On September 17th, Strut release the second album in the FAC. DANCE series, bringing together sought after 12″ versions and rarities from Manchester’s revered Factory Records imprint. Despite a reputation for austere post-punk, the label’s first decade produced a slew of landmark dance records, primarily brought to the label by Rob Gretton, who valued tunes and beats over Situationist theory and laboratory experiments in popular art. Conversely, founder Tony Wilson disparaged pure dance music as lacking intellectual rigour. As a result, this second collection of early Factory dance sides occupies a compelling middle ground.
Revisiting the peerless studio work of Martin Hannett, Be Music (the collective pseudonym of New Order members Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Peter Hook) and ACR drummer Donald Johnson, among others, FAC. DANCE 02 fleshes out Factory’s varied early forays into dance territory, widening the spectrum yet further from Volume One. The early version of A Certain Ratio’s angular funk classic “The Fox” from the band’s debut album To Each… rubs shoulders with Cheba Fadela’s Algerian rai blast, “N’Sel Fik”; Kalima’s uplifting dancefloor jazz also features, along with a sprawling electro dub of 52nd Street’s UK boogie classic “Can’t Afford”; we spotlight Dutch electronic band Minny Pops with the motorik “Blue Roses” alongside the heavy dub and reggae stylings of The Wake, X-O-Dus and ACR alter ego Sir Horatio; the Manchester / New York axis is also revisited once again with two potent post-punk funk blasts from E.S.G., the first US band to appear on Factory.
FAC. DANCE 02 is released in conjunction with Factory Records Ltd. The CD and LP packages feature detailed track notes by Factory biographer James Nice, together with rare photos. The digital version of the album features five tracks not featured on the physical formats.
CD 1
1. A CERTAIN RATIO – THE FOX 3.47
2. ESG – MOODY 2.46
3. MINNY POPS – BLUE ROSES 2.33
4. THICK PIGEON – BABCOCK + WILCOX 3.44
5. BITING TONGUES – MEAT MASK SEPARATIST 4.57
6. SIR HORATIO – SOMMADUB 7.18
7. X-O-DUS – SOCIETY 4.20
8. THE DURUTTI COLUMN – SELF PORTRAIT 4.40
9. SECTION 25 – KNEW NOISE 4.43
10. SHARK VEGAS – YOU HURT ME 6.59
11. FADELA – N’SEL FIK 7.06
12. KALIMA – LAND OF DREAMS 6.47
CD 2
1. 52nd STREET – CAN’T AFFORD (Unorganised mix) 10.02
2. NYAM NYAM – FATE 8.06
3. A CERTAIN RATIO – LUCINDA 3.53
4. ESG – YOU’RE NO GOOD 3.09
5. SWAMP CHILDREN – SOFTLY SAYING GOODBYE 4.09
6. QUANDO QUANGO – GO EXCITING (12″ mix) 5.57
7. SURPRIZE – IN MOVIMENTO 5.33
8. ANNA DOMINO – TAKE THAT 4.13
9. THE WAKE – HOST 7.57
10. ROYAL FAMILY AND THE POOR – VANEIGEM MIX 6.22
11. SECTION 25 – SAKURA 3.58
12. AD INFINITUM – TELSTAR 3.13
For More Information, Check Out:
http://www.strut-records.com
John Sargeant, writing on NeuFutur as Sargeant, is the founder and editor-in-chief of NeuFutur Magazine, where he has covered independent music, PC hardware, consumer tech, and gaming culture since 1998. With over 25 years of continuous digital publishing experience, he has written thousands of hands-on game and record reviews, conducted in-depth hardware field testing, and analyzed digital media monetization trends. His work prioritizes first-hand evaluation and long-term product testing.
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