On 1st August, Warp present the re-release of two era-defining albums of mid-Nineties electronic music, The Sabres Of Paradise ’s ‘Sabresonic’ and ‘Haunted Dancehall.’ With the full collaboration of surviving members Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns, and in partnership with the Estate of the late Andrew Weatherall, they’re being reissued in new CD and double-LP classic editions, remastered by Matt Colton.
Three decades on from the release, Kooner and Burns recall a time of productions, remixes, rock’n’rave gigs and cupboard-under-stairs studio intensity, with the excitement around the band fast-tracked by Weatherall’s production on Primal Scream’s era-defining ‘Screamadelica’ (1991). ‘Sabresonic’ (October 1993) and ‘Haunted Dancehall’ (November 1994) duly emerged from a feverish time, when the threesome gravitated from remixers-for-hire (Flowered Up, Future Sound Of London, Galliano, Yello and many more) to fully-fledged artists.
Three decades on, ‘Sabresonic’ and ‘Haunted Dancehall’ are having their moments in the sun again. Likewise The Sabres Of Paradise as a gigging outfit, with their first tour in over three decades. The live version of The Sabres Of Paradise – an incarnation that never featured Weatherall (he preferred to DJ either side of the band’s sets) – is back on the road, playing venues from London’s Fabric to Sydney Opera House via a summer of festival appearances. For the shows, Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns have reassembled their old bandmates – Rich Thair (Red Snapper, The Aloof), Nick Abnett (The Aloof) and Phil Mossman (LCD Soundsystem).
“We just thought it’s time to go back and revisit this,” says Kooner. “To let people know that it was a pivotal moment in time, not just for us, but for a lot of other people as well. These are albums that really stand the test of time. People need to hear them live. Andrew, of course, wouldn’t be with us onstage. But we like to think he’d be standing in the wings, giving us the nod.”
Vinyl and CD released 1st August (UK, Europe) and 15th August (North America) via Warp records
‘Sabresonic’ (Remastered)
A1. ‘Still Fighting’
A2. ‘Smokebelch I’
B1. ‘Clock Factory’
C1. ‘Ano Electro (Andante)’
C2. ‘R.S.D.’
D1. ‘Inter-Lergen-Ten-ko’
D2. ‘Ano Electro (Allegro)’
D3. ‘Smokebelch II (Beatless Mix)’
‘Haunted Dancehall’ (Remastered)
A1. ‘Bubble And Slide’
A2. ‘Bubble And Slide II’
A3. ‘Duke Of Earlsfield’
B1. ‘Flight Path Estate’
B2. ‘Planet D’
B3. ‘Wilmot’
B4. ‘Tow Truck’
C1. ‘Theme’
C2. ‘Theme 4’
C3. ‘Return To Planet D’
C4. ‘Ballad Of Nicky McGuire’
D1. ‘Jacob Street 7am’
D2. ‘Chapel Street Market 9am’
D3. ‘Haunted Dancehall’
Preorder here
Live dates
29 May – Fabric, London, UK – SOLD OUT
1 June – Vivid, Sidney Opera House, Australia
5 June – Primavera Sound Barcelona, Spain
2 August – Dekmantel, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Photo credit: Steve Double Camera
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