The Contino Sessions (1999)

The Contino Sessions is the second album by the British electronic band Death in Vegas, released in 1999.

As of July 2013 it was certified gold by British Phonographic Industry for 100,000 sold units in UK.

In 2000 the album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.

Legacy

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

The track "Aisha" was featured in the soundtrack of the 2001 racing video game Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec while "Dirge" was featured in the trailer for The Black Dahlia (2006) and the opening scenes of I Care a Lot (2020)

In 2026, Uncut ranked The Contino Sessions at number 85 in their list of "The 200 Greatest Goth Albums". Uncut wrote that, although Death in Vegas sat at the peripherals of musical scenes like big beat and 'skunk rock', they were rarely perceived as goth, which the magazine felt "may have been shortsighted", citing the album's dark sound and "danceable Lynchian scenes."

Personnel

Death in Vegas

• Richard Fearless – production, keyboards
• Tim Holmes – production, keyboards, engineering

Additional musicians

Ian Button – guitar (tracks 1, 3–9)

Seamus Beaghen – guitar, keyboards (4–7)

• Mat Flint – bass
• Simon Hanson – drums
• Will Blanchard – drums (7, 8), percussion (9),

Spencer Bewley – handclaps on "Dirge"

Gary Burns – keyboards on "Neptune City"

Ali Friend – upright bass on "Lever Street"

Vocalists

Dot Allison – vocals on "Dirge", choir arrangement on "Aladdin's Story"

Bobby Gillespie – vocals on "Soul Auctioneer" and "One More Time"

Iggy Pop – vocals on "Aisha"

Jim Reid – vocals on "Broken Little Sister"

London Community Gospel Choir – choir on "Aladdin's Story"