section 25: always now

Factory Benelux presents a deluxe double disc edition of Always Now, the debut album by cult Factory Records group Section 25, produced by legendary sonic architect Martin Hannett in 1981. Recorded as a trio at Pink Floyd’s Britannia Row studio in London, Always Now combined austere post-punk rhythms with elements of Can, Krautrock and modern psychedelia. Key tracks include Friendly Fires, Dirty Disco and New Horizon, along with non-albums singles Charnel Ground, Je Veux Ton Amour and Girls Don’t Count – the latter produced by Ian Curtis and Rob Gretton (of Joy Division). Disc 2 offers a wealth of fascinating extra tracks, all previously unreleased. These include a John Peel session from January 1981, a complete live show professionally recorded at Groningen (Netherlands) in October 1980, and alternate versions of several album tracks newly re-mastered from the original quarter-inch tapes. This new Factory Benelux 2xCD edition is housed in a miniature version of the folding pochette wallet designed by Peter Saville - famously one of the most expensive sleeves produced by Factory. “One of the best albums Britain's second city has unleashed” (Uncut); “In 1980 their bass-driven mantras were thoughtlessly dismissed as second-rate Joy Division, but hindsight judges them more kindly. The wind-dried skeins of their blasted guitar harmonics and skimped electronics gauntly cling to the songs’ skeletal frames. With telltale titles like Babies in the Bardo their Buddhist interests hang heavy over these early stirrings. But, combining a bass-led drone with a characteristic groaning vocal, Charnel Ground succinctly pins down Section 25's pre-disco appeal” (The Wire).