Young Gun Silver Fox
West End Coast

So Sweet So Nice by John Moods

In the early-to-mid 1970s, Belgian recording engineer and synthesist Daniel Lacksman née Lanckmans recorded and released a series of pop music records, using early analog synthesizers as a central sonic element. Under an admittedly confusing array of names, Lacksman (who later founded the group Telex) created music that was equal parts innovation and ear-candy accessibility. Those often happy-go-lucky records gained some popularity throughout Europe, but their lasting influence can be heard in the music of Portishead, Massive Attack, The Moog Cookbook, and Air, not to mention among the lengthy list of 21st century artists who have sampled these recordings. And a casual survey online quickly reveals that these records are among the most collectible of their kind, with original copies commanding hundreds of dollars. Among those records, his 1973 self-titled album Dan Lacksman is probably the most unusul. Though Lacksman had already started recording instrumental albums (Flamenco Moog) and even had a European hit with 'Coconut,' for Dan Lacksman he chose to play guitar (!) and even sing (!!) along with his usual displays of keyboard wizardry. As such, it's probably his most accessible record for those approaching his music from a strictly rock background. An early version of 'Skylab' hints at the grand version to come on Tchip Tchip; some of the album sounds like a Belgian version of Steely Dan, and at times you might even hear a little early Eno/Robert Wyatt/Kevin Ayers prog punctuated by a couple of drinking songs. Overall, it's a progressive pop singer-songwriter album and a bit of a trailblazer at that'which explains why original copies go for a mint. Our Real Gone Music reissue has been mastered for CD and LP from the original tapes by Lacksman himself, and feature liner notes by Bill Kopp that include exclusive quotes from Lacksman and photos from his private archive. The LP is pressed in neon green vinyl limited to 900 copies!

When he‘s not writing or recording, Baba Stiltz immerses in fearless fiction by the likes of DenisJohnson and Dodie Bellamy; prose where pedestrian details become transcendent in aggregate andthe inner lives of marginal characters are examined as though they were kings. A similar thesis runsthrough „Paid Testimony“, the essential second tape of minimalist guitar music from the FilipinoAmerican-Swedish artist. In recent years, Stiltz has made like Lee Hazelwood‘s Cowboy In Sweden in reverse, making annual pilgrimages from Stockholm to California and reconnecting with his roots via a guitar and a Fostex 4-track. He‘s drawn to the less glamorous corners of the golden state, an observant habitué of unkempt streets and dive bars stretching from LA to Vacaville. It‘s a long stretch from the jetset techno clubs where Baba originally plied his musical trade, but it‘s where he finds characters and ideas worthwriting about.

Iron Day de Genghis CohnNorth London’s midnight man tumbles out his treehouse to deliver twelve potions of minor healing in “Iron Day”, his questing, soul-salvaging songbook. Brimming with majesty and maraud in equal parts, Genghis Cohn synthesises trad. English folk and woe with surrealist dream sequences on this debut long-player. A romance of two hedgehogs, devotional bone temples, broken shadows and sausage kings, GC conjures a grand slab of folk music that, in a warmly recognisable form, challenges its ancient rewards.

To celebrate the 10 years of Cracki Records, we decided to offer you a new compilation which is not only a return towards the past, gathering the titles which marked the history of Cracki, but also a glance towards the future with the meeting of artists who always gravitated in our close environment. Our wish is to reunite the constellation of friendly and sincere influences that surrounds us through featurings, remixes and exclusive collaborations. In addition to our usual friends, we will meet on this compilation Juan Wauters, Chassol, David Numwami, Lord Apex, NxxxxxS, Myd, Voiski, Tryphème, Myth Syzer or Black Devil Disco Club.With these new collaborations that cross the borders, Cracki Records projects itself towards unknown territories, always searching innovative projects, against fashion and mercantile imperatives. The artistic effervescence, the sensitivity and the human aspect will always come first.

ABT071 - CA - 2018