A CERTAIN RATIO announce The Joy of Sextet & Force Majeure, companion albums to Sextet & Force - out 28 Aug via Mute

A CERTAIN RATIO ANNOUNCE DETAILS OF TWO RELEASES THE JOY OF SEXTET & FORCE MAJEURE OUT ON LIMITED EDITION VINYL AND CD 28 AUGUST 2026 LISTEN TO A TRACK FROM EACH: ‘LUCINDA (EM)’ & ‘NAKED AND WHITE (FM)’

[A Certain Ratio - Jez Kerr, Donald Johnson, Martin Moscrop, Martha “Tilly” Tilson]

A CERTAIN RATIO celebrate two anniversaries this year: 45 years since they went into Revolution Studios in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport to record Sextet (1982) and 40 years since the release of the 1986 album Force – and mark the occasion with companion releases for each of the albums out on 28 August, and an anniversary tour in October. Sextet and Force are two of ACR’s classic – and beloved – album releases so the band have put together two very different albums to accompany their anniversaries. Sextet was ACR’s third studio album and showed a whole new side to the band. It was described on release as “… an album of the present, killing the present and agreeably ignoring the future” by Sounds and more recently reappraised by Pitchfork who said it “still sounds like no other record”. The line-up for Sextet features Martha “Tilly” Tilson, who the band had met in New York while they were recording To Each…Tilly’s lyrics, Jez Kerr explains, “reflect her take on life in Manchester, “walk along the waterline, see the ships passing by, grey skies, still water”. This singular release - which spent 11 weeks in the UK Independent Chart, reaching the #1 slot - has been given a brand-new mix by long-time collaborator Andy Meecham (The Emperor Machine) from the original album session tapes. Talking about the process, Meecham explains, “Taking on an epic album like this involved pushing up the faders again from the original 1981 2”multitracks adding some new dynamics while recapturing the sound of 1981 without losing the original raw energy and feel.” Listen to new mix of ‘Lucinda (EM)’, from The Joy of Sextet, HERE

[A Certain Ratio The Joy of Sextet artwork]

Force – the band’s fifth studio album - followed in several years later and stands as one of their most commercial albums, recently described by The Quietus as “their purest moment”. Force Majeure is a newly compiled 9-track album that gives fans a deep dive into the world that ACR inhabited 40 years ago, with unreleased original versions of tracks including ‘Force’ the title track, which didn’t appear on the 80s release. The album was produced by ACR and the late Stuart (Jammer) James, who presented the band with long forgotten 4 track recordings he’d made of tracks that would go on to be on the album. Martin Moscrop explains, “Stuart helped us record the tracks to review the songs for a possible album, to work on arrangements and practice playing them live. Listening to the recordings many years later I was surprised at how good they sounded, so we decided to share them with everyone for this Force companion album”. Listen to ‘Naked and White (FM)’ from Force HERE [A Certain Ratio Force Majeure artwork] In October 2026, ACR will be touring in the UK to celebrate these anniversaries. The tour will see both albums played in full, with an interval in between, and some surprises thrown in. Sextet and Force are starkly different to each other yet very clearly ACR, making the prospect of hearing both performed live, side by side, especially tantalising. ACR go on to say, “We’re celebrating these two milestones with this tour, to say we are very excited is an understatement. It will be a real challenge, which we’ve already started preparing for, with nine months to go! We will be playing two sets with no support.”   The Joy of Sextet will be available on limited edition “The Joy of Curacao” coloured vinyl, CD and digitally,  Force Majeure will be available on limited edition “Unforced Purple” coloured vinyl, CD and digitally.  Both are released on Mute on 28 August 2026 Pre-order The Joy of Sextet HERE Pre-order Force Majeure HERE High res artwork and press photograph HERE The Joy of Sextet tracklisting (cat # STUMM265) Lucinda (EM) Crystal (EM Night Version) Gum (EM) Knife Slits Water (EM) Tumba Rhumba (EM) Day One (EM) Below the Canal (EM) Waterline (EM Dub) Knife Slits Water (EM 12” Version) Force Majeure tracklisting (cat # STUMM266) Only Together (FM) Bootsy (FM) Naked and White (FM) And Then She Smiles (FM) Take Me Down (FM) Anthem (FM) The Runner (FM) Force (FM) Nostromo A Go Go (FM) SEXTET AND FORCE TOUR 7 Oct – Birmingham, Castle and Falcon 8 Oct – Bristol, Exchange 9 Oct – London, Dingwalls 10 Oct – Lewes, Con Club 13 Oct – Newcastle, The Cloony 14 Oct – Edinburgh, The Voodoo Rooms 15 Oct – Glasgow, Oran Mor 16 Oct – Blackpool, Bootleg Social 17 Oct – Leeds, Brudenell Social Cub 22 Oct - Hebden Bridge, The Trades – SOLD OUT 23 Oct – Stoke, Sugarmill 24 Oct – Manchester, Band on The Wall – SOLD OUT  25 Oct - Manchester Band on The Wall – NEW DATE ADDED Tickets are available HERE Sextet personnel: Donald Johnson, Jez Kerr, Martha “Tilly” Tilson, Martin Moscrop, Peter Terrell and Simon Topping Force personnel: Jez Kerr, Andy Connell, Martin Moscrop, Donald Johnson, Anthony Quigley plus Tom Barnish, Corrine Drewery and Paul Harrison “…pioneering groove alchemists” – THE QUIETUS “… mould-breakers” – MOJO “… pioneering…” – ELECTRONIC SOUND A Certain Ratio + Mute = Good Together https://acrmcr.com Connect with Mute INSTAGRAM | WEB | TIK TOK | FACEBOOK | BLUESKY | X