The Dukes of Stratosphear were the alter ego of XTC in the mid ’80s, a time when psychedelic music was seemingly confined to the dustbin of history despite slowly emerging scenes in the UK and the US. The band adopted pseudonyms in order to make music more obviously in thrall to the 60s psychedelic experiences they’d had as youths, and strangely enough, the Dukes started to sell more records than their parent band. Indeed, producer John Leckie was chosen by The Stone Roses after they’d heard his work on “25 O’Clock” and “Psonic Psunspot“, the two albums collected here.
Remixed in Dolby Atmos from the original multi-track master tapes by Steven Wilson, with the band’s approval. The collection also includes Wilson’s acclaimed 2019 stereo mixes of “25 O’Clock” and “Psonic Psunspot”, plus two additional tracks. A Blu-ray edition expands the set with Atmos, 5.1 surround, the original stereo mixes and the complete album demos in high-resolution audio.
