First Ever Lena Platonos Lyric and Poem Book In English Out May 1st
Buy Here: https://www.darkentriesrecords.com/store/merchandise/lena-platonos-piercing-red/
Lena Platonos – Piercing Red
The poetry of groundbreaking Greek artist Lena Platonos takes center stage in Piercing Red: Collected Poems and Lyrics 1984–2008. Best known for her radical electronic music compositions, her innovative work as a poet has been underacknowledged, in no small part due to writing and singing in her native Greek. This book was put together to rectify this lapse, to help encounter her song lyrics on their own as literary work. Collected here are all the poems Platonos put to music over four decades, appearing for the first time in English thanks to loving translations by Stathis Gourgouris. Careful attention was paid to Platonos’s phrasing so that the unique voicings and surrealist imagery would come forth intact. With their rapid-fire juxtapositions and dreamlike narrations, these poems are gestural and performative evocations of the artist’s vast inner world. They are performances of her soul in the realm of words. Book design and typography by Eloise Leigh.
“Platonos’s poetic musings across the collection draw inspiration from her home in Athens — a place steeped in classical history. She evokes the architecture and mythology of the city, creating ambient space with an ambivalence to emotions. The energy throughout is delicately cohesive, the artistic vision is strong, and the beautifully delicate narrative exists as if lost in time.” — Emily Hill, The Vinyl Factory
Our first reissue of 2022 is out April 1st
Buy Vinyl/Digital: https://hassanideddir.bandcamp.com/album/atfalouna
Hassan Ideddir – Atfalouna
Atfalouna
Atfalouna (Instrumental)
Ibini
Ydouchababe
Hassan Ideddir’s 1989 single “Atfalouna” sees an expanded repress courtesy of Dark Entries. Born to Berber parents in Morocco, Ideddir began making music at the age of 10 after being discovered singing in the stairwell by his school’s headmaster. Encouraged by his peers, he began playing concerts, and his status grew. In 1987, he played a string of sold-out concerts in Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakesh, in support of a children’s charity. The success of these concerts secured him a record deal, and he went to Paris to record his debut single “Atfalouna” in 1988.
Released in 1989 on WEA, “Atfalouna” is a dense slab of multi-genre pop. An opening wash of digital synths and reverberant vocals quickly falls away to a cascade of orchestra hits and pulsing electronic drums. The monotone chant-rap of a female chorus collides with Ideddir’s soaring melismatic vocals, pleading against the injustice and hunger in the world. While Hip-Hop and New Beat borrowed tropes from Arabic music, “Atfalouna” inverts the gesture, resituating orchestra hits and sampling techniques within a Moroccan music framework. A shorter instrumental version follows, which preserves the female vocals. Also included are two tracks not on the original 12”. “Ibini” is a moody, downtempo instrumental that sounds like a cult Italo B-side. The record closes with “Ydouchababe”, an electro number driven by funky guitars, electronic claps, and a huge horn riff. Here, Ideddir sings of a youth festival honoring Hassan II, former king of Morocco.
All songs were remastered by George Horn. The sleeve is a replica of the original 12” cover art, featuring Ideddir set in a cheeky collage of clocks, columns, and camels. Also included is a postcard with a photo of Hassan, as well as lyrics in both Arabic and English. We will be donating 100% of proceeds from this release to Sphere who provide support to the young queer community across Ukraine and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund who help provide urgent humanitarian care for Gaza’s children.
FRESH REPRESS AVAILABLE NOW
Buy Vinyl/Digital: https://codek.bandcamp.com/
Codek – Tam Tam / Closer
Limited repress of this incredible and highly sought-after futuristic 12” from 1981. Released on West African Music, a tiny label from the Ivory Coast, and finding a spiritual home on the Italian eclectic Cosmic scene, both tracks on this 12” are brilliantly innovative and exhibit a minimal techno-esque aesthetic way ahead of their time. Side A’s Closer is a chugging sinuous flow punctuated by jerking monotone vocals, horn stabs and synth arpeggios with a strong dancefloor sensibility. Flip over for stunningly weird electronic percussion workout Tam Tam – a crazed sparse soundscape of strange falsetto tribal chants, funky hand claps and drums, synth wobbles, spasms and tweaks, inspired by Burundi drummers playing on the plaza in front of Beaubourg in Paris, where the song was recorded. Each copy of the 2017 reissue on 12-inch vinyl includes a double-sided insert with photos and liner notes.