Tracklist:

Witches (Original)

Witches ’85 (Bedmo Disco’s Spell Of Love)

Rush Hour’s RSS series excels in unearthing often overlooked buried treasur That’s certainly the case with ‘Witches’, the superb sole single by British 1980s wave trio Zenana.Originally released on seven-inch by the tiny PRM label in 1986, the product of a sister-brother song writing team whose music was mostly recorded in the front room of a terraced house in Nanpean, a small industrial village in Cornwall. Their unique clothes and look were created by bandmember Penny – secured them a management contract, a slew of live bookings, a video shoot and even a television appearance. Buoyed by this underground success, they headed to the remote Sawmills Studio in Cornwall – famously only accessible by boat – to re-record their most popular number, ‘Witches’, a song about female agency inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it failed to make an impact at the time, but has been very sought after following its rediscovery by crate digger Kiernan Abbott – and subsequent championing by DJs including Antal, Skyrager, Trevor Jackson and Luke Una – in early 2023.

Remix courtesy of Bristol duo Bedmo Disco, AKA Matt Anniss (author of Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music) and DJ/production partner Gareth Morgan. Anniss, a long-time friend of the artists - Working from Zenana’s original MFR eight-track recording (tapes of the single version were lost years ago), Anniss and Morgan have turned in the extended ‘dance mix’ the track never had first time around. More atmospheric, moody and dancefloor-focused, it offers authentic nods to New York proto-house, mid-80s Shep Pettibone dubs, and the pioneering synth-pop productions and dub mixes of Factory Records regular Martin Rushent.