The Black Dog: Recent Episodes
The Black Dog
A lot of people love music. A lot of musicians love music, despite it being their job. After all, how many bin men love black bags? How many salesmen love their target? For musicians, work means another day in the studio, another set of A&R men to make happy, another day knowing you‘ve sold your soul for a strapon! Working in music is poisonous. Yet a lot of musicians love music anyway.
The Black Dog - Live at Bloc Weekender 200801. The Black Dog - Witches OV (Beatless Version) - Radio Scarecrow - Dust Science02. The Black Dog - UV Sine - Radio Scarecrow - Dust Science03. The Black Dog - Mental Ward Sleep Machine - Riphead EP - Dust Science04. The Black Dog - Gawble Vianag - Riphead EP - Dust Science05. The Black Dog - Age Of Slack - Book of Dogma - Dust Science06. The Black Dog - Broke - Dust Science07. The Black Dog - Squeaky Song - Dust Science08. The Black Dog - Digital Poacher - Radio Scarecrow - Dust Science09. The Black Dog - Coda - Radio Scarecrow - Dust Science10. The Black Dog - ...Short Wave Lies - Radio Scarecrow - Dust Science11. The Black Dog - You Are Static - Dust Science12. The Black Dog - Trojan Horus [Part 2] - Silenced - Dust Science13. The Black Dog - Evoke (Carl Taylor Remix) - ReMixes - Dust Science
We always knew we would return to this project because Brutalism remains a profound part of our lives, something we cherish deeply. Inspired by the photographs we have been capturing for a new book, the music emerged effortlessly. Documenting these buildings feels instinctive; this is where we belong.Our unwavering fixation on symmetry, synchronisation, and repetition endures, but this time we believe the music reveals a more emotional depth. That is the direction we have been moving towards. Some things simply take time, yet this album seemed to take shape of its own accord.Join us as we walk through these modern day cathedrals, monuments to the people.
“Sleep Deprivation” began in 2006, during a time when our sleep patterns were drastically altered by constant travel and late-night gigs. This relentless cycle of broken sleep became a persistent part of our lives, and over time, we noticed something remarkable: our music became more emotional, raw, and vulnerable.Sleep, or the lack of it, affects every aspect of life, and its influence on our creative process was undeniable. For this album, we chose to embrace that emotional intensity, allowing it to take centre stage over traditional arrangements. Sleep deprivation blurs the lines of logic, and the part of the brain that usually handles structure and order begins to falter. In that haze, deeper feelings rise to the surface, unfiltered and honest.With this album, we surrendered to that experience, letting the emotional chaos shape the music, and the result is an exploration of what happens when you’re pushed to your limits, both physically and creatively.
Crafted to work within the imposing walls of Moore Street Substation during our ten-day residency, these brutalist hymns mark the pinnacle of our creative exploits in 2023. This industrial cathedral inspired a musical odyssey, and within these final four cuts, the profound influence of one of our favourite buildings resonates, intricately woven into the fabric of each composition.As we unveil these sonic offerings, we invite listeners to experience the depth of emotion, the resonance of architecture, and the transformative power of our musical exploration. Nybrutalism is a definitive conclusion to this fantastic writing period, encapsulating the essence of Moore Street Substation, and completing our artistic journey within those concrete confines.
Introducing "The Being Brutal EP" - featuring three captivating tracks by The Black Dog, expertly enriching The Grey Album canon.Delving into the heart of Sheffield's vibrant music scene during the 1980s, this EP explores the wistful decline of the once-promised modernist utopia, now nostalgically viewed through rose-tinted glasses. With a tapestry of intricate emotions woven across forgotten estates and townships, the EP confronts the timeless struggle of repeating mistakes that we should have gleaned wisdom from, yet tragically, remain ensnared in."The Being Brutal EP" invites listeners on a journey of introspection and contemplation. Experience the sonic tapestry of The Black Dog as they unveil this extraordinary musical narrative, a reflective ode to what could have been, and a poignant reminder of the unyielding spirit of artistic expression.
