Manchester

Clockwork Orange – OUT NOW

on by A Certain Ratio

Today, legendary Manchester band A Certain Ratio return with new single ‘Clockwork Orange’, out now on Speedy Wunderground as part of their illustrious 7″ single series. ‘Clockwork Orange’ marks the band’s first material since the release of their acclaimed new album It All Comes Down To This, which Speedy Wunderground’s own Dan Carey also produced. Carey explains that he has long had an affinity for the pioneering band: “A long time ago when I was a teenager, I was out in Manchester and spotted a poster that said something about A Certain Ratio remixed by Norman Cook. At the time I didn’t really know what a remix was, who Norman Cook was, or who/what A Certain Ratio was, but somehow I knew it was worth investigating. As a result, I discovered ACR, figured out what remixes were, and started trying to do my own. I’ve loved ACR ever since.”

‘Clockwork Orange’ builds around malign synths, incorporating contorted vocal passages and shape-shifting electronics that make the song a compellingly dark, shadowy force.

Martin Moscrop (trumpet, guitars) comments on working in the customarily quick fashion that Carey and the Speedy Wunderground single series are so famed for: “We spent a day recording the song with Dan Carey and arranged to pick up our equipment the following morning at 10am. Dan had been up since 8am working on the elements of the song and as we walked into the studio our jaws dropped. He had transformed the song into something very dark, different and full of interest factor. We left the studio on a real high telling Dan to carry on in that direction and make it as heavy as he possibly could. It was a real eureka moment.”

Continuing, Jez Kerr (bass guitar, vocals) says: “We’d worked with Dan on the album, so we knew how quickly he liked to get things down. As a joke [Factory Records producer] Martin Hannett used to like to confuse engineers by disappearing to the pub with the parting line, “yeah just tidy up that patchbay and make that delay on the guitar a bit more yellow.” I think Dan is the guy who can actually make a delay more yellow.”

Hear ‘Clockwork Orange’ on streaming services here and share via YouTube below.

The single will be available on 7″ from July 26th here, and includes the Dan Carey dub remix B Side ‘Dubwork Orange’.

It All Comes Down To This – OUT NOW!

on by A Certain Ratio

A CERTAIN RATIO – Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson – have released their
Dan Carey produced thirteenth studio album, It All Comes Down to This, today on Mute.

LISTEN NOW

Released almost exactly a year after their acclaimed album 1982, it is further evidence of
the mentality that defines A Certain Ratio, one that has always set them apart from their
peers – a dogged, relentless demand to evolve, re-assess and reinvent with every new
release. After the confident, sprawling, pan-genre strut of 1982 and a tour that celebrated
45 years of ACR performing live, comes this new record from completely out of leftfield.
The record’s ten tracks present ten distinct moods, every bursting moment of it is defiantly,
resiliently alive. It All Comes Down to This, for now at least, is the sound of the current
incarnation of A Certain Ratio. The purest distillation of their essential sound ever
committed to tape, and the first time they have recorded as just the core trio of principle
band members – multi-instrumentalists Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson. 
 
The other essential difference between It All Comes Down to This and its immediate
predecessors is the recording process: after already working together on a remix for Loco
Remezclada (2021), the band turned to the doyen of contemporary underground rock
producers, Dan Carey (Black Midi, Kae Tempest, Black Country New Road) to work on the
album. Known for his rejection of sonic clutter and his uncompromising focus on the
central tenets of the bands and artists he produces, Carey’s instincts closely aligned with
ACR’s desire to return to the basics.

By honing in on the band’s essential building blocks, Carey has teased out a brittle, inner
darkness that has always been latent in ACR, but not always at the surface. And if there is
a residual darkness in the album’s sonic aesthetic, then it pervades the subject matter, too.
“We wrote the album while the world was in turmoil,” explains Moscrop. “Which it still is. If
you think about climate change, corporate war, the environment, Trump in power, Johnson,
the Ukraine war, Israel and Palestine, it really does all come down to this. It’s probably the
most political album we’ve written.” 


The band have two special events this weekend: Manchester’s Piccadilly will host album
launch party at Soup on Saturday 20 April, where the band will perform the album in its
entirety before answering questions, and on Sunday 21 April they will be performing and
signing albums at Rough Trade Nottingham. Later in the summer, on Friday 2 August, their
performance at Kendal Calling on Tim Burgess’ Tim Peaks stage will be recorded, pressed
to vinyl and available at a signing event on Sunday 4 August.


