Solitary Dancer – Dualism [DE154]

Dark Entries releases ‘Dualism’, the sophomore E.P. from contemporary Montreal-based duo, Solitary Dancer. They are known for their elegant, richly-sculpted sound design and knack for propulsive club rhythms that eschew rigid 4/4 drum patterns. ‘Dualism’ opens with “Anything”, equal parts Drexciya and Dopplereffekt — full of low-end bass stabs, blipping synths; swelling and washing to a cinematic close. For the first time on a Solitary Dancer record, vocals make an appearance in the guise of a male companion who’s lamenting a lost lover. “Losing Touch” takes a classic electro beat, and through the use of elegiac pad washes, distorted bass and menacing vocals, morphs into persistently engaging shapes. The B-side’s ”Emails 2 Myself” is a suspenseful corralling of intriguing sonic elements. Its fractured 707 beats combine with melancholic strings and features vocals by Marie Davidson. Also included is the instrumental version of “Emails”, accentuating the bass drum, snare, hi-hat and melodic synth tones, sailing into the subdued evening sun of the future.

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Solitary Dancer – Dualism [DE154]

Detobeat – Cliffs EP [LURID006]

DETOBEAT - Cliffs EP (remixes)

The name DETOBEAT. derives from the home cities of all parties involved in this project: DE/nver (Todd Nickolas), TO/ronto (Linus Booth and Chris Macintyre), BE/rlin (Gene Kouzouka) and AT/hens (Lurid Music). Their debut release features a reworked female vocal version of Ciffs by Marie Davidson, an assaulting techno rework from her Essaie Pas partner Pierre Guerineau, a psychedelic guitar excursion from Khidja, as well as the first ever remix commissioned from legendary greek electronic composer Lena Platonos.

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Detobeat – Cliffs EP [LURID006]

Marie Davidson – Adieux Au Dancefloor [CITI021]

DAVIDSON, Marie - Adieux Au Dancefloor

Cititrax presents a full length LP entitled Adieux Au Dancefloor by Montreal based recording artist, Marie Davidson. Marie Davidson has emerged as one of the foremost electronic artists working in contemporary pop today. As a long-time member of Essaie Pas (DFA Records), Davidson has had the opportunity to hone her many talents. She has been participating in the city’s vibrant experimental community for much of her adult life. However, in 2012 she began to unveil compositions under her own name, revealing a solo artist who possessed the combined confidence and vulnerability required to write, produce and perform unaccompanied. Davidson’s intimate solo work is embodied through a host of synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines which coalesce in synchronized harmony, punctuated by vocals, half sung, half spoken in both French and English. She masterfully shapes the overall mood, themes, emotion, expression and intensity of her work, which gives the final result a distinctive, cinematic quality. With Adieux Au Dancefloor, Marie makes a slight departure from her last two releases, via Holodeck (2015) and Weyrd Son (2014), by creating her first fully dancefloor oriented piece of work. Through the 45 minutes of music that comprises the album, she experiments with pop structures, defines her voice, and layers rhythms to make complex and beautiful techno tracks. She closes the album with the title track in classic Chanson style.

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Marie Davidson – Adieux Au Dancefloor [CITI021]

Essaie Pas – Demain Est Une Autre Nuit [DFA2481]

Montreal-based electronic duo Essaie Pas is comprised of Marie Davidson and Pierre Guerineau. Both are respected musicians in their own right – Marie having released two acclaimed solo records, with Pierre being best known for production work on underground Canadian musicians such as Dirty Beaches and Femminielli. Essaie pas was born on a hot summer night in 2010, releasing some ultra-limited singles which culminated in their debut LP, Nuit de noce (Teenage Menopause Records) in 2013. The mix of drawling guitars, français mumbles, and minimal electronics caught the ear of DFA Records, who booked the pair to open for Factory Floor on their first North American tour.

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Essaie Pas – Demain Est Une Autre Nuit [DFA2481]

DKMD – Sacrificio [GD008]

DKMD is the unholy union of the legendary David Kristian (Psyche / Francesco Clemente / Creme Org) and composer, singer and poet Marie Davidson. The Sacrificio EP is a cosmic soundtrack to vampire rituals, stalker fantasies and abandoned mansions. Heavy disco grooves are matched with Marie Davidson’s ghostly voice, speaking from (the crawl)space to your paranoid mind. Remixes come from Giallo Disco’s Vercetti Technicolor and Antoni Maiovvi.

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DKMD – Sacrificio [GD008]