Loop Da Loop

Side 2 of a mixtape, cobbled together in 1999, and capturing my love of rolling beats. Darren Emerson has produced a 2021 highlight with his remix of That Time Of Night by GLOK, which got me digging back into his excellent remixes from the late 1990s, presaging his departure from Underworld at the start of the 21st century. This was jumping on point for today's selection.

 

This selection opens with Ben Watkins aka Juno Reactor, with a single that I was surprised to discover actually made it to #45 in the UK singles chart back in February 1997. This song particularly appealed to me at the time as it sampled Watkins' previous band Sunsonic, who I also loved. The song in question, Kind Of Loving, only made it #83 when it was released in May 1990.

I won't pretend that I was a huge fan of Sasha at the time, although I vaguely recall seeing him DJ once at Renaissance at The Conservatory in Derby around 1994. However, I really liked his remix of Talk To Me by Hysterix and his own single Magic featuring Sam Mollison (a #32 UK hit single, no less).

 

By the 1992, Thompson Twins were finally down to the core duo of Tom Bailey & Alannah Currie and had 'gone dance'; the following year, they had teamed up with Keith Fearnley to become Babble. The Saint (#53 in January 1992) isn't bad, but I think I would have bought the single more for the David Morales mixes, which elevate the song considerably.

 

I love Everything But The Girl and Walking Wounded was a revelatory album when it came out in 1996. Before Today must have been the third or fourth single, managing a respectable #25 in March 1997. Darren Emerson did a couple of mixes and this is the best of the two, even at nearly 10 minutes, feeling too short. 

 

Go was Moby's global Twin Peaks-sampling smash, hitting #10 in the UK in July 1991. This remix, under his Barracuda alias, appeared in 1992 on The Ultimate Go EP, which I got a few years later on a German import CD single.

 

Age Of Love by Age Of Love first came out in 1990 but I don't think I would have become aware of it until I heard the Jam & Spoon remix around 1992. It eventually became a hit single in the UK in July 1997, peaking at #17, and has been remixed and re-released numerous times since. This version dates back to the original Belgian release and, at only a smidge over 5 minutes, feels like it should go on for at least twice as long.

1) Jungle High (Original Mix): Juno Reactor (1997)

2) Magic (Sasha's Voodoo Dub): Sasha ft. Sam Mollison (1994)

3) The Saint (8th Street Dub) (Remix By David Morales): Thompson Twins (1992)

4) Before Today (Darren Emerson Underwater Remix 1): Everything But The Girl (1997)

5) Go (Barracuda Mix): Moby (1992)

6) The Age Of Love (Boeing Mix By Roger Samijn): The Age Of Love (1990)

Side Two (45:52) (Box) (Mega)