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
-
-
Touch Me
Trance - Released by Armada Music Bundles on 31 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lost in Place
Progressive Rock - Released by Dirty Little Pony, LLC on 18 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Stoke The Fire
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 10 Sep 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pin Secure
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 23 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Text (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix)
Dance - Released by Warp Records on 3 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
HD7
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 1 Nov 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
1484
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 1 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Wolf (Loraine James Remix)
Dance - Released by Warp Records on 30 Jun 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dead 2 Me / Break
Electronic - Released by 2010 Records on 21 May 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jam (Parris Remix)
Dance - Released by Warp Records on 28 Jul 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stoke The Fire (Midland Remix)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 20 Nov 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Timeaway
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 5 Oct 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Mr. Majyk
Ambient - Released by Dirty Little Pony Records, LLC on 1 Mar 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Through The Motions
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 1 Sep 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Black Ghost
Alternative & Indie - Released by Warp Records on 7 Jul 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Te Vi na Rua Ontem
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by DJ Yoshi on 30 Oct 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo