NEWS

Dark Entries Editions reissues 3 Italo Disco 12″s


For June we transport you back to Italy in the 1980s with 3 Italo Disco reissues long of out print until today! First up is the New Wave/hi-NRG crossover anthem “Walking in the Neon by Peter Richard on neon orange vinyl. Then we have the lone 12” by duo Art Fine called “Dark Silence” that Glass Candy recycled as “Life After Sundown”. Last is a 4-song double A-side 12″ EP from the mysterious studio project Helen featuring the dark dance jam “Witch” and the cosmic slow burner “Zanzibar”.

More info on each release is below.

Walking in the Neon (Club Version)
Walking in the Neon (Dub Version)

Dark Entries Editions is excited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Italo Disco club hit “Walking In The Neon”. Peter Richard was the alias first adopted in 1979 by producer and vocalist Walter Beinat. His best known song was “Walking In The Neon”, released as a maxi-single on Italian label Good Vibes in 1985. For this single Richard teamed up with the production duo of Gigi Farina and Franco Rago, best known for their projects ‘Lectric Workers, Decadance, Expansives, and Wanexa. “Walking In The Neon” was written by Rago & Farina with help from Chuck Rolando, member of Italian disco group Passengers.The track’s arrangement was done by Italian disco pioneer Celso Valli who wrote club classics for Macho, Azoto, Passengers and Tantra, to name a few.

On the A-side is the “Club Version”, an uptempo classic that sounds like a dream encounter between mid-80s New Order and hi-NRG legends Patrick Cowley and Bobby Orlando. Clocking in at nearly 9 minutes, it is purely dance-floor oriented on an epic scale, with evolving hooks and melodies. The B-side features a shorter dub version with extended breaks and bass lines. Both songs are remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Pressed on neon orange vinyl, as it was when originally released in 1985.

Dark Silence (Art Fine Version)
Dark Silence (Long Version)

Art Fine was the duo of Fabrice Bellini (electronics, vocals) and Rush Blakemann (guitar, synthesizer) from Tuin, Italy. They met in art school and became friends, inspired by New Wave, dance and electronic music. They recorded their only single “Dark Silence” in November of 1984, which was released by Discomagic in 1985. Fabrice programmed the electronic drums using SCI Drumtraks and added extra tracks on the Simmons SDSV. Rush played electric guitar and the Yamaha piano notes at the start of the song. Guest musicians Silvano Borgatta and Riccardo RosaThe “da da da da da” voice effect was done by engineer Gigi Guerrieri, who cut and spliced a tape rather than using a sampler, which was too expensive at the time. “Dark Silence” tells the love story of beautiful girl who Fabrice saw many times but could not reach. He called her Dark Silence, for her dark hair and eyes and the silence unwanted between them. The B-side features a remixed version with extended breaks and dubbed out bass lines and vocals.

Both songs are remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl is housed in the original jacket featuring a photo of the duo and that Art Fine logo in puzzle pieces. Each copy includes a double sided postcard insert with lyrics and liner notes by Fabrice Bellini.

Witch (Vocal Version)
Witch (Instrumental Version)
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (Afro Mix)

Dark Entries Editions reissue series continues with a double A-side of the first two Helen maxi singles, “Witch” and “Zanzibar”, as a 4-song EP. Helen was an Italo disco studio project that consisted of various producers, songwriters, and vocalists from Italy in the 1980s. The first line-up included popular Italo producers Piero Cairo and Massimo Noe, known for their work with Joe Yellow, Den Harrow, Pink Project, and Dharma to name a few. They were joined by prolific Italo session vocalist Elena Ferretti. “Witch” was originally released in 1983 on Out Records, a label distributed by Discomagic Records. Signature Linndrum and Simmons drums create the driving rhythm track while Elena’s powerful vocals tell the haunted tale of a witch and her magic.

In 1985 the second incarnation of Helen recorded the song “Zanzibar”. The vocal version was written by Ennio Ronchelli (Keyboards) and Roberto Barocelli (Guitar, Bass), with singer Daniela Paratici. This line-up was heavily influenced by the ‘Afro’ movement made popular by DJ Beppe Loda. “Afro” refers to the Cosmic musical trend of slower disco records featuring African drums and rhythms. The “Afro Mix” of “Zanzibar” was produced by DJ Daniele Losi and Roberto Lodola, with additional live hand drums and sticks by Nigerian percussionist George Aghedo.

All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl is housed in the original jacket from the “Witch” maxi single, featuring artwork by Elena Feretti. Each EP includes a fold out poster with the nude female model

 

Dark Entries Announces 5th Anniversary Re-Issues and Mini Tour 

REDREDRED Bezier and Max+Mara will embark  on a “Five Years of Dark Entries” tour in July. Beginning on July 25th in Chicago, the troupe will play a string of dates in the citites that influenced them. Dates are below, with more to be announced soon!

Dark Entries Tour 2014
Thursday July 17 – San Francisco – The Eagle
Saturday July 19 – Oakland – Terminal
Friday July 25 – Chicago – Empty Bottle
Saturday July 26 – Detroit – Macho City
Sunday July 27 – Pittsburgh – Brillobox
Monday July 28 – Philadelphia – Bourbon & Branch
Tuesday July 29 – Manhattan – Beats In Space 
Wednesday July 30 – Manhattan – Nothing Changes
Friday August 1 – Brooklyn – Baby’s All Right

 

Dark Entries showcase in Los Angeles on Saturday June 28thLIVE ACTS:
Psyche : Performing in LA for the first time!
Brotman & Short : Returning to LA for the first time in over three years!DJ’s:
Silent Servant (Downwards/Jealous God)
Josh Cheon ( Dark Entries Records)

Mini Dark Entries Record Fair

Advance tickets available HERE

Dark Entries is excited to announce some very special re-issues for July in celebration of their fifth year anniversary. On July 12th we will release Executive Slacks’ S/T EP, and Xymox’s Subsequent Pleasuresand Severed Heads’ Dead Eyes Opened, which features the extended mix of “Dead Eyes Opened” and two other tracks.
PRE-ORDER ALL 3 NOW!


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