A Certain Ratio

A Certain Ratio – Christmasville UK EP

on by A Certain Ratio

Our brand new four-track EP, Christmasville UK, is announced today, 13 November 2024 via Mute. The EP will be available on 12” in a limited edition of 500 copies pressed on transparent orange vinyl, made in Scotland by sustainable pressing plant Seabass Vinyl, and digitally. Pre-order the EP HERE.

The EP is heralded today with ACR’s first ever Christmas track, ‘Now and Laughter’, which embodies all of the hope and goodwill of the season. Originally demoed during the It All Comes Down to This album sessions, in true ACR recycling style the guitar chords are based on the chords from ‘The Big E’ / ‘Won’t Stop Loving You’, while the lyrics acknowledge the unsung heroes that are on hand when the pressures of the festivities can become too much to bear.

Listen to ‘Now and Laughter’ HERE

With yuletide spirit, we have invited some of the extended ACR family to join the celebrations and rework tracks from our 2024 album, It All Comes Down to This. Jane Weaver (labelmate when we were both on much-missed Rob Gretton’s label back in the ‘90s) has remixed ‘Where You Coming From’, and long-time friend and collaborator Emperor Machine (aka Andy Meecham) has given ‘Out From Under’ an extended rework, which you can listen to HERE.

“I love the original Lp version of ‘Out From Under’ but I thought a Boogie / Funk Re-Work would make a great alternative. It was Martin’s funk guitar riff that initially inspired me to take the mix in that direction.”
Andy Meecham

Some newer friends have been invited into the fold, too. London-based Jezebell, who the band heard when they were on tour in Germany, bring the Electo Balearic party spirit to ‘We All Need’ to complete the EP.

This new EP is yet another unexpected turn in our expansive catalogue – “ACR does Christmas! Who’d have thunk it?”, “We are big Slade fans though…”

CHRISTMASVILLE UK EP (cat # MUTE680)

A1 – Now and Laughter
A2 – Where You Coming From – Jane Weaver Rework
B1 – Out From Under – Emperor Machine Extended Rework
B2 – We All Need – Jezebell’s Ghost Train Mix

It All Comes Down To This + 2024 Tour

on by A Certain Ratio

A CERTAIN RATIO have announced details of a new album, produced by Dan Carey, and
an extensive UK tour for spring 2024. It All Comes Down to This, their thirteenth studio
album, will be released via Mute on 19 April 2024. PRE-ORDER NOW


Listen to the exuberant call-to-arms that is the album’s opener, ‘All Comes Down to
This’, positive proof that the band have, once again, been able to tap into a new
artery of life.

The new album, due out almost exactly a year after their acclaimed release, 1982, is
further evidence of the mentality that defines A Certain Ratio, one that has always set
them apart from their peers – a dogged, relentless demand to evolve, re-assess and
reinvent with every new release. After the confident, sprawling, pan-genre strut of 1982
and a tour that celebrated 45 years of ACR performing live, comes this new record from
completely out of leftfield. The record’s ten tracks present ten distinct moods, every
bursting moment of it is defiantly, resiliently alive. It All Comes Down to This, for now at
least, is the sound of the current incarnation of A Certain Ratio. The purest distillation of
their essential sound ever committed to tape, and the first time they have recorded as just
the core trio of principle band members – multi-instrumentalists Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop
and Donald Johnson. 
 
“It’s the Ratio removing the safety net,” Kerr says, explaining the decision to strip away the
excess and return to the band’s base ingredients. “Every element of everything we’ve
done on this album has been a change.” 
 
“It wasn’t a matter of rubbing everyone else out, it was, ‘let’s find the thing that makes us
work’,” adds Johnson. “And we know that’s just the three of us being as basic as possible
– no frills, no major overdubs. Just visceral and happening in the moment.” 
The other essential difference between It All Comes Down to This and its immediate
predecessors is the recording process: after already working together on a remix for Loco
Remezclada (2021), the band turned to the doyen of contemporary underground rock
producers, Dan Carey (Black Midi, Kae Tempest, Black Country New Road) to work on the
album. Known for his rejection of sonic clutter and his uncompromising focus on the
central tenets of the bands and artists he produces, Carey’s instincts closely aligned with
ACR’s desire to return to the basics.

LIVE DATES
25 April – Huddersfield, The Parish
26 April – Leeds, Brudenell
27 April – Blackpool, Bootleg Social
28 April – Edinburgh, Summerhall
29 April – Aberdeen, The Tunnels

1 May – Norwich, Arts Centre
2 May – London, Fabric 
3 May – Bedford, Esquires  
4 May – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
5 May – Brighton, Concorde 2
9 May – Birmingham, Castle & Falcon 
10 May – Hull, Social 
11 May – Sheffield, Foundry
12 May – Bristol, Exchange
17 May – Manchester, New Century Hall

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Dirty Boy (Chris Massey Remix)

on by A Certain Ratio

A CERTAIN RATIO continue their 40th anniversary celebrations with a brand new remix of ‘Dirty Boy’ from fellow Mancunian Chris Massey. The track, described by Mixmag as “for those who like their disco with a bit of a bite” is available today with a brilliant new video, edited by Chris Massey. The track is taken from a new EP to be released on 6 September which features classic and long unavailable remixes of ‘Shack Up’ by Electronic (Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr) as well as another new remix of ‘Dirty Boy’ by Paul Dering. Available now.

DIRTY BOY/SHACK UP REMIXED – TRACKLISTING

12″

A1        Dirty Boy (Massey Mix)
A2        Dirty Boy (Nine In The Afternoon Mix)
AA1     Shack Up (Work Mix)
AA2     Shack Up (Wipe Out Mix)

Digital

1          Shack Up (7″ Version)
2          Dirty Boy (Massey Mix)
3          Shack Up (Electronic Radio Edit)
4          Dirty Boy (Nine In The Afternoon Mix)
5          Shack Up (Work Mix)
6          Shack Up (Wipe Out Mix)