Crooked Man

Amy Douglas - Never Saw It Coming 12"
Amy Douglas - Never Saw It Coming 12"
Amy Douglas - Never Saw It Coming 12"
Amy Douglas - Never Saw It Coming 12"

Amy Douglas - Never Saw It Coming 12"

$14.98

Tracklist:
a1. Never Saw It Coming (Crooked Man Version)
b1. Never Saw It Coming (Original Version) 
b2. Never Saw It Coming (Crooked Man Dub)

NYC singer Amy Douglas makes her official DFA debut with “Never Saw It Coming,” a limited release 12” single co-written and produced by Tim Wagner of 33Hz, with two remixes by Sheffield artist Crooked Man


With a five-octave range and a diverse background in performance, ranging from rock to soul to jazz, Douglas’ voice is the heart of the song, lending heightened drama to the steady mechanical funk of Wagner’s production. The two remixes by DFA artist Crooked Man let the track grow and build slowly with longer, lush arrangements, while his hypnotic dub doubles down on the woozy bassline and has Amy’s vocals echoing out into the ether. 

Though this is Douglas’ first release on the label, she is no stranger to the DFA roster. She is the voice behind “Happiness,” the epic closing track on Crooked Man’s self-titled 2016 LP, and also appears on the forthcoming Crooked Man album, due out on DFA this fall. Amy also works with Juan Maclean as one half of Peach Melba, who have released singles on both DFA and Defected / Classic. Crooked Man’s signature maximalist house sound has always been complemented by the support of strong female vocalists, and together the pair take each other’s work to a new level for an impressive collaboration. Rumor has it they’re currently working on more tracks together… 

Lots of artists these days aim to ‘reimagine’ the sounds of disco, house, and soul, but Amy Douglas and Crooked Man are creating something all their own that pulls from the best of times past, while also looking decidedly forward.
 
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Crooked Man - Crooked Man
Crooked Man - Crooked Man

Crooked Man - Crooked Man

$5.00

See that man on a far off hill, working his dog while attempting to find shelter from the howling wind and driving rain? That’s the Crooked Man, the very antithesis of the modern dance music producer. He lives a simple life, dragging his world‐weary soul across the moors in an endless bid to escape the fallout from 30 years spent at the forefront of Sheffield’s electronic music scene. Once regarded as one of the Steel City’s greatest selectors, he now admits to being gripped by fear at the idea of DJing, and refuses to spend any time in nightclubs. 

He may be ill at ease with the darkroom throb of 21st century clubs, but the house music the Crooked Man produces is as weighty, alien, raw and left of‐centre as anything you’d get from many a hyped young producer. He’s assisted in his studio endeavours by two other Sheffield survivors: former Clock DVA man Michael Ward, and David Lewin, once the other half of Bleep & Booster with former ABC and Vice Versa man Stephen Singleton.

The Crooked Man’s music blends wonky electronic rhythms, heavy bass and razor sharp, politically aware lyrics, often delivered by the honeyed tonsils of Pete Simpson. For proof, check out the banker‐baiting “Scum (Always Rises The Top)”, or the bittersweet social commentary of “Fools & Fanatics”. The Crooked Man may be world weary, but he’s still brimming with rage. Few could have foreseen a link between this jaded recluse and New York’s militantly forward‐looking DFA Records. But then again, the Crooked Man does have history.

Raised a farm boy, his life changed when he first heard the industrial funk and futurist electronic pop of local bands Cabaret Voltaire and the Human League. Bored of having no decent parties to go to, he became DJ Parrot and began promoting the soon to be legendary Jive Turkey events in 1985. Alongside his DJ partner Winston Hazel, he united Sheffield’s disparate dancers by joining the dots between Northern Soul, disco, hip‐hop, electro and the emerging underground dance sounds of Chicago, Detroit and New York.

In 1987, an early foray into music production accidentally created a hit record, the major label‐signed “Hustle (To The Music)” by Funky Worm. The commercial desires of a large, conservative label proved hugely frustrating, and he soon yearned to break free and head back underground. Salvation came from within Sheffield, with the launch of Warp Records. He teamed up with Cabaret Voltaire’s Richard H Kirk under the Sweet Exorcist alias, delivering the peerless “Testone” in 1990, one of the landmark records of the bleep era. The pair went on to release the first album on Warp, C.C.E.P., in 1991.