Sometimes, things "just happen". For months, we’d been working away on various projects and then, without really thinking about it, The Black EP just happened. It seemingly appeared from nowhere.We’d been talking about the old days; making music with friends and dodgy kit, renting small practice rooms and using makeshift recording studios. It was such a common thing back then, you could pick a dusty space in a half-derelict building for as little as £25 a month. In those days, the Cabs and Human League had studios with posh-sounding names, but in reality, they were the same old workspaces long abandoned by the industries they were built for. Nevertheless, the grand names made them sound magical.Sheffield had thousands of these spaces, and some still exist today, but their abundance and low-cost made Sheffield a very active place. Someone was always doing something. They’d exploded onto the scene in a flurry of excitement before disappearing just as quickly.There’s something about these little mesters (workshops) that we believe lives in the very consciousness of Sheffield. It’s one of the reasons we never really had big scenes like Manchester or Leeds. The Hacienda would've never been built here.We don’t really do big gangs or have that kind of mentality. We tend to exist in little pockets, often leaving each other alone. It would be 30 years before any member of The Black Dog talked to Cabaret Voltaire. Sure, we’d stood outside their practice room as kids, trying to listen in, but never felt any reason to approach. Sheffield is like that.Once we had the first two tracks of the Black EP, we set off to see Jon at Do It Theesen, where he manually cut the tracks to an extremely limited set of 7" singles using a vinyl lathe. It just felt right to go back to the old ways; a small gang creating something special in workshops and sheds. There’s something very satisfying about it, a perfect circle, if you will.We pushed further by adopting old practices, working with one synth per person and limiting the use of our computers. We only stopped short of putting everything on beer crates. It seems like madness these days, but there is raw creativity within these confines. Pretty much every band started this way. Depeche Mode travelled to the studio on the London Underground for their first appearance on Top Of The Pops, all lugging a synth each. That's how we approached the creation of this album; stripped back, raw and minimal - it just felt so right.And then there’s the competitive element that was influenced when the original Human League split and became Human League MK II and Heaven 17. Both continued to use the same studio to write what became the albums "Dare" and "Penthouse and Pavement". There is something about that drive that is very Sheffield, just making stuff and hoping everything falls into place.In Sheffield, we do things differently, because that’s how we are built.
The White EP was created in Bill Drummond's kitchen, the place where all this started, and the one his wife liked to remind him could've been refitted if he hadn’t burnt the million pounds.Reaching into the past where everything seemed possible, play has now been replaced by art. We channelled pure Sheffield electronics via the beats and visuals of early Psalter Lane Art College gigs, the walls echoing to the Human League, Cabaret Voltaire and Vice Versa. Deep inside the hall, this would be the pebble that cast a thousand ripples into the future.Rituals at the site were carried out by Frater Nostra & Brother Oakey to the incantation of:"Swift on the dead from thine all-seeing steep - And the unutterable word be spoken."
"We hate to think about how much time we've spent in Airport Lounges. We didn't record on every single visit but we still ended up with over 200 hours of recordings in our archives - that’s nearly 8.5 days straight. These recordings became the backbone of the project, as we began to work them into tracks, while simultaneously sitting in airports. The circle was complete.Airport lounges are a common source of frustration for all travellers; overcrowded, uncomfortable, and filled with a variety of unpleasant smells, not to mention the equally unpleasant people barking orders. Worse still, many airports have limited seating and amenities. During long wait times, this can become quite overwhelming.Philosophically, the nightmare of airport lounges can be seen as a representation of the existential angst and anxiety of modern life, all compacted into one small area. It is a physical manifestation of our inability to escape the constraints of time and space, as well as our inability to control our own destiny. As a result, airport lounges can be seen as a negative reflection of the human condition, and a symbol of the lack of freedom we experience in our everyday lives.This album of unreleased recordings documents an earlier time, when 3 weekends a month were spent in airports and this temporary home became our recording studio. A recent visit confirms that nothing has changed."
This mix was created at Park Hill while photographing the flats for a future project. It draws upon all of the music we’ve been making about Sheffield and Brutalism, along with a few choice selections from our catalogue, creating a vibration that can never be seen.
