Journal For Plague Lovers remixes press release

[robin heavenly]

This got buried/edited on the New Music Express site - this is the whole thing. All the mixes that are in so far are off the scale, release will be sorted when the last couple come in... cheers!

Each track on Manic Street Preachers forthcoming ninth album, “Journal For Plague Lovers”, is being remixed for future release. Following on from the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Mogwai, Stereolab, David Holmes, The Avalanches, Cornelius and Massive Attack, the Manics have given free reign to a diverse, hand picked selection of studio hands. The results range from a Public Image meets Charlie Watts cosmic disco stomp to a galloping Joe Meek goes shoegaze homage. The stellar cast of “Journal For Plague Lovers” remixers is:

Andrew Weatherall ‘Peeled Apples’ http://www.rottersgolfclub.co.uk/
Saint Etienne ‘Jackie Collins Existential Question Time’ http://www.saintetienne.com/
British Sea Power ‘Me And Stephen Hawking’ http://www.britishseapower.co.uk/
Patrick Wolf ‘This Joke Sport Severed’ http://patrickwolf.com/
Optimo (Espacio) ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’ http://www.optimo.co.uk/
The Pariahs ‘She Bathed Herself In A Bath Of Bleach’
Adem ‘Facing Page Top Left’ http://www.adem.tv/site/
New Young Pony Club ‘Marlon JD’ http://www.myspace.com/newyoungponyclub
The Horrors ‘Doors Closing Slowly’ http://thehorrors.co.uk/
Errors ‘All Is Vanity’ http://www.weareerrors.com/
Four Tet ‘Pretension/Repulsion’ http://www.fourtet.net
Fuck Buttons ‘Virginia State Epileptic Colony’ http://www.fuckbuttons.co.uk/
Underworld (Rick Smith) ‘William’s Last Words’ http://underworldlive.com/

A few notes on the remixers:

Andrew Weatherall DJed at two of the Astoria shows the Manics did in 1994 (the last gigs with Richey Edwards);
Saint Etienne were label mates with the Manics on Heavenly back at the start of the ‘90s, also responsible for a genius mix of “There By The Grace Of God”;
British Sea Power are one of the Manics current favourite bands;
Patrick Wolf has previously cited ‘The Holy Bible’ as one of the records that most inspired him;
Optimo (Espacio) have been hosting a genre bending club in Glasgow since ‘97, and more recently spreading it around the globe – the mix album ‘Sleepwalk’ is sublime genius;
The Pariahs are friends of the Manics from Newport, featuring local legend DJ Mensa;
Adem is one third of Fridge and an artist responsible for three staggeringly good solo albums;
New Young Pony Club were called in to bring in some bounce;
The Horrors new album is Nicky Wire’s album of the year so far;
Errors are signed to Mogwai’s label Rock Action and make brutal electro;
Four Tet, aka Kieran Hebden, manages effortlessly to make folk, jazz and minimal techno sound warm and appealing;
Fuck Buttons make an awesome, unholy noise;
This is the first remix Underworld have done in over a decade.

Of the remixes, Nicky Wire says:

“It’s been a pretty overwhelming response to be honest. We chose people for each track hoping they would bring us back something unique, that they’d find something we maybe hadn’t in the track. Without fail, they’ve done that. Heartfelt thanks from us to everyone involved.”

Release plans for the mixes will be announced shortly.