The Sabres Of Paradise - Sabresonic 2xLP

Label: Warp

1993 debut album by the trio of Andrew Weatherall, Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns. Unavailable on vinyl and CD since original release. Remastered from the original tapes by Matt Colton, contains 'Smokebelch II (Beatless Mix)' for the first time on the 2LP edition.

With the sudden passing of Andrew Weatherall in 2020 came a comprehensive re-evaluation of his impact on the evolution of British electronic music. Weatherall was a renaissance man within that world. As a DJ, producer, and cultural instigator, he showed his versatility, and hence left an indelible mark when he produced Primal Scream’s wildly influential Screamadelica in 1990. His Balearic remix of “Loaded,” alone is an island unto itself. 

But Weatherall was never content to rest on his laurels. Soon he formed The Sabres of Paradise along with Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns. The trio stood out in a crowded electronic scene by leaning into mood and texture rather than just dancefloor function. They bridged the worlds of rave culture, dub, ambient, and leftfield techno with a cinematic, deeply atmospheric sensibility. 

Now reissued by Warp for the first time since their release, their 1993 debut, Sabresonic and 1994’s Haunted Dancehall, show a meeting of minds collaborating on sonic environments rather than just a collection of beats. Still today, the records defy neat classifications. Were they harbingers of intelligent dance music? Bastadized trip-hop – there is a Portishead remix on Haunted Dancehall? Scores for unrealized film noir scripts? Proto-hauntology?  Though Weatherall would keep it cryptic, and refuse to perform with the Sabres, his imprint is all over these intensely hypnotic tracks. Fans of the Orb, Two Lone Swordsmen (Weatherall’s subsequent project), Nightmares on Wax, and Future Sound of London take note. These are important documents in the unwieldy history of British electronic music.