Dark Entries To Release A Horde Of Obscure Patrick Cowley Work

Dark Entries have teamed up with Honey Soundsystem to release two new dips into Patrick Cowley's vast back catalogue. First up; Muscle Up – a compilation of the tracks Cowley wrote for gay porn company Fox Studio. in 1979 Cowley was the king of Hi-NRG disco, as such it comes as no surprise that he was tapped up for soundtrack music by Fox Studio boss John Coletti. Cowley responded by sending Coletti a host of experrimental tracks he had been taping through the 70s. The results are quite remarkable – haunting, portentious soundscapes that are a far cry from the dancefloor throb of Cowley staples such as Menergy or I Feel Love. 

Spanning 4 LPs, and 75 minutes of music this compilation contains soundtrack music from two Fox Studio films, "Muscle Up" and "School Daze", plus additional songs from the same era, never before released on vinyl. The tapes were restored and transferred using the same speed and pitch settings, then remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA.  The vinyl comes housed in a extra wide spine jacket and giant fold-out poster featuring a handmade collage using photography and xerox graphics of classic gay porn imagery from the Fox Studio vaults by Berlin-based artist Gwenael Rattke. Each double album also contains a 8×11 glossy promotional “Muscle Up” replica poster with original VHS artwork plus an essay from Maurice Tani. 

Also getting a release from Dark Entries/ Honey Soundsystem is the unearthed Cowley classic Kickin In. The master tape for this was discovered by Honey Soundsystem, as they tell it – 

"In 2007 Honey Soundsystem was contacted by the former owner of Megatone Records John Hedges. Hedges’ was moving to Palm Springs and invited us over to his basement to collect over 2,000 records from his collection. Among the archives we noticed three moldy boxes of quarter inch reel to reel tapes. Included was the final mixed down reel for “Kickin’ In”, an epic 12-minute journey through disco, that Patrick recorded with Loverde in 1978. From the two minute plus drum solo that builds up to the introduction of a bouncing arpeggiated Prophet IV and the harmonized vocals, all transport the listener to another realm. The song encapsulates the Hi-NRG dance music thatPatrick became known for. It was an “up” sound for the gay disco scene, music that would compliment and sometimes enhance all night dancing. On the flip are two earlier songs produced between 1975-77 featuring basslines by college classmate and studio mate Maurice Tani. Both songs feature Patrick narrating erotic gay sex fantasies inspired by San Francisco’s leather bars, back rooms and bathhouses. These songs show the sleazy side of Cowley’s slow burning, oozing electronic creations with layers and layers of synthesizer, guitar, drum machine and vocoder." 

Listen to excerpts from both releases below, and get your pre-orders in over at Dark Entries website