We’d known it was coming for some time, but the cat is now officially out of the bag: Shackleton is launching a new label focussed on his own productions. Its name? Woe To The Septic Heart.

The first 12″ to see release through this imprint is Man On A String Part 1 and 2, officially released next week. The A-side is given over to the two tracks which makle up the titular composition, both the kind of dense, tribal steppers with pronounced techno flavour that have characterised the producer’s recent live sets and imminent Fabric 55 CD. On the B-side you get ‘Bastard Spirit’, a track every bit as menacing and mischievous as its name suggests; with its warring marimba lines and low-slung, almost hip-hop-style groove, it’s the most immediately engaging thing on the EP.

According to an interview with Shackleton in the December 2010 issue of The Wire, out now, Man On A String Part 1 and 2 was mastered in Berlin in collaboration with renowned engineer Rashad Becker, who also added some discreet production touches to the tracks. The same interview confirms that Shackleton is also working on new material with his longtime friend and collaborator Vengeance Tenfold (who you may remember as the voice on classic Shack tracks ‘Death Is Not Final’ and ‘The Rope Tightens’). This spoken word-oriented project is called Refugees Of The Septic Heart.

Man On A String Part 1 and 2 is officially released next week, though you can pre-order and listen to clips now. The 12″‘s full colour artwork – brought to life in the above picture courtesy of Boomkat – is by Zeke Clough, who was also responsible for the visual identity of Skull Disco.