The Arkive will reissue three classic albums by electronic music pioneer Gary Numan on October 16th. Replicas (1979, credited to Tubeway Army), Telekon (1979) and The Pleasure Principle (1980) will each be pressed on standard black vinyl and cut from high-resolution digital files (96 khz/24 bit transfers from the analog master tapes) by award-winning engineer John Dent at Loud Mastering. Replicas and The Pleasure Principle are single LPs while ‘Telekon’ is a double vinyl set.
Between them, the three albums feature some of Numan’s best known and most influential tracks. UK Number 1 single and synthpop landmark ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’ (sampled by producer Richard X for Sugababes‘ cover of Adina Howard‘s R&B hit ‘Freak Like Me’) forms a key part of sci-fi concept album Replicas while The Pleasure Principle features the worldwide hit ‘Cars’. Telekon birthed Top 20 hit ‘This Wreckage’ (sampled by Basement Jaxx for ‘Where’s Your Head At’ along with ‘M.E.’ from The Pleasure Principle).
Originally nspired by David Bowie, John Foxx-era Ultravox and Kraftwerk, Numan’s influence extends throughout the whole of popular music. His music has been covered and sampled by numerous artists including Richard X/Sugababes, Basement Jaxx, Afrika Bambaataa, Wu-Tang Clan‘s GZA, Nine Inch Nails, Fear Factory and The Underdog aka Trevor Jackson. Critically derided in the late 1970s and early 80s, Numan is now widely acknowledged as a crucial influence on the development of techno and house as well the various forms of underground synth music whose names end with the suffix ‘wave’ (cold, synth, minimal etc).
Numan will be playing these albums at a series of concerts in Los Angeles and London this autumn. Tour-only limited edition coloured vinyl versions of the reissues will be available at these shows. Visit Numan’s website for further info.
Listen to ‘Metal’ from ‘The Pleasure Principle’:
