‘My intention with this music was to create an alchemy of the studio, to bring together impossible sounds, global voices and stories, obscure ethnographic narratives, new and ancient technologies, human and non-human species…’ – David Toop

We are proud to launch our new library series with an incredible 12-track selection of music from David Toop. By compiling our favourite pieces from the albums originally released on Virgin, Pink Noir (1996) and Spirit World (1997), we have distilled the essence of this fruitful period into a new form: Pink Spirit, Noir World.

Following the release of his debut solo album Screen Ceremonies (1995), David turned to a more expansive palate to record his next two LPs. Enlisting the help of a whole host of friends and collaborators who joined him in the Mark Angelo Studios, including the likes of Max Eastley, Toshinori Kondo, Musa Kalamula and Jon Hassell, the two albums share an unabashed openness to new sonic possibilities.

Few recordings convey such a spirit of optimism; from a time when creation could be as free, unconstrained and ambitious. These albums are remarkable in both their harnessing of new recording technologies, and their weaving together a melting-pot of genres and influences that traverse the globe across centuries of musical tradition into something distinctly novel. They also document an almost visual memory, conjuring images both vivid and dream-like. Phantoms flit in and out of focus throughout their musical dialogues – perhaps the very same ones which were haunting Toop throughout the ‘wildly contradictory mixture of emotional harshness and ecstatic inspiration’ he found his life to be at the time.

It’s the first time this music has been available on vinyl and to it’s new lease of life, all the tracks on this compilation have been remastered by sound designer/engineer Dave Hunt. This stunning compilation is housed in a gatefold sleeve and contains an exclusive piece written by David, reflecting on how he came to record these incredible songs.