. Sound of Silver
09. New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down

Of the many arresting moments that fill LCD Soundsystem's This Is Happening, perhaps the most unexpected comes less than halfway through album opener "Dance Yrself Clean." The seemingly unassuming, low-key rumble of a song morphs from its mumbled beginnings into an outsized flash of synth ballast and wailing vocals. The sudden shift is like the flicking on of a light, the perfect example of frontman-songwriter-mastermind James Murphy's effortless balance of restraint and release, organic rock and electro pop, and muted cool and vibrant emotion. This study in contrasts pervades LCD Soundsystem's third, and possibly final, release--an album where Murphy refracts images of heartbreak and longing through the scattered light of a disco ball. 

The cautious observations and honest reveals that follow are literally and figuratively quieter moments than that initial blare. On "All I Want," against a wall of whirling guitar, Murphy recognizes a relationship that can't be saved, and instead asks for "your pity" and "your bitter tears." "Get Along" shuffles over pulsing keys and bubbling percussion as Murphy tries to bridge physical and emotional distance, singing, "You might forget, forget the sound of a voice / Still, you shouldn't forget the things we laughed about." Conversely, the sparsely decorated, sauntering "Somebody's Calling Me" is almost hopeful in comparison: "Somebody's calling me" Murphy half whispers, "to be my girl." 

There are stretches of lyrical levity here, too. "You Wanted a Hit," which sits atop shiny synths, a driving bass-line and layers of handclaps, laments record label demands on what turns out to be one of the album's hookiest tracks. "Pow Pow" veers toward past "talkies" like "Losing My Edge," and features keyboardist Nancy Whang shouting in unison with Murphy. 

With This Is Happening, Murphy has created a work of both nuanced introspection and distanced observation. DFA is proud to offer the vinyl version of this much lauded release, which also includes contributions from drummer Pat Mahoney and sound collagist Gavin Russom.

The debut LP from LCD Soundsystem.

1xLP in a reverse board sleeve.

Track Listing:

1. Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
2. Too Much Love
3. Tribulations
4. Movement
5. Never As Tired As When I'm Waking Up
6. On Repeat
7. Thrills
8. Disco Infiltrator
9. Great Release

The album that, in many ways, started it all. Repressed for the first time since its release in 2003.

Produced by James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy for the DFA.

Pressed at Citizen Vinyl in Asheville, NC from lacquers cut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service.

DFA no doubt owes a very large part of its existence to the incredible, indelible Liquid Liquid, so it is with great and humble honor that we release this 12” from the New York no wave legends, a double a-side package featuring sorta-new versions of classic Liquids tracks.

This torrential take on “Bellhead” was recorded and produced by James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy in 2004 and originally appeared on DFA”s “Compilation #2.” It’s an all-timer percussion workout, bursting at the seams with marimba, drums, and, yes, all manner of bells, a far cry for the see-saw slouch of the original.

The other side is an unreleased instrumental remix of “Optimo,” which (bear with us here) was rerecorded by the Liquids in 2008 and then remixed by Optimo (Espacio), the Glaswegian duo who are named in tribute to the song in question. If you followed that, then you know. If not, just remember that we’re all showing up here because of how important and essential this band remains.

**

"Bellhead"
Recorded in 2004 at RPM Studios, NYC.
Produced by the DFA. Engineered by Andy Sarnoff
Assisted by Eric Broucek

"Optimo - Instrumental Mix by Optimo (Espacio)"
Recorded in 2008 at SRG Studios in Hamilton, NJ
Mixed by JD Twitch and Dave Clark

Mastered and cut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service
Vinyl pressed at Furnace Record Pressing in Alexandria, VA

 “Stunning.” - Clash

“A beautifully ritualistic trance.” - The Guardian

Mermaid Chunky. It’s all in a name, sometimes. The danceable, costumed, curiosity rich duo of artists Freya Tate and Moina Moin are as imaginative as they profess. Or, to get more to the point, as we all need them to be.

Freya and Moina are two visual artists and musicians from Stroud and South London, places where they importantly found communities (Stroud’s SVA and the capital’s Total Refreshment Centre) of like minded people just as willing to chase down an idea to its possibly illogical conclusion. And it is in the collective and the idea of participation that Mermaid Chunky really clicks. This is a party, a collective dance, made all the better with more: people, ideas, layers, kick drums, recorders, saxophones, frogs.

