026. The Sisters of Mercy - Alice (Dirty Funker Mix)

For someone who wears clothes from places like Hennie’s, Mark’s or Gap, I have a rather unusual penchant for goth music. Who can explain why? A sociologist may point to exposure to indelible Eldrichian tones in my most formative years. Alternatively, a psychologist might suggest some primal desire to run around in black all day. Some how, I don't think so. although, now I think about it, a lot of my running kit is black.

In truth, I both find the subculture interesting, almost from an academic point of view, and I also know that some of pop music’s best kept secrets are provided by its black clad dissenters. It’s also often easy to forget that, despite retaining its status as a ‘deviant’ sub-culture, as a genre it did make an indentation into the charts. Both the Sisters and the Banshees, arguably the two most iconic bands of the genre, made appearances on Top of the Pops!

While goth bands are in no way averse from tinkering with synths or embracing the production values of electronic music, rarely do the realms of dance and goth meet successfully. It seems that neither world really finds a common language with which to communicate. It’s either goths trying to make what they think a dance record should sound like or ravers trying to make a record they think goth music should sound like.

When things do work, they are more than worth the wait. After finding a well made fan video on youtube of this track several years ago, I have been on the hunt for it ever since. It has traded at some ridiculous prices. Thankfully, I found it at a reasonable cost and snapped it up straight away. This track works because it manages to find a common language. It doesn’t sound like the original has been distorted out of recognition to meed the demands of the house genre. Similarly, the remix does enough to give justice to the aesthetic qualities of the goth genre, the breakdown being a shining example. The record even looks like a sisters release using very familiar artwork. While I’m sure this would rub up some of the purists the wrong way, I’d love to see what reaction this would get when dropped on a goth dance floor. I have an intuitive feeling it would work.

The Sisters of Mercy - Alice (Dirty Funker Mix)
[n/a : SOM001X]
(2004)

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