FACT Mix 45 / The Caretaker

"The subject of an in-depth interview on the FACT site this week, Berlin-based Kirby is one of the most unusual and consistently brilliant musicians we know of, from his bizarre rave and noise incursions as V/Vm to his ominous drone-work as The Stranger and more musical ambient recordings made under his own name. We reserve a special soft spot, though, for Kirby’s work as The Caretaker. In his own words:

''“[The Caretaker deals in] dusty and forgotten memories, echoes and vibrations from the past. Using as source, recordings from the 1920’s and 1930’s era of Ballroom music. Often painful and desolate memories, recalled and replayed from beyond the grave of our senses. In amongst this darkness lies the solace of a semi-recognisable melody or phrase, a beacon of light in this often dark and distant ocean of haunted recalled audio.”''

His albums Selected Memories From The Haunted Ballroom, A Stairway To The Stars and Persistent Repetition of Phrases are among the most beautiful and affecting “ambient” recordings ever made – you can download Stairway in its entirety here.

James has put together a special mix of Caretaker tracks for this week’s FACT podcast, which he subtitles, aptly enough titled Delving Into My Past For FACT. Enjoy." FACT Mix 45 / The Caretaker, subtitled Delving Into My Past For FACT, is an audio mix that The Caretaker shared by FACT Magazine in 2009. It could be downloaded on FACT's website and as a bonus track on the complete digital collection (1996-2008), which could have been purchased on the now-defunct History Always Favours The Winners website. As an in-joke, the metadata of the MP3 gives a release date of 1934.

This mix was one of two times that a Caretaker release would include non-Caretaker music; namely, two songs released under Kirby's own name. The only other release to do this is Recollections from old London Town.