12"

genre: SYNTHPOP - ELECTRO - CLASSIC HOUSE

label: Dark Entries   Cat.No: DE-340

Doubting constantly. Fearing constantly. Our darkness descends on Dark Entries with a reissue of Anne Clark's epochal 1984 proto-house masterpiece. As a young poet, Clark found herself drawn to the burgeoning London punk scene. She met David Harrow, a collaborator of Psychic TV, with whom she would collaborate on 1983’s Changing Places and 1984’s Joined Up Writing. “Our Darkness,” from the latter album, was released as a single by Ink Records the same year, becoming an underground club hit. It’s a singular piece of music: Clark’s lyrics, delivered with a mix of energetic confidence and disquiet, speak of urban alienation and heartbreak, while Harrow’s production overwhelms the listener with hydraulic rhythms and gloomy arpeggios. The spirit of the song would prove influential on both the Chicago house and Detroit techno scenes, where mechanical funk and existential despair could wreak havoc on the dancefloor. This reissue offers three versions of “Our Darkness”: the original 12” remix, the Razormaid mix, and an unreleased dub version discovered by David Harrow. Also included are the extended mix of “Sleeper in Metropolis,” another of Clark’s dancefloor hits, and the elegiac “Poem for a Nuclear Romance.” The record includes an insert with liner notes and lyrics. “Our Darkness” evokes timeless longing and contemporary dread, a classic long overdue for rediscovery. [distributor info sheet]