Deadly Avenger

Damon Baxter drew upon expected downtempo touchstones that ranged from the eerie mood of The Exorcist to the synthesizer arrangements of John Carpenter, so his initial releases on J Saul Kane’s Electron and Depth Charge labels naturally combined arpeggiating vintage keys with shuffling electro beats. Remixes for Travis, the Charlatans and Stereophonics, alongside his own productions for Pussyfoot, Fused & Bruised and Wall of Sound, built a strong studio profile that preceded the founding of his Illicit imprint. Issued in autumn 2002, the debut album Deep Red developed ideas first heard on earlier singles, moving from the growling brass of a sought-after reworking titled “We Took Pelham” to a spine-tingling climax performed by a 47-piece Hungarian orchestra. In the manner of Easy Access Orchestra, Blue States and Ninja Tune’s Herbaliser, the Avenger project extends well beyond string-laden cinematic passages, incorporating reflective electronics and laid-back listening into an impressively cohesive sonic fabric.