Marxist Love Disco Ensemble - MLDE - New Ltd Red LP

Format: New Ltd Red LP Label: Mr Bongo Cat. No. MRBLP248R Barcode: 7119691285719 Released: 16/09/2022

Sounding simultaneously from the past, the present, and the future, the debut album MLDE by Marxist Love Disco Ensemble seeks to eradicate both the trite from disco and the sobriety from political music. Half poetic, half tongue-in-cheek, this stunning compact eight-track album is infuenced by Eastern European and Mediterranean 70s disco records. In the words of band member Paolo, ''it was written in response to hearing "I Love America" by Patrick Juvet.

The song prompted the question: why does disco, a genre originally created by oppressed minorities, eventually become synonymous with American capitalist excess?" MLDE seeks to break this connection. Merging disco, post-disco 80s pop, and boogie into the fold, MLDE was recorded using only analogue instruments, giving it warmth and space. Recorded on cassette, ¼ and ½ inch tape, this gives moments of lo-fi abstraction between the beats of an aggressive, tight drum kit. Instruments used for this recording range from saxophone, trumpet, harpsichord, guitar, and rare analogue synthesisers. The bass sound is shaped by early 80s boogie records, whilst the influence of artists such as Hamlet Minassian can be heard in some of MLDE's more driving disco outings, such as "Hues of Red". In the tradition of Soviet vocal group records, which the band has studied, some songs are sung by a vocal quartet in homage to this tradition.