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SHACKLETON BIOGRAPHY

In 2004, Ian Hicks of Mordant Music liked and released an early Shackleton track entitled Stalker. The track later appeared on Rough Trade's 'Best of 2004' compilation. Shortly after this Shackleton started to think about starting a record label. The label was eventually formed in 2005 and he gave it the name “Skull Disco” partly because he is a fan of puns and it almost rhymes with school disco in his native dialect.

Skull Disco's releases were idiosyncratic both musically and visually. Often comprising double A-sides from Shackleton and Appleblim, the music was a peculiar mixture of ritual percussion and heavy bass which had as much to do with more experimental and avant forms of music as with their dubstep and techno contemporaries. The label seems to have achieved a bit of respect in the underground music world and a cult status amongst some fans.

The music enjoyed support from the Hardwax record shop whilst The Wire magazine was also very enthusiastic from the beginning. The Wire featured Shack on the front cover of the December 2010 issue. Mary Anne Hobbes was also supportive.

In 2009 Shackleton decided to close down Skull Disco. It had become an unlikely success but it was time to move on after ten 12”s.

The first release after closing Skull Disco was a full-length album titled Three EPs on Perlon records. The album made an appearance in the end of year lists from publications as diverse as Wire magazine, Groove Magazine, FACT magazine, Resident Advisor , Pitchfork Reader's Poll , Little White Earbuds, Passion of The Weiss amongst others.

The 2012 release on his own Woe To the Septic Heart label, The Drawbar Organ EPs/Music for The Quiet Hour, saw Shackleton moving into much more unconventional territory. Music for The Quiet Hour was particularly demanding being comprised of one long narrative piece separated into five sections and shared more characteristics with American minimalism, avant drone, and serialism than with any of the more established electronic dance music genres.

During this time, Shackleton had a mix of all his own music released as part of the Fabric nightclub series.

More recently, Shackleton has released some more stuff for the dancefloor with his Deliverance trilogy on his Woe To The Septic Heart label whilst also confirming his position as an electronic music maverick through his work with Ernesto Tomasini the cult singer, performer and artist whose history spans experimental theatre, cabaret and collaborations with Othon, Marc Almond and Peter ’Sleazy’ Christopherson from Coil/TG. 

In 2017, Shackleton released the album “Behind The Glass” in collaboration with the enigmatic chanteuse, Anika.