An unrestrained mix of obscure gems from Matador post-punk group Algiers.

Since 2012, Algiers – formed by Atlanta natives Franklin James Fisher, Ryan Mahan and Lee Tesche – have used their music to hold a mirror to society. “I think the whole point of Algiers is to illustrate the myriad things wrong with the way our various systems are set up,” drummer Matt Tong (who joined in 2015), told FACT a few years ago.

While Fisher’s voice is informed by the gospel music played by his mother as he grew up and they share the urgency of ’70s post-punk, the band’s wide spectrum of touchpoints include, no-wave, Italo, Afrika Bambaata, Dominick Fernow and Public Enemy. As FACT’s Claire Lobenfeld said in 2017, “theirs is soul music for the end of the world”.

Last year, Algiers released their third studio album. There Is No Year, on Matador Records. The LP was largely informed by a poem by Fisher called Misophonia, written during a intense period of personal anxiety. Despite the remainder of their current world tour being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the band is selling merchandise and live recordings on Bandcamp.

Algiers’ FACT mix is an unrestrained journey through the band’s musical taste, placing Italian soundtrack composer Gianni Marchetti alongside psychedelia from Bobby Callender, space rock from Flying Saucer Attack and ’70s pop from Fox together with a host of forgotten and obscure gems.

Tracklist:

David Cain & Ronald Duncan – ‘May’
Gianni Marchetti – ‘Psico in controluce (I)’
Bobby Callender – ‘Nature’
Morgan Delt – ‘Backwards Bird Inc.’
Heimat – ‘Wieder Ja!’
Aphrodite’s Child – ‘Altamont’
Fox – ‘Yuli Yuli’
Flying Saucer Attack – ‘Beach Red Lullaby’
Akvarium – ‘Ploskost’
Alexander Skip Spence – ‘War in Peace’
Sunforest – ‘Magician in the Mountain’
Makers – ‘Don’t Challenge Me’
Lucio Battisti – ‘Due mondi’
Jens-Uwe Beyer – ‘Athos’
Chris Harwood – ‘Crying To Be Heard’

Listen next: FACT mix 550 – Bergsonist