Dead Media (expanded edition), by Hefner

Dead Media (expanded edition)

by Hefner

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1.	Dead Media 02:23	buy track
2.	Trouble Kid 03:46	buy track
3.	Junk 04:14	buy track
4.	When the Angels Play Their Drum Machines 03:45	buy track
5.	Union Chapel Day 01:00	buy track
6.	China Crisis 03:43	buy track
7.	Alan Bean 04:05	buy track
8.	Peppermint Taste 03:45	buy track
9.	The Mangle 00:20	buy track
10.	The King of Summer 03:05	buy track
11.	The Nights are Long 03:54	buy track
12.	Treacle 00:48	buy track
13.	Half a Life 04:19	buy track
14.	Waking Up To You 03:10	buy track
15.	Home 03:46	buy track
16.	Horror Show 04:47	buy track
17.	A Better Man 04:33	buy track
18.	Charlie Girl 05:07	buy track
19.	Just Take Care 04:20	buy track
20.	When the Angels Play Their Drum Machines (Mothership Mix) 03:50	buy track
21.	Dark Hearted Disco 05:15	buy track
22.	The Baggage Reclaim Song 05:41	buy track
23.	Can't Help Losing You 03:54	buy track
24.	All I Ever Need 02:46	buy track
25.	Waking Up To You (bass guitar version) 03:08	buy track
26.	Wrong Brain 04:04	buy track
27.	Alan Bean (Club Lek Radio Session) 03:06	buy track
28.	Junk (Club Lek Radio Session) 03:49	buy track
29.	Gabriel in the Airport (Club Lek Radio Session) 04:42	buy track
30.	The Pines (Club Lek Radio Session) 03:09	buy track
31.	Trouble Kid (Daniel Miller Mix) 04:26	buy track
32.	Alan Bean (Munit Remix) 04:26	buy track
33.	Trouble Kid (Battersea Remix) 04:36	buy track
34.	Trouble Kid (Maproom Mix by Appliance) 04:48	buy track
35.	Alan Bean (Rothko Remix) 04:22	buy track

about

Sleeve notes: I sometimes think of the four Hefner albums, reflecting the character of the four members. To that end, the economic, folky Breaking God’s Heart reflects Antony whilst that brash and angry Fidelity Wars belongs to me. The soulful We Love the City has much of John’s input, but it really wasn’t until Dead Media that Jack got to really express himself fully.

Much of Dead Media is me and Jack fooling around with drum machines and keyboards that we didn’t really understand in the back room of my flat. There’s no real reason for there being less of Antony and John on the songs. At the time we didn’t think it would be our last album so we assumed they would have more to do on the next record. I’ve no regrets. Jack taught me to have more fun with music and instruments. We were using our ignorance of technology to write songs for us. We were listening to Joe Meek and Lee Perry, but I don’t blame you for not believing me.

Some people are quite angry with me for Dead Media. Well not really angry, it’s only a record, but you know what I mean. It is true that we turned out back on what a lot of people loved about Hefner. It is also true that the reaction to this album is largely what made want to split the band. My career has been in tailspin ever since. I would do it all again though. There was something ‘proper’ about experimenting with Jack in that flat and I’ve tried to keep something of that spirit of adventure in all my albums since.

I hope you enjoy Dead Media. Some hate it, some love it, but its nobodies second favourite Hefner album.

Press Release: In their relatively brief lifetime, between 1996 and 2002, Hefner enjoyed an incredibly productive four-album, multi-EP career. Their beautiful, concise, intelligent songs earned a fiercely loyal, cult audience and the long-term support of legendary DJ John Peel, for whom they recorded innumerable sessions.

Originally released in 2001, their final album, Dead Media, found Hefner reaching out and taking risks. Keen to break free of their indie-folk roots, they cocooned themselves in a home studio with broken analogue synthesizers, antique drum machines and battery-powered amplifiers. The band’s naivety and guile produced some curiously engaging music, with frontman Darren Hayman’s precise, economic, poetic dissections of quotidian romance draped over awkward, fuzzy beats: something like Cat Stevens covering Warm Leatherette.

Dead Media caused confusion at the time and ultimately lead to the band’s break up. However, the songs like ‘Junk’, ‘The Night’s Are Long’ and ‘When The Angels Play Their Drum Machines’ are among Hayman’s most adult and affecting essays and stand out among the finest of Hefner’s achievements.

