Damian Lazarus Smoke The Monster Out on Vinyl LP! 

Londoner Damian Lazarus, now based out of L.A., is best known for founding the Crosstown Rebels label and helping shape the sound of contemporary techno in his twin roles as taste-making A&R and globally renowned DJ. Having been asked on countless occasions when he would step out from behind the decks and into the producer's chair, Lazarus has finally obliged and the results are far more unusual and engaging than what anyone could have imagined.

Smoke The Monster Out is a rangy and cleverly paced narrative inspired chiefly by the dancefloor's play of darkness and light, but also classic love songs and emotive, gut wrenching pop music old and new. Though Lazarus' grounding in house and techno is apparent throughout, this record is really a song-based affair, full of unusual acoustic instrumentation and delicately wrought arrangements, which he wrote with collaborator Arthur Jeffes, son of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra's Simon Jeffes. The Rebels boss has taken a long view of his life as a music-lover, drawing on older influences as divers as Photek, Jeff Buckley and Bjork, taking their essence and suffusing it with the twisted dancefloor alchemy we associate with his DJ sets. Perhaps most significantly, Lazarus himself even sings on several tracks, investing his songs with his own distinct personality and quiet expressiveness.

Damian Lazarus Smoke The Monster Out Track Listing

1. Smoke The Monster Out
2. Moment
3. Memory Box
4. King Of Fools
5. Come And Play
6. Diamonds In The Dark
7. Cold Lizards
8. Neverending
9. Lullabies
10. Spinnin'
11. Bloop Bleep
12. It's Raining Today
13. After Rave Delight