A Certain Ratio Announce New EP '2023' & Share Werkha Remix Of 'SAMO'

A Certain Ratio have announced news of a brand new 4-track EP, titled 2023, that is set for release on limited edition 12” vinyl and digitally on September 22nd, 2023 via Mute.

The new release follows their latest album 1982 that was released in spring this year. It includes three newly commissioned remixes of tracks from the album as well as brand-new track “Day by Day”, which was written and recorded with Ellen Beth Abdi, a seamless extension of 1982.

Today the band have also shared the first cut from the EP, a remix by fellow Mancunian and recent tour mate, Werkha, (Tom Leah) who has taken on one of the standout singles from 1982. “SAMO”, named after Jean-Michael Basquiat and Al Diaz’s first art project, spent 4-weeks on the BBC 6Music playlist.

Elsewhere on the EP, close friend Andy Meecham (aka Emperor Machine) reworks “Constant Curve”, the album track he originally co-wrote and contributed keyboards and electronic percussion to. Additionally, Manchester producer Jade Parker remixes “Waiting on a Train” (feat. Ellen Beth Abdi & Chunky).

A Certain Ratio recently announced a unique tour that celebrates 45 years of the band’s incredible career. The dates will see them perform two separate sets each night: the first will represent the early years of their career from their Factory releases, including All Night Party, Sextet and Force, through to the next stage of their journey when they joined A&M in the late ‘80s with songs such as “Won’t Stop Loving You”.

The band will then reconvene for a set representing ACR from the early to mid-‘90s, with songs like “27 Forever” leading into their most recent releases with tracks from ACR Loco and 1982 and beyond to unreleased forthcoming material.

These very special dates, across intimate venues in the UK and beyond, kick off with a sold-out show at London’s Moth Club on November 10th and finish at Band on the Wall in Manchester, the venue that hosted their 33 1/3 anniversary celebrations, also the site of The Musicians Collective where the band honed their craft at their earliest performances alongside artists such as Warsaw, The Fall, The Passage, Joy Division and many more. Full dates and festival appearances are listed below.

Since they emerged from the hallowed grounds of the late ‘70s punk scene, A Certain Ratio have moved with gleeful disregard for boundaries of style and genre, their eye fixed firmly on constant progression.

It’s an ethos that’s open-minded over all else, and that’s seen them take everything from experimental electronica to vintage funk, all filtered through their own Mancunian lens. From their first release, “All Night Party” (1979, Factory Records) to the present day with their recent album, 1982 (2023, Mute), home to recent singles “Holy Smoke”, “SAMO”,  “Afro Dizzy” and “Waiting on a Train”, they defy expectation.

 Pre-order: https://mute.ffm.to/acr_23.

A CERTAIN RATIO ‘45’ TOUR DATES:

11/10/2023 – London, UK - Moth Club - SOLD OUT
11/11/2023 – Preston, UK - The Ferret
11/12/2023 – Glasgow, UK - Stereo
11/15/2023 – Gateshead, UK - The Sage
11/16/2023 – Reading, UK - Face Bar
11/18/2023 – York, UK - The Crescent
11/25/2023 – Bruges, BE, Cactus
12/2/2023 – Liverpool, UK - 24 Kitchen Street
12/10/2023 – Manchester, UK - Band on the Wall

A CERTAIN RATIO FESTIVAL DATES:

7/15/2023 - London, UK - Kew the Music
8/20/2023 - Coimbra, PT - Luna Festival
8/26/2023 - Northamptonshire, UK - Shambala Festival, 
11/19/2023 - Minehead, UK - Shiiine On Weekender
11/24/2023 - Paris, FR - BBMix

Photo credit: Paul Husband