A. Everything (Gone Crooked) / B. My Shadow (Crooked Shade) 

Taken from Crooked Man’s forthcoming, future-facing Transmission Towers remix album, Crooked Transmissions, two of the standout club cuts are given the punchy 12 inch pressing they deserve. Released on Luke Una’s É Soul Cultura label, in partnership with Mr Bongo, Crooked Man has remoulded, re-energised and completely reworked ‘Everything’ and ‘My Shadow’ from Transmission Towers’ critically acclaimed debut LP, Transmission One. The result is a double dose of transcendental, tripped-out productions utilising every ounce of Crooked Man’s experience and expertise.
 
A key figure in electronic dance music since the late ‘80s, Sheffield-born Crooked Man aka Richard Barratt released one of bleep techno’s defining records back in ‘89. Landing on Warp, it came under the alias Sweet Exorcist with the late great Richard H. Kirk. Since then, Barratt has put out a slew of exceptional productions under a variety of different monikers from Crooked Man and Parrot, to Earth Angel and Athletes of God. He has released on DFA, delivered countless remixes for Róisín Murphy and reimagined the likes of JIM and Joe Goddard. 
 
For this release, Crooked Man first takes ‘Everything’ and contorts it from a post-punk guitar trip into a cybertronic, new beat heater, aptly titled ‘Everything (Gone Crooked)’. A percussive state of hypnosis leads the charge, building the tension for a rumbling kick drum and buzzing synth-line to twist their talons into your mind. Eleanor Mante’s vocals take on a new vivacity, feeling like your head has been sucked into a psychedelic swirl away from reality. Afrofuturist, arresting and perfectly equipped to electrify any waning dancefloor into action.
 
On the B side, ‘My Shadow (Crooked Shade)’ sees Crooked Man morph the original into a firestarter of galactic proportions. The crunched-up breakbeat drives the journey and flips what was once a hallucinatory machine soul number, into an intoxicating slice of club-focussed heat from another dimension. Spiralling pads and astral synths coil around Eleanor’s reverberating vocals, as your body is willed to move in a trancelike state of cosmic motion.  -

Early support from: Optimo, Erol Alkan, Mr Scruff, Sean Johnston (ALFOS), Test Pressing, Lakuti and Paula Tape.