Warriors of the Dystotheque
Online
Warriors of the Dystotheque’s latest EP Return To Coney - out now via Tigre Fair - is a dystopian journey deep into the heart of modern trip hop and gloomtronica.The band came together via Facebook and are very much a sign of the times - four minds meeting online with the aim to create and collaborate. Despite being located in different parts of the world, this hasn’t stopped Warriors of the Dystotheque from releasing music, The Future Is Ours EP and now their latest offering Return To Coney.
The concept behind the band originated with founding member Jonny Mac from his studio in Derry, Ireland. Through a friend’s Facebook post, he met Mike Rufolo and Nick Rufolo, both based in New York and the final piece was added in the form of member Sean Graham, who spends his time between the UK and France.
On Return To Coney, Ella Joy’s vocals provide a haunting backdrop. The EP itself is inspired by cult 70s film The Warriors and particularly one of the final moments of the film, where The Warriors return to their home turf - Coney Island. In fact, at the end of 2015, the cast of The Warriors got together for a fan event, 36 years after the movie’s release - to return once more to Coney Island. Warriors of the Dystotheque’s EP arrives in perfect time to pay homage to the classic.
The music is very different from the cult hit from which it was inspired though. Return To Coney is a cool blend of lo-fi soundscapes - think Massive Attack meets UNKLE. The collaborators on the EP add their own spin to the title track as well, stretching the band’s sound to the fringes of ambient techno (Attrition) to straight-up modern acid (Miaoux Miaoux) but track ‘Escape From Coney’ is more of a nod to The Warriors’ Original Soundtrack.
Jonny has spent over 15 years on the DJ scene all across the globe touring alongside Shaun Ryder and Bez (Happy Mondays), Phil Hartnoll (Orbital) and many more. Now, as a collective, Warriors of the Dystotheque are beginning to find their own sound, reaching out from the distance, connected, plugged in and turned on by modern technology, communicating together online - a living breathing organism that’s taken on a life of its own.
Warriors have already received past support from the likes of BBC Radio 1 (Phil Taggart), 6 Music (Nemone) and BBC Ulster and look set to add to this already impressive list in the next year.
Warriors of the Dystotheque’s Return To Coney is out on now via Tigre Fair.
