Saturday, February 21, 2009

Black Devil – Disco Club (1978)


An electronic disco album that went completely unnoticed at the time of its release and was destined to be lost in the annals of time. That is until Richard D. James supposedly heard it in a club while tripping on acid. He promptly declared it to be the best thing he’d ever heard, and re-released it on his Rephlex label. It’s hard to believe this came out in 1978. I don’t think anything really sounded like this back then. Maybe Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”, but even that’s stretching it. This album is sweaty and sinister – dangerous even. What you get here are raw relentless grooves, layers upon layers of ominous synths, and hazy, heavily effected vocals. The first track in particular reminds me of Joy Division – had Joy Division gotten their hands on a time machine and taken the time to carefully study 80s and 90s electronic dance music.

2 comments:

  1. thanks :) and for all the amazing posts too, as well, cheers

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  2. Strange disco album. Sometimes I feel like I'm listening to Blondie. The harmonies are haunting. Definitely druggish. 70's Disco was at least in real time, actual music with dimension, unlike today's rap music which is one dimensional loops.

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