Sam Shackleton, better known by his stage name Shackleton, is an English
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
producer and founder of the record labels
Skull Disco
Skull Disco was an independent dubstep record label, based in Bristol, England. It was established in 2005 by Sam Shackleton and Laurie "Appleblim" Osborne, and ended in 2008. Releases on the label prominently featured African and post-African ...
and Woe to the Septic Heart!.
History
Sam Shackleton was born in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, England.
He participated in various musical projects throughout the years, playing in
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
bands as a teenager and later performing as part of a
dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...
duo with Earl Fontainelle (aka Vengeance Tenfold).
He first began producing music on a computer in 2003. Around this time, Shackleton was becoming more familiar with
grime
Grime may refer to:
* Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust
* Grime (music genre), a genre of music
* ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity
* ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game
* "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...
and
dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...
through regular visits with Laurie Osborne (aka
Appleblim
Skull Disco was an independent dubstep record label, based in Bristol, England. It was established in 2005 by Sam Shackleton and Laurie "Appleblim" Osborne, and ended in 2008. Releases on the label prominently featured African and post-African ...
), Necta Selecta, and Engine Room to
''FWD>>'' club nights.
Shackleton's first release was a track entitled "Stalker", released on Mordant Music in 2004.
The track was later picked up by
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...
and included on their ''Best of 2004'' compilation.
The combination of the Rough Trade release and "seeing that people were making interesting bass music"
led Shackleton to create the record label
Skull Disco
Skull Disco was an independent dubstep record label, based in Bristol, England. It was established in 2005 by Sam Shackleton and Laurie "Appleblim" Osborne, and ended in 2008. Releases on the label prominently featured African and post-African ...
with Appleblim in 2005. The label's name was inspired by a book Shackleton was reading "about a tribe from Cameroon who dug up their ancestors remains so as they could enjoy watching the festivities while the living members of the tribe played music, danced and got pissed."
Shackleton was impressed with Appleblim's track "Mystikal Warrior", and it appeared on the first Skull Disco release, a
double A-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
with Shackleton's track "I Am Animal" on the flipside.
Shortly after, Shackleton created the now defunct Skull Disco club nights in London.
In 2008, Shackleton and Appleblim said goodbye to the Skull Disco label after ten vinyl releases.
In the same year, Shackleton relocated to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
In 2009, Shackleton released his debut album, ''Three EPs'', on
Perlon
Perlon is an electronic music record label founded in 1997 in Frankfurt, Germany, now based in Berlin, and run by Thomas Franzmann aka Zip and Markus Nikolai. It is a minimal techno and tech house label which has been characterised as one of t ...
. The album was originally conceived as three separate releases and was issued on three 12"s. In 2010, Shackleton released ''
Fabric 55'', a studio mix based on a previous performance at
Fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
. It was the fourth Fabric release to feature a set entirely made up of the artist's own material.
Shackleton founded the label Woe to the Septic Heart! in November 2010 with the release of the ''Man on a String Part 1 and 2''
12".
In 2011, Shackleton collaborated with
Pinch on the album ''Pinch & Shackleton'', released on
Honest Jon's Records
Honest Jon's is a British independent record shop based on Portobello Road in Ladbroke Grove, London, operating since 1974. The shop is owned and run by Mark Ainley and Alan Scholefield, who took over from one of the original proprietors, "Hone ...
. That same year, Shackleton and Vengeance Tenfold were commissioned by SoundUK to create a "Sonic Journey" inspired by sections of two Devon "train lines – part of the main line between Exeter and Totnes, and a section of the Tarka Line between Exeter and Barnstaple."
In 2012, Shackleton's third album, ''Music for the Quiet Hour / The Drawbar Organ EPs'', was released on Woe to the Septic Heart!, once again featuring a collaboration with Vengeance Tenfold providing spoken word vocals.
In 2016 his album with singer
Ernesto Tomasini
Ernesto Tomasini (born 15 May 1968, in Palermo, Italy) is an Italian actor/singer/writer living in Britain. Best known for his more recent forays into contemporary music, he has also had a 35-year career on the stage.
Early Performances
Tomasini ...
, ''Devotional Songs'' (also released on Honest Jon's), was among the year's best for a large number of specialised press, from ''The Wire'' and ''The Quietus'' to ''SentireAscoltare'' and ''Onda Rock''.
Musical style
Shackleton's musical style has been described in the past as falling under dubstep,
garage
A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include:
*Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...
, and
techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
, but his musical palette in releases in the 2010s has derived from
minimalism
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
,
musique concrète
Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic, ...
and
dark ambient. It has been noted for its "intense atmospheric gloom" and sense of "tension and paranoia".
His sound draws from a wide range of world music, including African, Arabic, and Indian influences.
Shackleton has stated that this is not necessarily intentional, saying, "I don't deliberately reference African or Middle Eastern music; I just use sounds that I like and beats that sound good to my ears."
Discography
Albums
*''Three EPs'' (2009),
Perlon
Perlon is an electronic music record label founded in 1997 in Frankfurt, Germany, now based in Berlin, and run by Thomas Franzmann aka Zip and Markus Nikolai. It is a minimal techno and tech house label which has been characterised as one of t ...
*''
Pinch & Shackleton'' (2011),
Honest Jon's Records
Honest Jon's is a British independent record shop based on Portobello Road in Ladbroke Grove, London, operating since 1974. The shop is owned and run by Mark Ainley and Alan Scholefield, who took over from one of the original proprietors, "Hone ...
– with
Pinch
*''Music for the Quiet Hour / The Drawbar Organ EPs'' (2012), Woe to the Septic Heart!
*''Freezing Opening Thawing'' (2014), Woe to the Septic Heart! (EP)
*''Devotional Songs'' (2016),
Honest Jon's Records
Honest Jon's is a British independent record shop based on Portobello Road in Ladbroke Grove, London, operating since 1974. The shop is owned and run by Mark Ainley and Alan Scholefield, who took over from one of the original proprietors, "Hone ...
- with
Ernesto Tomasini
Ernesto Tomasini (born 15 May 1968, in Palermo, Italy) is an Italian actor/singer/writer living in Britain. Best known for his more recent forays into contemporary music, he has also had a 35-year career on the stage.
Early Performances
Tomasini ...
*''Sferic Ghost Transmits'' (2017),
Honest Jon's Records
Honest Jon's is a British independent record shop based on Portobello Road in Ladbroke Grove, London, operating since 1974. The shop is owned and run by Mark Ainley and Alan Scholefield, who took over from one of the original proprietors, "Hone ...
- with Vengeance Tenfold
*''Behind the Glass'' (2017), Woe To The Septic Heart! - with
Anika
Anika (Devanagari: ) is a female given name of Sanskrit, German, Arabic, Swedish, Dutch, Hebrew, and Māori origin and is also an alternative spelling of the name Annika or Anikha
Meanings
The meaning of the name "Anika" is different in several ...
*''Primal Forms'' (2020), Cosmo Rhythmatic - with Zimpel
*''Departing Like Rivers'' (2021), Woe To The Septic Heart!
Mix albums
*''
Fabric 55'' (2010),
Fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Shackleton discographyon
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
* http://www.woetothesepticheart.com/
English electronic musicians
English experimental musicians
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)