Ape to Angel (Reissue) (RSD 2023)

Pitch Black’s breakthrough album is finally pressed on vinyl.

Ape to Angel took the momentum of the preceding albums to new levels, with the sound becoming fuller and the bass more driving. The duo tweaked the sounds of club culture around the dub heart of the album, blending sinuous bass lines, simmering rhythms and echoing acidic synths to electrifying effect. They also wrote their first fully vocal song, “Elements Turn”, with veteran singer Sandy Mill, and sampled Estonian satellite transmissions for “Lost in Translation”.

Originally unleashed in New Zealand in October 2004 by Kog Transmissions, the album’s infectious rhythms weaved their way round the world, finding fans from Copenhagen to Cape Town, and securing release in North America by the esteemed Waveform label, Europe by Dubmission and Japan by the cult Wakyo imprint.

Critically acclaimed, with DJ Mag awarding it five stars, the release of Ape to Angel led to a 42 date tour round the world which included their North American debut. Tracks from the album were also picked up for use in CSI: Miami and HBO¹s True Blood, the latter featuring “Freefall" in a vampire orgy scene - perfect.

To create the double-vinyl release, Angus McNaughton re-mastered the original audio files, and Hamish Macaulay adapted the source artwork by Shane Cotton and created a brand new collage for the centrefold using pictures taken at the time. There is also an additional track, Protect The Grain, which was originally only available on the limited edition Flex EP, recorded just before the Ape sessions began. 

Tracklist

1. Ape to Angel
2. Freefall 
3. Lost in Translation 
4. Big Trouble Upstairs 
5. Protect The Grain 
6. Flex 
7. Elements Turn
8. The Random Smiler (Live) 
9. Empty Spaces, Missing Units