Dennis Young, percussionist with post-punk/mutant disco/Lower East Side groove legends Liquid Liquid, has announced a new album, Reel to Real, a collection of rare and unreleased solo tracks. Recorded by Young at his own home between 1982 and 1983 using a reel-to-reel tape recorder, a drum set, and assorted instruments, these improvised performances spent the last three decades forgotten in a box. Rediscovered six months ago, Young edited several hours of tape down to an album’s worth of never before heard tracks.
As short-lived as they were, Liquid Liquid have never ceased to be a highly influential band. In recent times, they were a key influence on New York’s “dance punk” acts (!!!, DFA-years The Rapture), a resurgence that even lured Liquid Liquid out of the netherworld for a bunch of reunion shows. Nevertheless, they had started leaving a mark from very early on, with their song “Cavern” being sampled in the hip-hop classic “(White Lines) Don’t Do It.” Dennis Young has maintained a rather active career since Liquid Liquid’s demise in 1984, with over a dozen releases to his name. Showcasing a stark, powerful albeit tellingly lo-fi tint, the tracks in Reel to Real have very little to do with the rich rhythms Young laid out for Liquid Liquid, sounding closer to a mixture of Silver Apples circa The Garden and Suicide. You can stream a track off the album below.
Reel to Real is out on February 3 via Staubgold.
• Dennis Young: http://www.dennisyoungmusic.com
• Staubgold: http://www.staubgold.com
More about: Dennis Young, Liquid Liquid