The needs and polarization of our society feed heavily into the collective consciousness, often among people who’ve never lived in social housing or on a large estate. Life is complex enough but when it involves negotiations with businesses, committees, funding bodies, and of course, individuals with very subjective opinions, the original vision will always be compromised. This clash of differing ideas and demands can create something new that would have never existed. Unfortunately, that rarely pleases anyone.
This mix and the selected tracks within it were created with these feelings in mind, bringing together conflicting thoughts and ideas to envision a new internal landscape.
Pre-Order is available today on Dubs Volume 4: Suburbia https://www.duststore.com/products/dubs-volume-4-limited-edition-vinyl Don’t sleep on these, there’s only 100 of these. #Sheffield #Techno #Ambient #Sheffieldissuper #Brutalism
Recorded in Barcelona, this live album provides a journey back through the last 18 months, taking cues from The Black Dog's Dubs, Music For Photographers and Brutalism projects.
The music and the visuals of the live performance document the brutalist architecture, found at home and in the locations we visit, while also reflecting its place within the landscape and our lives.
Using original photography, this live AV show developed the visuals using artificial intelligence and neural networks to create new constructions, worlds and visions for a version of a future just over the page.
The Black Dog and Amoeba Design are working together to realise a series of art projects for live events and gallery installations, all under the banner of My Brutal Life, an ongoing series of projects encompassing music, photography, books, exhibitions, 360 audio-visual events and live performances. This live performance marks the end of the first year in developing this body of work.
The third EP from the Brutal Minimalism series delivers three new tracks, exploring our concrete landscapes further and deeper than before.
"People don’t like change, their era always was and still is the best. They no longer live on the edge of the page, they’re trapped in a nostalgic Ponzi scheme that they never asked for.
Modernity traps you emotionally, locking you into a “small island” mentally, but who the hell dreams of going back to the bronze age? The romantic in you died when you moved to the city, you gave up the right to be so judgemental.
Fight back, grey over green. Don’t let them convince you that they know better: they’ll ply you with platitudes while planning you out of existence."
Concrete Reasoning builds on the foundations of Music For Photographers and Brutal Minimalism with three fresh reinforced cuts, all inspired by the colour work of Le Corbusier and matching the ambitious lines striking across the skyline.
Let’s face it, who else in electronic music is writing about brutalism and architecture?
As always, the bass is ever-present, waiting for the minimal patterns to play out like echos traversing new structures. For this to exist in its intended form, the war for Grey Over Green must begin.
Four fresh concrete cuts from a promised future that we all deserve.
The Brutal Minimalism EP follows us on a journey across several sites in Yorkshire famous for their brutal architecture. The four rhythmic beat-driven tracks were all written on location while waiting for ideal lighting and the rain to stop. And let’s face it, it rains a lot in Yorkshire.
The tracks evolved over a number of weeks, produced within the architecture of the car parks, streets and nearby green spaces, all to find the distinct vibrations of the place. Sound samples were captured from the environment and banks of percussion, pads and tones were created for use throughout the pieces. Working within this architecture influenced the process and ultimately shaped the evolution of the tracks.
Here we present four slices from those sessions where we ask you to embrace the grey over the green.
- The Black Dog - Try Pod (Unreleased)
- The Black Dog - My Life Is Bracketed
- The Black Dog - Nighthawks
- The Black Dog - Death Of The Brown Cow
- The Black Dog - SD Kard (Unreleased)
- The Black Dog - Sony 7IV (Unreleased)
- The Black Dog - Isolation (Unreleased)
- The Black Dog - Depth Of Future
- The Black Dog - Autohoaxer
- The Black Dog - Concrete Concentration (Broken Juno)
- The Black Dog - [b] They All Live In The Past
- The Black Dog - Theme From Chip Butty
- The Black Dog - Vertical Grip On Reality
- The Black Dog - O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
- The Black Dog - Womersley, Line One
- The Black Dog - Tuckered Out
- The Black Dog - Norman Foster Knew
- The Black Dog - Out Of Your League
- The Black Dog - Dust Bunnies
- The Black Dog - Tell Mo (Unreleased)
- The Black Dog - Bokeh Bokeh Bokeh
Our Brutal projects continue with the release of Dubs: Volume 2 Brutal; where our studio machinations cross over into our obsessions with Béton Brut, modernism and minimalism. This release is a result of that collision.
