Dislocation Dance

Dislocation Dance emerged in the early '80s as an overlooked precursor to mid-decade jazz-tinged ensembles such as Swing Out Sister and Matt Bianco, with traces of their approach later surfacing in Stereolab. The quartet came together under the leadership of Andy Diagram on trumpet and vocals, Ian Runacres handling guitar, keyboards, and vocals, Paul Emmerson on bass, and Richard Harrison at the drums. Their music wove minimalist new wave elements together with echoes of '60s French pop and jazz textures. British indie listeners embraced the understated style, which even earned the band a slot on Top of the Pops. The debut album, Music Music Music, arrived in 1981, the same year the group recorded a session for pioneering British DJ John Peel.

Kathryn Way’s arrival as vocalist steered the sound toward something resembling a female-fronted counterpart to Liverpool’s the Pale Fountains, the very outfit Diagram had also joined. Following completion of their second album, 1984’s Midnight Shift, the band dissolved. Diagram later became a member of James and launched the Spaceheads. In 1999 Vinyl Japan issued the BBC Sessions recorded between 1981 and 1982. The following year the label brought Midnight Shift back into print on CD, appending B-sides, remixes, and a version of the Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out.” Music Music Music likewise received its first CD edition around the same time.