Many records under different aliases followed, for both independent and major labels, before Parrot once again found himself chart‐bound as part of eccentric Steel City trio All Seeing I. Their debut album, 1999’s Pickled Eggs & Sherbet, featured contributions from some of Sheffield’s finest, including Jarvis Cocker and The Human League’s Phil Oakey.

Since then, Parrot has kept a low profile. When not working his sheepdogs, he’s quietly produced for Roisin Murphy, Add N To (X), Richard Hawley and Toddla T, amongst others. His decision, some years back, to revisit his love of raw, bass‐heavy house music merely marks another twist in the winding path of the Crooked Man.

Tracklist:

  1. Coming Up For Air
  2. This Machine (Kills Me)
  3. The Girl With Better Clothes
  4. Scum (Always Rises To The Top)
  5. Preset
  6. Fools And Fanatics
  7. Try Me
  8. I'll Be Loving You
  9. Happiness
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Crooked Man Album Bundle
Crooked Man Album Bundle
Crooked Man Album Bundle
Crooked Man Album Bundle

Crooked Man Album Bundle

$44.98

Both Crooked Man albums on 2xLP, one affordable bundled price.

On Crooked Man - Crooked Man:
The Crooked Man’s music blends wonky electronic rhythms, heavy bass and razor sharp, politically aware lyrics, often delivered by the honeyed tonsils of Pete Simpson. For proof, check out the banker‐baiting “Scum (Always Rises The Top)”, or the bittersweet social commentary of “Fools & Fanatics”. The Crooked Man may be world weary, but he’s still brimming with rage. Few could have foreseen a link between this jaded recluse and New York’s militantly forward‐looking DFA Records. But then again, the Crooked Man does have history. Read the complete copy and hear the LP here

On Crooked Man - Crooked House
The elusive Crooked Man returns to DFA with Crooked House, a maximalist take on electronic and house music that picks up where 2016’s self-titled LP left off. Teaming up again with Michael Somerset Ward (Clock DVA) and David Lewin (Bleep & Booster) in the studio, Richard Barratt crafts a comprehensive journey of hi-fi house belters with more sinister electro-pop mixed in for good measure. The LP is influenced by two historic epicenters of electronic music: Sheffield, UK, where Richard has had an illustrious career in a mix of legendary groups like Funky Worm, Sweet Exorcist, and The All Seeing I; and the NYC Loft-era disco sound, where extended grooves were layered with peak-time choruses. More on "Crooked House"+ Full LP audio. 
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Crooked Man - Crooked House
Crooked Man - Crooked House
Crooked Man - Crooked House
Crooked Man - Crooked House

Crooked Man - Crooked House

$31.98

The elusive Crooked Man returns to DFA with Crooked House, a maximalist take on electronic and house music that picks up where 2016’s self-titled LP left off. Teaming up again with Michael Somerset Ward (Clock DVA) and David Lewin (Bleep & Booster) in the studio, Richard Barratt crafts a comprehensive journey of hi-fi house belters with more sinister electro-pop mixed in for good measure. The LP is influenced by two historic epicenters of electronic music: Sheffield, UK, where Richard has had an illustrious career in a mix of legendary groups like Funky Worm, Sweet Exorcist, and The All Seeing I; and the NYC Loft-era disco sound, where extended grooves were layered with peak-time choruses. 

Richard’s diverse collaborations and intensely prolific discography have now led him to records as lush and sophisticated as Crooked House. Considering the rarity of a live Crooked Man performance or DJ set, it’s a testament to his hyper-creativity that these tracks are able to reach new heights in a club setting. With support from disco historian Bill Brewster and NTS resident Ross Allen (not to mention “Echo Loves Narcissus” being named #1 single of the year by Piccadilly Records in 2017, before it was even properly released), it’s clear that Crooked House brings a timeless vitality to the current landscape of dance music, and continues an exciting new chapter in Crooked Man’s career.

TRACKLIST:
1) Every Killer Needs A Friend
2) Here On Earth
3) Make Up
4) Turnaround
5) Walls
6) Take It All Away
7) Long Time Dead
8) Echo Loves Narcissus 
9) Robots

 

 

PRE-ORDER - Heavyweight Double Vinyl LP and CD releases October 19, 2018
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