A Certain Ratio rework Sextet and Force for two anniversary albums

A Certain Ratio will release two companion albums, The Joy of Sextet and Force Majeure, on 21 September 2026. Both take on older records: new mixes and new tracklistings of Sextet, from 1982, and Force, from 1986.

The timing is arithmetic. Forty-five years since the band went into Revolution Studios in Cheadle Hulme to cut Sextet, forty since Force came out. Sextet was recorded in 1981, released early the following year, and spent eleven weeks on the independent chart with a stretch at number one. Its line-up had grown to include Martha "Tilly" Tilson, who the band met in New York during the To Each... sessions. Andy Meecham, who records as the Emperor Machine, was handed the 1981 two-inch multitracks. Meecham already has a playing credit on the band's 2023 album 1982.

As Hayley Scott puts it, Sextet is where the band became something harder to pin down. A Certain Ratio have released three albums since 2020, more than most acts manage in their first decade, let alone their fifth.

No single release, tracklist or label is announced.