Dark Entries Records has released nine Patrick Cowley albums in the past decade, including lost tracks, demos and archival rereleases of works that previously appeared only in films. Each one is a sonic world unto itself.
Here are three recommendations to best introduce you to Cowley,a San Francisco electronic music composer and recording artist often credited as a pioneer of electronic dance music, who died of AIDS in November 1982. These tracks areavailable on vinyl, CD or streaming viaDark Entries’ website, and at its910 Larkin St. record shop.
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Afternooners (2017)
Key tracks: “Take a Little Trip,” “One Hot Afternoon”
“Afternooners” features works recorded in San Francisco between 1979 and 1982, including some that originally accompanied the gay porn films of Fox Studios, as well as demo recordings for “Mind Warp” (1982), Cowley’s final release in his lifetime, plus recordings discovered in the attic of one of Cowley’s teenage friends.
Stylistically among the most diverse of the Dark Entries releases, “Afternooners” shows the depth and breadth of Cowley as a composer and artist. The walls of synthetic soundscape on “One Hot Afternoon” evoke the soundtrack works of Wendy Carlos (“A Clockwork Orange,” “The Shining”), while the hypnotic bass progression of “Take a Little Trip” has a more radio-ready sound, with shades of Cameo and Prince offset by Maurice Tani’s rhythm guitar and Cowley’s own expressive synth explorations.
Muscle Up (2015)
Key tracks: “Somebody to Love Tonight,” “Don’t Ask”
Featuring music recorded between 1973 and 1980, this record draws more from the Fox Studios film vaults, as well as reel-to-reel tapes long stored away by Cowley collaborator Maurice Tani. For the Dark Entries Records vinyl release, label founder Josh Cheon included a reproduction of the original promotional art from Fox Studios.
这段13分钟组成“丛林梦”点了点头to musique concrete, and tracks like “Pigfoot” and “Don’t Ask” subvert sex soundtrack cliches, offsetting wah-wah rhythms with synth motifs seemingly beamed in from Pluto. The showpiece is “Somebody to Love Tonight,” one of Cowley’s finest compositions: instantly distinct, memorable and surprisingly contemporary. This song sounds like a long, loping drive across the urban valleys of San Francisco: Analog drum machines click and thump along city hills, expansive synths provide a distant vista, with symphonic overlapping movements coursing through internal rhythmic modes.
Malebox (2022)
Key tracks: “Low Down Dirty Rhythm,” “Floating”
Six never-before released tracks from the Cowley archives, each one dance-floor ready with a pronounced funk groove. These tracks echo the radio hits Cowley enjoyed in his lifetime, such as “Do Ya Wanna Funk?” (Sylvester) and “Right on Target” (Paul Parker), and offer a stimulating vision of Cowley as a master of electronic pop songcraft.
Recorded during an incredibly fertile creative period between 1979 and 1981, the songs on “Malebox” were crafted for the radio and dance floor in equal measure. The centerpiece is “Low Down Dirty Rhythm,” an unstoppably danceable piece of late ’70s funk-sleaze, with vocals by Sylvester backing singer Jeanie Tracy. “Malebox” was released on Nov. 12 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Cowley’s death at age 32.