Darkstar
London's Darkstar produce fractured experimental pop that draws from the U.K. bass music continuum as well as R&B and vintage synth pop. Initially associated with the dubstep/garage scene, the duo made waves near the end of the 2000s with vocoder-heavy tracks such as "Need You" and "Aidy's Girl Is a Computer." The group moved away from dance music with their subsequent full-lengths, including the melancholy ambient pop of 2010's Hyperdub-issued North and several releases for Warp, including the conceptual 2015 full-length Foam Island.
Darkstar debuted in 2007, when producers James Young and Aiden Whalley released the "Dead 2 Me" and "Lilyliver" singles, as well as a split 12" shared with Zomby. A handful of additional 12" releases followed in 2008 and 2009. The twitchy "Aidy's Girl Is a Computer" (Hyperdub) was the most significant one of the lot, backed by a remix from Detroiter Kyle Hall and placed in best-of-2009 features by a handful of high-profile publications, including The Guardian. After vocalist James Buttery was added to the lineup, Darkstar completed their debut album, North (Hyperdub), and released it in October 2010, with a mellow cover of the Human League's 1982 B-side "You Remind Me of Gold" issued as a single.
The trio returned in November 2012 with "Timeaway" and followed up with the song's parent album, the lighter and brighter News from Nowhere (Warp), in February 2013. Following this record, Buttery left the group, and Darkstar once again became a duo with Whalley handling vocals. In 2015, they released Kirklees Arcadia, a mixtape of new material, collaborations, and remixes. This preceded Darkstar's third full-length album, Foam Island, a collage-like effort that combined beat-driven vocal tracks with more experimental interludes and snippets of interviews with young adults living in Huddersfield, England. In 2016, Darkstar and Gwilym Gold worked with choreographer Holly Blakey on a dance piece titled Some Greater Class. A single containing two songs from the performance, "Rope" and "Folk," was issued by The Vinyl Factory. Darkstar also issued Made to Measure, an EP including collaborations with Empress Of and Gaika, the same year.
The pair kept busy with further collaborations and commissions. They composed a piece for the 2017 New Music Biennial, which was performed at Royal Festival Hall with organist James McVinnie. This was followed by a performance with the London Contemporary Orchestra at 2018's Organ Reframed festival held in Union Chapel, and pieces for 2019's Unclassified Live at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Darkstar returned to Warp in 2020 with their fourth full-length, Civic Jams. Refracting shoegaze, rave, and 2-step influences, the album contained observations of the duo's home and surrounding community.
© Andy Kellman & Paul Simpson /TiVo
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Civic Jams
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 19 Jun 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
News From Nowhere
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 4 Feb 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Foam Island
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 2 Oct 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Civic Jams
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 19 Jun 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Made To Measure
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 15 Jul 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Civic Jams Remixes
Dance - Released by Warp Records on 7 Aug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jam
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 30 Apr 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wolf (John Talabot Remixes)
Dance - Released by Warp Records on 22 Apr 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Text
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 17 Jun 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jam (Horsepower Productions Remixes)
Darkstar, Horsepower Productions
Dance - Released by Warp Records on 26 May 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pure Evil
Progressive Rock - Released by Darkface Records on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Since There's Only You
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 22 Jun 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reformer
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 10 Mar 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Text (Squid Remix)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 1 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jam (Pushups In The Rave Mix)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 17 Jun 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Marching Into Oblivion
Metal - Released by Clandestine Music on 4 Mar 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Musical Score from the Interactive Movie
Progressive Rock - Released by Parallax on 5 Nov 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wolf
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 20 Feb 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo