A Certain Ratio today release a new 4-track EP titled 2023, available on limited edition 12” vinyl and as part of the new digital deluxe edition of 1982, via Mute.
The EP features a new track, ‘Day by Day’, recorded and written with Ellen Beth Abdi just after the 1982 album session, alongside three recently commissioned remixes of tracks from their latest album 1982, released in spring this year. Remixes are from close friend and collaborator Andy Meecham, aka The Emperor Machine, who reworked ‘Constant Curve’, Werkha, who remixed the BBC 6Music playlisted single ‘SAMO’, and Manchester producer and vocalist Jade Parker’s previously unheard remix of ‘Waiting on a Train’ (feat. Ellen Beth Abdi & Chunky) Jade Parker is a Manchester electronic producer and vocalist that ACR have long admired, she focuses on down-tempo rhythms and soulful layered vocals, making the EP a seamless extension of 1982.
A Certain Ratio return with a brand new 4-track EP set for release on limited edition 12” vinyl and digitally on 22 September 2023. The new release follows their latest album 1982 (released in spring this year), and includes three newly commissioned remixes of tracks from the album, alongside a brand-new track ‘Day by Day’, written and recorded with Ellen Beth Abdi – a seamless extension of 1982 to complete their playfully named 2023 EP.
Listen to the first track to be shared, a remix by fellow Mancunian and recent tour mate, Werkha, (Tom Leah) who has taken on one of the stand out singles from 1982. ‘SAMO’, named after Jean-Michael Basquiat and Al Diaz’s first art project, spent 4-weeks on the BBC 6Music playlist: https://youtu.be/1CglgYnf1h0
Elsewhere on the EP, close friend Andy Meecham, aka Emperor Machine reworks ‘Constant Curve’, the album track he originally co-wrote and contributed keyboards and electronic percussion to, while Manchester producer Jade Parker remixes ‘Waiting on a Train’ (feat. Ellen Beth Abdi & Chunky).
2023 EP tracklisting
Day by Day SAMO (Werkha Remix) Contant Curve (feat. Ellen Beth Abdi) [Emperor Machine Extended Rework] Waiting on a Train (feat. Ellen Beth Abdi & Chunky) [Jade Parker Remix]
A Certain Ratio recently announced a unique tour that celebrates 45 years of the band’s incredible career. The dates will see A Certain Ratio perform two separate sets each night: the first set will represent the early years of their career from their Factory releases and the second set will include the latest material
These very special dates, across intimate venues in the UK and beyond, kick off with a sold out show London’s Moth Club on 10 November and finish at Band on the Wall in Manchester, the venue that hosted their 33 1/3 anniversary celebrations, also the site of The Musicians Collective where the band honed their craft at their earliest performances alongside artists such as Warsaw, The Fall, The Passage, Joy Division and many more – full details below.
The new album is home to recent singles ‘Holy Smoke’, ‘SAMO’ (currently on the BBC 6 Music playlist), ‘Afro Dizzy’ (which spent four weeks on the BBC 6Music playlist) and ‘Waiting on a Train’, and ahead of its release, the band are set to celebrate the launch with a series of Q&As at independent record shops before embarking on a UK tour in April.
Since they emerged from the hallowed grounds of the late 70s punk scene, A Certain Ratio have moved with gleeful disregard for boundaries of style and genre, their eye fixed firmly on constant progression. It’s an ethos that’s open-minded over all else, and that’s seen them take everything from experimental electronica to vintage funk, filtered through their own Mancunian lens.
Even by the band’s own standards, however, their latest studio album 1982 is multidimensional. It shoots off in every direction, whether via searing Afrobeat, mind-melting jazz breakdowns or moody electronic experiments. Recorded by the core ACR line up of Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson, alongside Tony Quigley, Matthew Steele and Ellen Beth Abdi, the band’s pleasure at being together in the studio is audible.
And the album title? Although 1982 might conjure memories of the year that saw ACR put out both the acclaimed Sextet and the cult favourite I’d Like To See You Again, it’s more of a playful red herring than an invitation to nostalgia.
Looking backwards and forwards all at once, drawing on influences from across every spectrum, 1982 is a record that will reward a dedicated listener dozens of times over.
With their latest studio album, 1982, tantalisingly in reach, A Certain Ratio have shared a final taste of what to expect with the glistening old-school funk of ‘Holy Smoke’. The new single finds ACR pay tribute to the genre’s forefathers, from James Brown to Chaka Khan to Prince.
The band’s latest album, 1982, is set for release on 31 March via Mute on vinyl, CD and digitally.
‘Holy Smoke’ follows their single ‘SAMO’ (currently on the BBC 6Music playlist), ‘Afro Dizzy’ (which spent four weeks on the BBC 6Music playlist) and ‘Waiting on a Train’ – the latter three all feature one of Manchester’s fastest-rising neo-soul musicians Ellen Beth Abdi, Though a newcomer to A Certain Ratio, she’s already as central to the process as the members who’ve been there since the 1970s – saying a lot about the band’s progressive instincts and willingness to keep A Certain Ratio deft.
We’re delighted to confirm that the first show of our 2023 UK tour in Edinburgh at The Voodoo Rooms is now sold out. We’re looking forward to seeing you there and across the UK this April.
A Certain Ratio have shared the newest slice of what to expect from their forthcoming studio album, 1982, due out on Mute on 31 March 2023. Across the slick and punchy funk grooves of ‘SAMO’ – named after the graffiti tag of American artist and wunderkind, Jean-Michel Basquiat – Jez Kerr namechecks a string of figures from New York’s 1980s art scene, an environment which has held massive sway over the band since their time recording there in the 1980s.
He explains, “The song is all about Basquiat and the birth of Hip Hop. We were lucky enough to be in NY around that time, and some of the lyrics in the song are the unique phrases SAMO sprayed around the city.”
Listen to the track and watch the lyric video that pays homage to SAMO’s graffiti and the work of Basquiat below.
A Certain Ratio have shared their seazing afrobeat-inspired track, ‘Afro Dizzy’, writtenaround drum samples recorded by the late Nigerian master percussionist Tony Allen. The new single is the latest clue of what to expect from their forthcoming studio album, 1982 – out on Mute on 31 March 2023.
‘Afro Dizzy’ features one of Manchester’s fastest-rising neo-soul musicians Ellen Beth Abdi, Though a newcomer to A Certain Ratio, it says a lot about the band’s progressive instincts that she’s already as central to the process as the members who’ve been there since the 1970s. For ‘Afro Dizzy’ she penned her own lyrics around a whirling instrumentalbased on a sample pack of drums by Tony Allen. ACR, who have long idolised Allen, had hoped to one day work with him, and wrote the music for the track just days after he died, in 2020.
Watch the video, an animation from artist and musician Tom Furse, and keep your eyes peeled for Tony Allen, who can be seen via archive footage.
To celebrate the release of the album, A Certain Ratio will be embarking on a UK tour throughout April – full details below.
A CERTAIN RATIO – 2023 TOUR 20 April – Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms 21 April – Huddersfield, The Parish 22 April – Manchester, New Century Hall 23 April – Leeds, Brudenell 25 April – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms 26 April – Birmingham, Hare & Hounds 27 April – Bristol, The Exchange 29 April – London, The Garage
Before that, the band will be hosting a number of special Q&A / signing events in partnership with independent record shops in Manchester, Nottingham and London:
31 March – Manchester, Piccadilly Records – Q&A / signing 1 April – London, Rough Trade East – Q&A / signing 2 April – Nottingham, Rough Trade – Q&A / signing
A Certain Ratio have shared a new track, ‘Waiting on a Train’, the first to be taken from their forthcoming studio album, 1982, scheduled for release on Mute on 31 March 2023.
A Certain Ratio’s greatest strength has always been their unpredictability – “That’s what people like about us, they don’t know what’s coming next!” explains Jez Kerr – and this new track ushers that in via the slick and charismatic presence of Mancunian rapper Chunky . Chunky trades bars with the vocals of one of Manchester’s fastest-rising neo-soul musicians Ellen Beth Abdi, who you’ll recognise from the ACR live line up in recent years, resulting in a track unlike anything the band have made to date.
Watch the video for ‘Waiting on a Train’, directed by Rollcam Directors, produced by Joe Vickers with Jan Koblanski as Director of Photography: https://mute.ffm.to/acr-1982
‘Waiting on a Train’ began life as a lo-fi hip hop jam in the studio, and it made perfect sense to bring in both Chunky and Ellen – already good friends outside of A Certain Ratio.
“It worked really well, there’s great chemistry between them,” Martin Moscrop continues. “It’s got the right amount of pop, the right amount of surrealism, the right amount of moodiness. It just works.” Since they emerged from the hallowed grounds of the late 70s punk scene, A Certain Ratio have moved with gleeful disregard for boundaries of style and genre, their eye fixed firmly on constant progression. It’s an ethos that’s open-minded over all else, and that’s seen them take everything from experimental electronica to vintage funk, filtered through their own Mancunian lens.
Even by the band’s own standards, however, their latest studio album 1982 is multidimensional. It shoots off in every direction, whether via searing Afrobeat, mind- melting jazz breakdowns or moody electronic experiments. Recorded by the core ACR line up of Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson, alongside Tony Quigley, Matthew Steele and Ellen Beth Abdi, soon after their 2021 triptych of EPs and 2020’s ACR Loco, the band’s pleasure at being together in the studio is audible and follows a series of dates that have seen them perform at a huge variety of festivals, including Womad, Wide Awake, Blue Dot, Green Man, Latitude and the Manchester Warehouse Project, in recent years.
And the album title? Although 1982 might conjure memories of the year that saw ACR put out both the acclaimed Sextet and the cult favourite I’d Like To See You Again, it’s more of a playful red herring than an invitation to nostalgia. Like all the band’s best ideas it emerged spontaneously in the studio when Martin was ad-libbing into a vocoder. “It’s called ‘1982’ but I wouldn’t say this album sounds anything like ‘Sextet’,” he points out. Adds Donald: “The title is just playful. People can take it whichever way they can.”
Looking backwards and forwards all at once, drawing on influences from across every spectrum, 1982 is a record that will reward a dedicated listener dozens of times over.
1982 TRACKLISTING (CAT # STUMM480) Samo Waiting on a Train 1982 A Trip in Hulme Constant Curve Afro Dizzy Holy Smoke Tier 3 Ballad of ACR Constant Curve
A Certain Ratio continue an incredible run of releases and touring, one that has marked a dynamic new phase in their career, with details of LOCO REMEZCLADA: a collection of entirely new mixes and reworkings of tracks from across their recent catalogue. Out on 5 November 2021 on double clear vinyl, triple sparkle vinyl, CD and digitally, the new album takes in 2020’s acclaimed ACR LOCO album alongside ‘Down and Dirty’ featuring Denise Johnson, taken from EPA, the first in a trip of EPs released this year: https://mute.ffm.to/acr-remez
LOCO REMEZCLADA features a diverse range of artists, each bringing their own take on the band’s material and list of remixers – which includes Dan Carey, The Orielles, LoneLady, Sink Ya Teeth, The Lounge Society, Lou Hayter, Skream, Colleen Cosmo Murphy and many more – were all chosen by the band, who explain, “We took time to consider who we’d like to have involved, who we admired, who we love hanging out with, who we couldn’t wait to hear what they came up with.”
Dan Carey’s ‘Down & Dirty (Mr Dan Remix)’ opens LOCO REMEZCLADA and the producer, songwriter, mixer and founder of Speedy Wunderground brings his inimitable touch to ‘Down & Dirty’, one of the last tracks ACR recorded with Denise Johnson who passed away unexpectedly last year.
Carey explains, “A long time ago when I was a teenager, I was out in Manchester and spotted a poster that said something about A Certain Ratio remixed by Norman Cook. At the time I didn’t really know what a remix was, who Norman Cook was, or who/what A Certain Ratio was, but somehow I knew it was worth investigating. As a result, I discovered ACR, figured out what remixes were, and started trying do my own. I’ve loved ACR ever since, and got pretty involved in production and remixing, so it meant a lot being asked to do this. It also meant a lot to work with one of the last vocal tracks that Denise recorded.”
Elsewhere on the album, Maps remix ‘Get A Grip’, The Orielles reimagine ‘Yo Yo Gi’, Sink Ya Teeth (who collaborated with ACR on the last studio album) take on ‘What’s Wrong’, Lou Hayter mixes ‘Friends Around Us’ and LoneLady gives ‘Bouncy Bouncy’ the 12” remix treatment.
Dan Carey’s ‘Down & Dirty (Mr Dan Remix)’ opens our forthcoming album, LOCO REMEZCLADA and the producer, songwriter, mixer and founder of Speedy Wunderground brings his inimitable touch to ‘Down & Dirty’, one of the last tracks ACR recorded with Denise Johnson who passed away unexpectedly last year.
Carey explains, “A long time ago when I was a teenager, I was out in Manchester and spotted a poster that said something about A Certain Ratio remixed by Norman Cook. At the time I didn’t really know what a remix was, who Norman Cook was, or who/what A Certain Ratio was, but somehow I knew it was worth investigating. As a result, I discovered ACR, figured out what remixes were, and started trying do my own. I’ve loved ACR ever since, and got pretty involved in production and remixing, so it meant a lot being asked to do this. It also meant a lot to work with one of the last vocal tracks that Denise recorded.”