ACR’s good friend and collaborator, Ellen Beth Abdi, a name familiar to anyone that has
seen the band’s incendiary live performances in recent years, will be joining the tour as a
very special guest. Ellen, who featured on the band’s last album & tour, is now
concentrating on her solo career – this will be a brilliant chance to catch what ACR’s
Martin Moscrop describes as “some of the most original and inspiring music coming out of
Manchester at the moment.”

TICKETS

It All Comes Down To This + 2024 Tour

on by A Certain Ratio

A CERTAIN RATIO have announced details of a new album, produced by Dan Carey, and
an extensive UK tour for spring 2024. It All Comes Down to This, their thirteenth studio
album, will be released via Mute on 19 April 2024. PRE-ORDER NOW


Listen to the exuberant call-to-arms that is the album’s opener, ‘All Comes Down to
This’, positive proof that the band have, once again, been able to tap into a new
artery of life.

The new album, due out almost exactly a year after their acclaimed release, 1982, is
further evidence of the mentality that defines A Certain Ratio, one that has always set
them apart from their peers – a dogged, relentless demand to evolve, re-assess and
reinvent with every new release. After the confident, sprawling, pan-genre strut of 1982
and a tour that celebrated 45 years of ACR performing live, comes this new record from
completely out of leftfield. The record’s ten tracks present ten distinct moods, every
bursting moment of it is defiantly, resiliently alive. It All Comes Down to This, for now at
least, is the sound of the current incarnation of A Certain Ratio. The purest distillation of
their essential sound ever committed to tape, and the first time they have recorded as just
the core trio of principle band members – multi-instrumentalists Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop
and Donald Johnson. 
 
“It’s the Ratio removing the safety net,” Kerr says, explaining the decision to strip away the
excess and return to the band’s base ingredients. “Every element of everything we’ve
done on this album has been a change.” 
 
“It wasn’t a matter of rubbing everyone else out, it was, ‘let’s find the thing that makes us
work’,” adds Johnson. “And we know that’s just the three of us being as basic as possible
– no frills, no major overdubs. Just visceral and happening in the moment.” 
The other essential difference between It All Comes Down to This and its immediate
predecessors is the recording process: after already working together on a remix for Loco
Remezclada (2021), the band turned to the doyen of contemporary underground rock
producers, Dan Carey (Black Midi, Kae Tempest, Black Country New Road) to work on the
album. Known for his rejection of sonic clutter and his uncompromising focus on the
central tenets of the bands and artists he produces, Carey’s instincts closely aligned with
ACR’s desire to return to the basics.

LIVE DATES
25 April – Huddersfield, The Parish
26 April – Leeds, Brudenell
27 April – Blackpool, Bootleg Social
28 April – Edinburgh, Summerhall
29 April – Aberdeen, The Tunnels

1 May – Norwich, Arts Centre
2 May – London, Fabric 
3 May – Bedford, Esquires  
4 May – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
5 May – Brighton, Concorde 2
9 May – Birmingham, Castle & Falcon 
10 May – Hull, Social 
11 May – Sheffield, Foundry
12 May – Bristol, Exchange
17 May – Manchester, New Century Hall

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

1982 – OUT NOW

on by A Certain Ratio

A Certain Ratio have released their eagerly anticipated new studio album, 1982, on vinyl, CD and digitally via Mute.

Order and Listen Here

The new album is home to recent singles ‘Holy Smoke’, ‘SAMO’ (currently on the BBC 6 Music playlist), ‘Afro Dizzy’ (which spent four weeks on the BBC 6Music playlist) and ‘Waiting on a Train’, and ahead of its release, the band are set to celebrate the launch with a series of Q&As at independent record shops before embarking on a UK tour in April.

Since they emerged from the hallowed grounds of the late 70s punk scene, A Certain Ratio have moved with gleeful disregard for boundaries of style and genre, their eye fixed firmly on constant progression. It’s an ethos that’s open-minded over all else, and that’s seen them take everything from experimental electronica to vintage funk, filtered through their own Mancunian lens.

Even by the band’s own standards, however, their latest studio album 1982 is multidimensional. It shoots off in every direction, whether via searing Afrobeat, mind-melting jazz breakdowns or moody electronic experiments. Recorded by the core ACR line up of Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson, alongside Tony Quigley, Matthew Steele and Ellen Beth Abdi, the band’s pleasure at being together in the studio is audible.

And the album title? Although 1982 might conjure memories of the year that saw ACR put out both the acclaimed Sextet and the cult favourite I’d Like To See You Again, it’s more of a playful red herring than an invitation to nostalgia.

Looking backwards and forwards all at once, drawing on influences from across every spectrum, 1982 is a record that will reward a dedicated listener dozens of times over.