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.
Woe To The Septic Heart *
Shackleton * Skull Disco