Initials B.D.

In 2018, Baxter Dury co-signed the album B.E.D. with a master of the French Touch movement (Etienne de Crécy) and a then-unknown riot grrrl Delilah Holliday. A quick electro thrill, this minimalist synthpop trio’s project was described by the British dandy as “a mutant child from the 80s that never fully developed correctly”.

He returns to his roots with the impeccable The Night Chancers, a gritty and sensual groove record. His late father Ian was all about “sex and drugs and rock’n’roll”, but Baxter’s opus is situated light years away from these dated thoughts, preferring to err on the side of quirky and nonchalant melancholy, like a British Gainsbourg of the third millennium.

Some may be quick to reduce Dury to nothing but a sarcastic and cynical aesthete; admittedly he gets back in the saddle for this album like a heartbroken lover to confront the demons that surround him in an almost cinematographic environment.

Violins, saxophones, hip-hop beats and other huge basses complement his thrilling declamations about social media (Carla’s Got A Boyfriend), fashionistas (Sleep People) but also compassion (Say Nothing)...

The Night Chancers rounds off the trilogy (that began with Happy Soup and continued with Prince of Tears) made by the master of contemporary introspection, transforming the pavements of big cities into intimate dancefloors.

Two years ago, Qobuz had the chance to interview Baxter Dury, Etienne de Crécy and Delilah Holliday for their project B.E.D.: take a look below.

LISTEN TO "THE NIGHT CHANCERS" BY BAXTER DURY ON QOBUZ

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