Proper Monday Number - High horse (DFA DJ Edit)

1. Brinna ut (feat. Loopsel)
2. Etiopisk hallucination (feat. Julia Bjernelind)
3. Letar efter nya plågor
4. Köpa saker (feat. Clara Flygare)
5. Verkligheten och jag
6. Balladen om elpriset i Augusti 2022 (feat. Loopsel)
7. Coral bass strings (feat. Loopsel, Nathan Roche)
8. Dödsdisco (feat. Clara Flygare)
9. Ringer å ringer
10. Välkommen på intervju (feat. Nathan Roche)

In the discourse around new albums from singular, world-building artists, the phrase “a big step forward” can often be a blinking red warning sign. You know you’re about to be pulled somewhere new against your will. Inertia is a hell of a thing. It’s nice here. Surely, the party’s not over yet?

JJULIUS’ Vol. 3 album is a big step forward, or a step up, out of the murky basement of the preceding two volumes. There’s no time to acclimate. A spindly violin grabs you by the hand and pulls you into the pastoral bounce of “Brinna ut,” which, in spite of its meaning (“Burn out”), creates the kind of blind positivity and warm stomach feeling less cynical people might find in self-help seminars. For us, we have records like this. And, inertia be damned, Vol. 3 has charm like a balm.

JJULIUS records have always arrived like meteors from another planet, an impression hammered home by the fact that they’re titled like compendiums of artifacts. And while Vols. 1 and 2 carried that notable tinge of darkness, Vol. 3 has (almost!) cast that shadow, adding elements of disco (“Dödsdisco”) and dream-pop (“Etopisk hallucination”) to his forever favorites Arthur Russell, African Head Charge, and The Fall.

Some of that new car smell could be attributed to a change in process. Each song was written over beats played by Tor Sjödén of the wild-eyed Stockholm group Viagra Boys, beats that were themselves inspired by tracks from the likes of Patrick Cowley, CAN, Count Ossie, Black Devil Disco Club and others that Julius would send to him as inspiration.

Unless you're Mark E. Smith, fervor fades. Eventually we all crave a lie down in some nice grass, a few minutes to gaze at the sky and wonder if everything is actually all that bad. Vol. 3 gives you 35 of those respiting minutes. “No looking back, no misery, no talking trash, no enemies.”

Produced by JJULIUS with invaluable help from Petter Granberg


Mixed by Petter Granberg


Mastered and cut by Bob Weston


Graphic design by William Jokijärvi Andersson

Pressed at Furnace Record Pressing in Alexandria, VA

The Weeks Island project began in 2018 when, itching for something during a break from his gig playing guitar for the Grammy-winning Cajun group Lost Bayou Ramblers, Jonny Campos ventured to his bandmate’s house and recorded a series of deep, amoebic, ambient pedal steel passages across two afternoons. It wasn’t all heavy, though: he paid that bandmate, Kirkland Middleton, in Cane’s chicken strips.

The tracks on Droste are named for bodies of water that no longer exist, their names wiped from maps thanks to the disintegrating shorelines of Southern Louisiana. That feeling of impermanence hangs over this record - the tracks don’t so much begin and end as slip in and out of your consciousness. It can be a serene passive listen or a deep one that marinates long after the runout.

Droste originally appeared in 2020 on a local label named Nouveau Electric Records. We heard about it through LCD’s Korey Richey, an erstwhile Lost Bayou member, and began a years-long process to cut the record to vinyl, a task made difficult by the sharp crests of harmonic distortion that dot the record. After more than a few tries and the addition of three brand new tracks, Bob Weston, as he does, sank a beautiful sounding cut, and then passed it to the gentle hands at Furnace Record Pressing in Alexandria, VA. (Always sweat the details.)

Tracklist:

a: x-ray eyes

b: x-ray eyes (extended trash can dub)

Credits:

recorded at relax and enjoy (london) and dfa (nyc)  

produced and mixed by james murphy for the dfa

engineered by al doyle and james crump (london) / korey richey and pablo morales (nyc) 

mastered and cut by bob weston at chicago mastering service

cover photo by stephen nebesney 1987

pressed at paramount pressing in denver, co

silkscreening done at press friends machine in los angeles, ca and kayrock screenprinting in brooklyn, ny

DFA no doubt owes a very large part of its existence to the incredible, indelible Liquid Liquid, so it is with great and humble honor that we release this 12” from the New York no wave legends, a double a-side package featuring sorta-new versions of classic Liquids tracks.

This torrential take on “Bellhead” was recorded and produced by James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy in 2004 and originally appeared on DFA”s “Compilation #2.” It’s an all-timer percussion workout, bursting at the seams with marimba, drums, and, yes, all manner of bells, a far cry for the see-saw slouch of the original.

The other side is an unreleased instrumental remix of “Optimo,” which (bear with us here) was rerecorded by the Liquids in 2008 and then remixed by Optimo (Espacio), the Glaswegian duo who are named in tribute to the song in question. If you followed that, then you know. If not, just remember that we’re all showing up here because of how important and essential this band remains.

**

"Bellhead"
Recorded in 2004 at RPM Studios, NYC.
Produced by the DFA. Engineered by Andy Sarnoff
Assisted by Eric Broucek

"Optimo - Instrumental Mix by Optimo (Espacio)"
Recorded in 2008 at SRG Studios in Hamilton, NJ
Mixed by JD Twitch and Dave Clark

Mastered and cut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service
Vinyl pressed at Furnace Record Pressing in Alexandria, VA