Four tracks for angular futurism that was always promised but never delivered. The future we're told is always on the next page, inaccessible to the proles, but that's never stopped us conjuring up music for the congregation
https://theblackdog.bandcamp.com/album/dubs-volume-2-brutal https://www.duststore.com/products/dubs-volume-2
Our Brutal projects continue with the release of Dubs Volume 2: Brutal; where our studio machinations cross-over into our obsessions with Béton Brut, modernism and minimalism. This release is a result of that collision.
Four tracks for angular futurism that was always promised but never delivered. The future we're told is always on the next page, inaccessible to the proles, but that's never stopped us conjuring up music for the congregation.
"Dubs" is a project that we'd talked about for a couple of years but never really had the time to focus on, as it required a lot of research and leg work to put together. We eventually started in January of 2020 but little did we know what would be happening by March.
"Dubs" deals with our history in Sheffield and The Black Dog, sometimes literal and sometimes not. Come with us on a journey through music, photography and words, as we try to explain our relationship with Sheffield in the best way we can.
4 of our strongest tracks to date that take in all our favourite flavours: Concrete, Glass, Steel and Dirt.
Grab The EP here: https://duststoredigital.com/album/dubs-volume-1-sheffield or https://www.duststore.com/products/dubs-volume-1
Today we start releasing exclusive music for Music For Photographers via our Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/theblackdogma For Exclusives, Early Access, Discounts and All our music this year just join for the price of a coffee. It’s a great way to support us.
Because we got invited to play on a 3D sound system, we thought we’d rewrite a lot our new tracks so they’d work with the system properly. We’ve worked on these systems before and it’s difficult to do a good job beyond the gimmicks and to not wear the listener out but we are always up for a challenge and interested in new ideas.
This of course lead from one thing to another and after a week we’d reworked over 50 minutes of music. Here we present a small selection of the tracks for your pleasure along with several new ones.
Recorded live at No Bounds on the 17th of October to a live audience under safe distance restrictions this was our last gig of 2020 using a full 3D sound system array that’s then recorded on a binaural stream via a Neumann virtual head. The system is effectively a 24:8 sound system and similar to rigs we’ve played on before.
We knew that turning up and just doing a standard set won’t work on a system like this so we set about reworking tracks to work on the system and to make them super subtle rather than relying on cheap gimmicks.
This recording is the result of all the work.
Pre-Order Here: https://duststoredigital.com/album/fragments
Fragments was a completely new way of working for us. We’ve always worked with an internal brief, creating documents, pictures and videos, simply because keeping an idea on track with three individuals can be difficult. It's easy for someone to be edged out of the creative process when the focus is not clearly defined.
It’s a formula we’ve used since the early 2000s, but things have changed a lot since then, particularly when we decided to dip our collective toes into supporter memberships with Patreon. It made us think about what we could do directly for our supporters rather than just the next album or project. At first, the whole thing felt odd and uncomfortable, but we decided that we’d try a few things and ask for feedback.
"Fragments" was initially a way for us to see how we could include others in an ongoing creative process. There was no over-arching concept, no defined characteristics or purpose, just the promise that there would be at least one new track for members to download every month. Consequently, we never knew what was coming next, so the old, very focused working method was irrelevant. It was difficult for us to let individual tracks go without knowing what was coming next, but this also made the project more interesting.
And then C19 hit and we were forced to continue the project remotely from our home studios. As difficult as the disruption was, it was during this period that we realised we could re-organise and remaster the individual tracks into a coherent album, capturing a specific moment in time and drawing a line under the first phase of the project.
Like our "Allegory" EPs, we’ve tried to keep everything stripped back. We used to hide many subtle elements within the layers, but not so much this time.
Fragments is our journey through many changes, both self-imposed and those imposed upon us, and it ultimately led us to create things differently. We hope you like it.