This two-disk reissue tells the full story of Hefner’s valedictory folly, with a hefty 20 extra tracks including the complete ‘Hefner Brain’ EP, B-sides, live tracks, unreleased songs and an exclusive, unreleased remix by electronic music pioneer Daniel Miller (composer of the aforementioned ‘Warm Leatherette’).

credits

released October 5, 2011

Written by Darren Hayman (Derriere Le Garage/4AD Music)except ‘Junk’ which was written by Darren Hayman and John F Morrison
(Copyright Control/Derriere Le Garage/4AD Music)

Performed by John Morrison, Antony Harding, Darren Hayman and Jack Hayter
with Amelia Fletcher (vocals), James Topham (viola), Neil Yates (trumpet, flugel),
Mat Colman (trombone), Andrew Ross (saxophone), Kerry Shaw (vocals) and Joël Bourret.(synthesizer)

Recorded by Darren at home in the Orange Room and at Café Eric
Except: ‘The King of Summer’, ‘Junk’, ‘Peppermint Taste’, ‘Can’t Help Losing You’ and ‘All I Ever Need’
recorded by Miti at Roundhouse Studios, assisted by Simon Doherty.
‘China Crisis’ and ‘A Better Man’ recorded by Simon Askew at Café Eric and Simon’s house.
‘Waking Up To You’ mixed by Joël Bourret.

This compilation compiled and re-mastered by Joël Bourret in New York 2007

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about

Darren Hayman England, UK

This is the official Bandcamp page for songwriter Darren Hayman, the Indie band Hefner, The French and other side projects.

Recommendations

shows

Dec 28

The Waiting Room

Stoke Newington, UK

discography

Amazing Things

Aug 2025
More Break Up Songs - New Starts

Aug 2024
You Will Not Die

Nov 2022
PRE 014: Hefner – Steve Lamacq session 24.03.99

Jul 2022
PRE 012: Hefner – Steve Lamacq session 15.07.98

Mar 2022
PRE 013: Hefner – John Peel session 13.10.98

Mar 2022
Music to Watch News By

Feb 2021
Actually I Still Really, Really Miss You

Dec 2020
The Doll's House Room

Jun 2020
Home Time

May 2020
I Can Travel Through Time

Apr 2020
Songs of High Altitude

Sep 2019
12 Astronauts

Jul 2019
Thankful Villages Volume 3

Nov 2018
The Hayman Kupa Band

Jul 2017
Thankful Villages Volume 2

May 2017
Trains

Aug 2016
Thankful Villages Volume 1

Jun 2016
Someone to Care For - The Hayman Kupa Band

May 2016
Bad, Bad Boy

Apr 2016
Florence

Nov 2015
Folk Lullabies for Children and the Childless

Jul 2015
brute love 03

May 2015
brute love 02

Mar 2015
brute love 01

Feb 2015
Dubs for Socialists

Feb 2015
Chants For Socialists

Jan 2015
DOG E.P.

Jul 2014
Boy, Look at What You Can't Have Now

Feb 2014
Blue House

Dec 2013
Bugbears

Jul 2013
Old Man Don't Waste Your Time / I Don't

May 2013
The Four Queens EP

Apr 2013
The Violence

Nov 2012
Field Recordings for Lido

Oct 2012
Lido

Aug 2012
The Best Of Hefner

Mar 2006
Essex Arms

Oct 2010
The Fidelity Wars (expanded edition)

Jun 2008
Great British Holiday EPs

Aug 2008
January Songs

Jan 2011
The Ship's Piano

Apr 2012
Local Information

Aug 2003
Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee

May 2008
Catfight

Jul 2006
Breaking God's Heart (expanded edition)

Jan 2007
Madrid

Jul 2009
Christmas In Haworth

Nov 2011
Kick, Snare, Hats, Ride

Jul 2002
The Stereo Morphonium

Aug 2005
Vostok 5

May 2012
We Love The City (expanded edition)

Sep 2008
The Shit Piano

Feb 2012
Dead Media (expanded edition)

Oct 2011
The Green and the Grey

Jun 2011
Antony Harding and Darren Hayman Split Single

Feb 2011
Porn Shoes

Aug 2012
Boxing Hefner

Apr 2000
Table For One: The Dessert Menu

Mar 2007
Losing My Glue EP

Feb 2011
Maida Vale

Dec 2006
I Taught You How To Dance

Nov 2011
Dagenham

Jul 2003
Pram Town (A Folk Opera)

Jan 2009
Songs for Harmonium and Drum Machine

Nov 2008
Darren Hayman and the Secondary Modern

Nov 2007
Bad Policewoman

Jul 2007
Table For One

Sep 2006
Cortinaland

Jul 2005

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