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Mechanical Fantasy Box
Artist
Patrick Cowley
ReleaseProduct
Mechanical Fantasy Box
Label
Dark Entries Records
Catalogue Number
DE-269
Release Date
October 19, 2019

Genres

Mechanical Fantasy Box is the title of both a book and a new set of unreleased tunes from the legendary Patrick Cowley. Up until his death from AIDS in 1982 Cowley’s innovations and idiosyncrasies reinvented dance music several times over - in particular the brave new worlds that were forged in his HI-NRG disco productions.

The musical element of Mechanical Fantasy Box presents a baker’s dozen of tracks that had previously lain dormant in Cowley’s vaults. It’s unclear whether Cowley ever intended for this music to see the light of day - some of the entries here were eked out from four-track recordings, for instance - and the record’s 1973-1980 timeframe means that this is a collection of Cowley’s formative work.

This fascinating record is clearly the work of an artist homing in on his aesthetic. While there are a couple of the fevered, ecstatic tunes Cowley would become synonymous with, Mechanical Fantasy Box also includes slow and strutting disco-funk, synthetic ambiences and twinkling electronic experiments in the Vangelis mould.

The literary element of Mechanical Fantasy Box consists largely of Cowley’s journal. Also dating from the period 1973-1980, these writings chronicle Cowley’s career progression and the various sexual escapes he got up to as a gay man in 1970s San Francisco. Mechanical Fantasy Box is also studded with specially-commissioned illustrations and collages by Gwenaël Rattke as well as introductory essays from Josh Cheon, Theresa McGinley and Jorge Socarrás. Proceeds from the sales of Mechanical Fantasy Box will be donated to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Released to coincide with the release of a book of the same name, Mechanical Fantasy Box summates the dazzling early genius of electronic pioneer Patrick Cowley, whose life was cut short by AIDS in 1982. Lifted from deep within Cowley’s vaults, this hard smattering of luscious and curiously erotic pieces harken back to the early ‘70s, when Cowley was a young man looking for fun in San Francisco’s queer underworld. Providing a fascinating insight into the life and process of one of electronic music’s most vital figures.

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Digital Track List

  1. 1 Out of Body (Intro) 4:38 Buy

    Out of Body (Intro)

  2. 2 Right Here, Right Now 3:16 Buy

    Right Here, Right Now

  3. 3 Broken Dishes 2:07 Buy

    Broken Dishes

  4. 4 Breakdown 3:22 Buy

    Breakdown

  5. 5 Moving Bodies I 5:36 Buy

    Moving Bodies I

  6. 6 Grisha's Tune 5:42 Buy

    Grisha's Tune

  7. 7 Sensitivity 6:37 Buy

    Sensitivity

  8. 8 Shrouds 6:01 Buy

    Shrouds

  9. 9 Lumberjacks in Heat 11:26 Buy

    Lumberjacks in Heat

  10. 10 Mechanical Fantasy Box 7:32 Buy

    Mechanical Fantasy Box

  11. 11 Thrill of the Hunt 5:06 Buy

    Thrill of the Hunt

  12. 12 Before Original Sin 5:59 Buy

    Before Original Sin

  13. 13 Sea of China 8:14 Buy

    Sea of China

Patrick Cowley

Patrick Cowley

Dark Entries Records

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Experimental Pop and New Wave

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1970s

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1980s

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