In the second drone pack, we deliver 82 new tones shifting to further extremes; On one set, we toy with the unusual harmonics of complex, layered source tones, while the second explores the purity of primary waveforms. Sometimes dirty and uncomfortable, they all demonstrate beauty in raw simplicity.
This release contains two different packages: 24-bit WAV audio samples (2.1GB!) for use in any compatible music production software and a collection of Ableton Live Instrument Racks (1.2GB). It’s available for our Patreon supporters to download right now: https://www.theblackdogma.com/patreon-downloads/
If you’re interested in supporting us and our work, you’ll get access to loads more too, including all of the current sample packs, our recent Allegory EPs and the demos of our forthcoming “Fragments” album. It only costs the price of a nice beer each month and there are no dirty contracts or long term commitments, so you can easily cancel your membership at any time.
For full details, take a look at: https://www.patreon.com/theblackdogma
90 individual drone samples as Ableton Live Instrument Racks and 24bit WAV files.
Drones are a simple concept, to reduce a world of complex sounds to their core elements. This pack features 90 sustained, loopable samples, all with subtle movement throughout. Useable as single instruments, deep background elements or unique minimalist pieces to be played in their own right.
https://www.patreon.com/theblackdogma
On the second Allegory EP, The Black Dog deliver three tracks following on from where Allegory 1 [Red] started, going more minimal and returning to the source; the groove.
If you could throw your arms around cold concrete and steel, then this would be the music to play during such an embrace. There’s a beauty in brutality and sometimes, the eyes and ears don’t immediately understand it. Those who understand, will, while others continue to know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
https://www.duststore.com/products/allegory-2-green https://duststoredigital.com/album/allegory-2-green
We've just uploaded track 8 of our Patreon album, it's coming along nicely. https://www.patreon.com/theblackdogma
Powerful and unusual instrumentation has been the backbone of electronic music since it's inception. Here we've created a pack of sounds designed to be interesting and highly usable, ranging from epic to abstract, and consisting of smooth pads, synthetic strings, analogue sweeps and unique tones
Track 6 from our Fragments album over on Patreon. https://www.theblackdogma.com/patreon-downloads/
The Oberheim Matrix 1000 was always a favourite synth in our studio and this Ableton Live Instrument Rack provides an easy-to-use collection of 130 presets. They're naturally bright, rich, warm, deep, and provide simple shaping controls to fit your needs. Just drop them into your projects and play.
Free to our Patreons www.patreon.com/theblackdogma
64 unique bass drums samples created for a range of different uses and featured regularly in our music and live sets over recent years. We've collected them together as an Ableton Live Instrument Rack featuring simple controls, to provide a powerful toolkit ready for your next project.
Free to our Patreons https://www.patreon.com/theblackdogma
Buy at https://duststoredigital.com/ and https://www.duststore.com/
The “Conspiracy Tapes Live” album is a collection of new live performances and previously unreleased tracks from The Black Dog’s Conspiracy Lectures in Birmingham and Glasgow in 2019.
These events brought together music, film and talks explaining the background and environment that influenced and formed the Conspiracy Tapes project.
“These were 3-hour talks on how the band entered the conspiracy world with examples of their progress from simple, and perhaps funny conspiracies, to a world of swatting, doxxing and hate. The presentation told the story of what happened, how quickly things accelerated and how dark the world became. It was a disturbing environment within which nothing is true and everything is a hoax. The effect on their mental health became too much and finally, they had to leave it all behind.
Within the talk and short films, The Black Dog played a selection of live tracks originally written under the influence of the various conspiracy groups they’d joined. The music was all written while they listened to and took part in these conversations. This album brings together new tracks and live pieces that have never been available previously.
Welcome to the world where nothing is true and everyone is a liar.”
Here's the teaser for the next Conspiracy Tape, if you're a Patreon you have early access to this. https://www.patreon.com/theblackdogma
Without a doubt one of the craziest and dangerous conspiracies that is attracting young people to spill their own blood in the name of being one of the select few.
