When Hyperdub featured in SHOOK 005, Kode9 depicted a wacky race where the individuals who make up the label’s roster were competing to release their albums. “Darkstar’s album will probably be first…” he told us. Well, that wasn’t so. Since our talk in March 2009, King Midas Sound dropped Waiting For You… and Ikonika released her debut. Whatever reasons caused Darkstar’s first longplayer to be delayed, the wait is well worth it. North is exceptional.

Unrushed, North consists of ten songs. ‘Aidy’s Girl Is A Computer’ is the only track to have been previously released, the others, which venture in a different direction from past material, emphasize how Darkstar are an act of idiosyncratic brilliance.

Established duo of James Young and Aiden Whalley welcome James Buttery to their line-up, making the album far more vocal than their 12s. Singing over such striking instrumentals can’t be easy, yet Buttery excels managing to marry his tones with the stunning productions. ‘Under One Roof’, one of the album’s highlights, exemplifies this.

Samuel Beckett reputedly directed actors to perform with “less colour”, instructions that can be interpreted as removing all excessive elements. Darkstar’s debut evokes the same message. As with jagged concrete Brutalist structures and their interplay with a grey British sky, an achromatic wash prompts scrutiny at details. On North, an uncluttered palette of sounds encourages the listener to examine (and enjoy) how elements are expertly layered.

Melancholic and detailed, North lies far closer to synthesized movements of 70s Germany and England in the early-80s than wobbly bass from the late-noughties. A relationship typified in ‘Ostkreuz’, where 1min30 in the combo of synth and bass cries out for David Bowie’s vocals (circa Low) to enter, however, the song named after a Berlin train station remains instrumental.

Excelling as individual songs and as a whole, North includes a fantastic reinterpretation of the Human League in ’Gold’. Their first single for Hyperdub, ‘Squeeze My Lime’, half features, with the melody and lyrics from the springy 12″ version appearing in the album’s closing track: ‘When It’s Gone’. “I’m taking my time…”

‘Out of Touch’ was the first sign of Darkstar’s excellence, three years on that promise has been confirmed. Due to surface in October, North is set to blissfully accompany grey skies and fallen leaves. Prior to release it can’t be called a masterpiece, but all the components are there.

www.hyperdub.net

Darkstar perform live (as a trio) around Europe:

4-Sep-10 Netherlands Amsterdam Bimhuis
25-Sep-10 UK London Eat your own Ears / Bugged Out @ XOYO
8-Oct-10 UK Manchester Bugged Out @ Sankeys
5-Nov-10 Italy Turin Club to Club X @ Teatro Carignano
11-Dec-10 Netherlands The Hague State X New Forms @ Paard Van Troje

An interview between Darkstar and Kode9 awaits on Hyperdub’s blog.

IMAGE: Jamie Mack (from Hyperdub feature in SHOOK 005)

UPDATE: The LP can be pre-ordered at Cargo Records. Gold will be released as a single on 18th of November, in the meantime savour the animated angular delights of the video. Info on the video’s making can be read here.