A shift of gear after all the ’77 and Iggy Pop stuff. In 1996 Andrew Weatherall’s Emissions label put out a 12″ by Deanne Day, two tracks both over ten minutes long, from where techno met deep house, (which was where Weatherall’s head was at back then), precise and intense music. Both sides are great, smelling of dry ice and dark corners where the bass reverberates. It might sound like these tracks are for the completists only but you should give these a go.
Hardly Breathe samples Mancunian legend Edward Barton and some looped vocal parts from singer Smita Pandya, taken from the song Thousand Lives. Deanne Day was actually a pseudonym for Weatherall and fellow producer David Harrow (Deanne Day, D and A). Deanne had put out a 12″ the year before called The Day After and there was a very limited remix 12″ too but to my mind this was the one- in some ways this sound is what I think of when I think of ’96-’97.
I’m joining a few recent musical dots again- on Saturday I posted Orbital’s Chime. Orbital’s epic and beautiful Halcyon had a backwards vocal part sampled from Opus III’s It’s A Fine Day (sung by Kirsty Hawksworth, a big hit in 1992). It’s A Fine Day was originally written and recorded a cappella by Jane and Barton and released in 1983. Edward Barton wrote it while living in Hulme, Manchester and it was sung by Jane Lancaster (his girlfriend). A haunting little song.
Classic rave/house tune from 1992, Opus III’s It’s A Fine Day to get your Friday off on the right foot. Originally by Hulme poet and musician Edward Barton. Come on in- the water’s lovely.
Bagging Area 