Become a Patreon and get this release a month early with an extra track: https://www.patreon.com/theblackdogma or https://www.theblackdogma.com/2018/10/conspiracy-tapes-rmx/
TRACKLIST
- Tape 01 Flat Earth (Edit)
- Tape 02 Christian Science (Edit)
- Tape 03 Brian Harvey - E17 - T.I (Edit)
- Tape 04 Morgellons (Edit)
- Tape 05 Anti-Vaxx (Edit)
- Tape 01 Flat Earth (Instrumental Edit)
- Tape 02 Christian Science (Instrumental Edit)
- Tape 03 Brian Harvey - E17 - T.I (Instrumental Edit)
- Tape 04 Morgellons (Instrumental Edit)
- Tape 05 Anti-Vaxx (Instrumental Edit)
https://www.theblackdogma.com/2018/10/conspiracy-tapes-005-anti-vaxx/
Anti-Vaxx people have always fascinated us, why would you take the risk and put other people at risk, it just doesn’t make sense, but then many of the belief systems we've run into don't.
This is the final tape for a while, we'll be releasing the odd one in the future for our new Patreon Project and we'll have more details on that next week.
For many Morgellons is a disease of the delusional where the sufferer has parasites and alien technology living inside their body.
https://www.theblackdogma.com/2018/10/conspiracy-tapes-004-morgellons/
This is a very difficult listen, Brian like most Targeted Individuals doesn’t trust anyone and believes he’s being targeted by everyone and has been trapped in his house for 5yrs. He’s angry, confused and concerned for his own well being. After 2yrs down the rabbit hole even we are questioning why the Police decided to knock on his door at 4.45am. He believes he is a targeted individual and openly admits this whole thing is making him ill. We wish him all the best and hope that he comes out the other side.
https://www.duststore.com/collections/frontpage/products/hoaxer-ep1
Music for dark cathedrals, where the inner dialogue is questioned and dismissed as lies. The conventional narrative can’t be trusted, it's just to keep you in place. They're hiding something but no-one knows what. No Future & No Control. Denial is the new faith that cuts any argument down to size, where the only proof needed is a simple statement: “It’s all a lie”.
Welcome to the paranoid World of Autohoaxers, where the smallest subjective detail debunks everything in your life and everyone is a Targeted Individual.
Here's part of our set from Photon. Tracklist https://www.theblackdogma.com/2018/04/the-black-dog-live-at-photon-01-04-18/
We live in dangerous times. We are blinded by control vectors that separate us from reality. And The Black Dog returns with a viral antidote: an album of de-programming material which they’ve called Nether/Neither.
This record continues the work they started with Further Vexations and Radio Scarecrow. Burroughs was right: we are now living in a world that is nothing short of a total information war. We are neither one thing nor another, endlessly on the fence in the face of an onslaught of disinformation. Non-linear hypermedia systems are openly used to control us, their operation being totally exposed, mocking our impotence, yet complete in their power. We are all proles now; all are expected to maintain a mental state of Neither/Neither, of uncertainty and inaction. Even in a world where anyone can be an instant expert on any subject in a single click, we find that all our knowledge is a mere replay of someone else’s script.
We are surrounded and occupied by systems of platitude generation that are empty and self-referential. All is surface and all is hollow. From the Tories’ election propaganda to David Icke, they’re all the same, all meaning filtered to nothing by a lack of substance, science and humanity. Falsehood becomes reason, no matter how ridiculous the proposition. They stand for nothing so they can have no questions to answer.
False prophets and the modern day snake oil salesmen parade their viral vampirism, grasping for our time, money and headspace. Even our ridicule becomes fuel for their trade as they turn ignorance and psychopathic exploitation into received wisdom and public opinion. Ask any sideshow psychic; repeat, pure Barnum bunkum enough times and you can seize the psychology of the masses. Rumours become truth then they become action and policy that in the cold light of the day make no-sense at all. No one’s sure where they heard it but they have. The spectral offer of change, which actually sustains the stasis of confusion. They spin us on a ball of confusion we live on continues to turn and as long as they have us in a state of Neither/Neither they will always maintain control. Fight Back!
Neither/Neither shows the world The Black Dog is reflecting.