{"product_id":"desmond-simmons_alone-on-penguin-islandgatefold_2025_dif","title":"Alone On Penguin Island\/Gatefold","description":"Originally released on Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis’ Dome Records in 1981, Desmond Simmons’ Alone on Penguin Island stands in splendid isolation. Reissued on Rafftt Records with permission from Desmond’s estate, it has been remastered from the original tapes by Denis Blackham. The artwork has been redesigned by the original designer, Slim Smith, and extensive liner notes on gatefold vinyl complete the project. 2022 marked the year the Wire duo launched Dome: a project where they prioritised process over final product. They often started recording with little to no material, using the studio itself to create raw instrumentation. After releasing their first Dome album, they invited Simmons to record an album for the Dome label. Simmons had played bass on Colin Newman’s recently released debut solo album, A-Z, and he and the Wire frontman were long-time friends. His original demos suggested a kinship with the psychedelic guitar pop he had played on Newman’s A-Z. However, the versions on Alone on Penguin Island enter a whole other dimension. With Gilbert and Lewis as producers, Simmons’ compositions are abstracted, reversed, and distorted. To suggest such an approach was audacious of them, but Simmons’ boldness in embracing this experimental mindset was even greater. Even if the recording sessions were often far from harmonious. Intriguing arrangements, catchy couplets, and melancholic melodies: the album explores many moods, with Lewis calling it “fragile, mysterious, melancholic”. From shimmering electronics and nervous synths to melancholic post-punk driven by guitars. On the unforgettable “By Air Or By Sea”, Simmons’ gasping voice was no accidental effect: the producers asked him to run around the block, then rush back into the studio to record the vocals, before he had time to catch his breath. Another album highlights the deeply psychedelic “Pathenon” and the driving rhythms of “Man The Lifeboats” is another of the album’s strongest tracks.","brand":"Desmond Simmons","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55948422480216,"sku":null,"price":23574805.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0898\/4943\/0360\/files\/6554712846288_98f1956a-e013-4b37-a4b1-8fa898626de7.jpg?v=1766082790","url":"https:\/\/vinyles.com\/en-us\/products\/desmond-simmons_alone-on-penguin-islandgatefold_2025_dif","provider":"Vinyles.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}