To wit, the album’s first track and first single, “Céilí,” named after a traditional Scottish or Irish social gathering and dance, which builds from a simple recorder line into a swelling, warm burst of major chord dance music. Goosebumps or check your pulse.

Further down the rabbit hole, “Chaperone” is almost boardwalk electro, like Fischerspooner on a ferris wheel; “Frogsporn” and “Nature Girl” are mucky, trippy dirges filled with stalactites of synth and squelch; “Tiny Gymnast” is a kaleidoscopic waltz into the night. Hold onto your seats, ladies and gentlemen.

You might be wondering how we, DFA Records, all the way over in cynical Brooklyn, entered the picture. There was a day a few years ago, sun shining in full Springtime splendor, when James heard something while waiting for a coffee down the street from the office. It sounded simple yet deceptively complex: a dance track where the one - that anchoring first beat in a measure - could be heard a thousand different ways. Frustrated and interested, he Shazamed the song, playing from an episode of Zakia’s Questing show on NTS, and brought it back to the office. (The song, FYI, was “Friends,” from Mermaid Chunky’s VEST EP, released in 2020.) It led to an invitation to open for LCD Soundsystem at Brixton Academy in 2022 and the eventual deal with DFA. Mermaid Chunky has also played live alongside The Comet Is Coming, Alabaster DePlume, Snapped Ankles, and many others.

Tracklist:

1. céilí
2. frogsporn
3. tiny gymnast
4. chaperone
5. medieval
6. nature girl
7. sad nun

All songs written by Freya Tate and Moina Moin

Produced by Mermaid Chunky and Joe Jones

Mixed by Korey Richey, Pablo Morales, and Joe Jones

Mastered by Bob Weston

Photos by Simon Pizzey

Costumes by Mermaid Chunky and Liberty Ray

The DFA bolt, both in colour and on black.

Printed on an American Apparel 1301 Heavyweight Cotton Tee by our other friends at LVAC.

Designed by original DFA graphics master Mike Vadino.

Printed on an American Apparel 1301 Heavyweight Cotton Tee by our other friends at LVAC.

1. Brinna ut (feat. Loopsel)
2. Etiopisk hallucination (feat. Julia Bjernelind)
3. Letar efter nya plågor
4. Köpa saker (feat. Clara Flygare)
5. Verkligheten och jag
6. Balladen om elpriset i Augusti 2022 (feat. Loopsel)
7. Coral bass strings (feat. Loopsel, Nathan Roche)
8. Dödsdisco (feat. Clara Flygare)
9. Ringer å ringer
10. Välkommen på intervju (feat. Nathan Roche)

In the discourse around new albums from singular, world-building artists, the phrase “a big step forward” can often be a blinking red warning sign. You know you’re about to be pulled somewhere new against your will. Inertia is a hell of a thing. It’s nice here. Surely, the party’s not over yet?

JJULIUS’ Vol. 3 album is a big step forward, or a step up, out of the murky basement of the preceding two volumes. There’s no time to acclimate. A spindly violin grabs you by the hand and pulls you into the pastoral bounce of “Brinna ut,” which, in spite of its meaning (“Burn out”), creates the kind of blind positivity and warm stomach feeling less cynical people might find in self-help seminars. For us, we have records like this. And, inertia be damned, Vol. 3 has charm like a balm.

JJULIUS records have always arrived like meteors from another planet, an impression hammered home by the fact that they’re titled like compendiums of artifacts. And while Vols. 1 and 2 carried that notable tinge of darkness, Vol. 3 has (almost!) cast that shadow, adding elements of disco (“Dödsdisco”) and dream-pop (“Etopisk hallucination”) to his forever favorites Arthur Russell, African Head Charge, and The Fall.

Some of that new car smell could be attributed to a change in process. Each song was written over beats played by Tor Sjödén of the wild-eyed Stockholm group Viagra Boys, beats that were themselves inspired by tracks from the likes of Patrick Cowley, CAN, Count Ossie, Black Devil Disco Club and others that Julius would send to him as inspiration.

Unless you're Mark E. Smith, fervor fades. Eventually we all crave a lie down in some nice grass, a few minutes to gaze at the sky and wonder if everything is actually all that bad. Vol. 3 gives you 35 of those respiting minutes. “No looking back, no misery, no talking trash, no enemies.”

Produced by JJULIUS with invaluable help from Petter Granberg


Mixed by Petter Granberg


Mastered and cut by Bob Weston


Graphic design by William Jokijärvi Andersson

Pressed at Furnace Record Pressing in Alexandria, VA