Worlds Without Words

An hour of instrumental music by David Bowie to massage your mind. 

There's at least one commercially released compilation of Bowie instrumentals, and probably dozens of bootlegs out there, so I've tried to avoid creating a selection that just feels like a retread of previous efforts.

Low (perhaps inevitably) fares best, with three songs; everything else ("Heroes" included), gets just the one. 

I've not been purist about it, so there are also several tracks that are an instrumental version, remix or re-edit of an original vocal song.

And whilst there are a few mood pieces, there are also a fair few uptempo numbers, to provide light and shade.

Sometimes, the music says all that needs to be said.
 

1) A New Career In A New Town (Album Version By David Bowie & Tony Visconti) (1977)

2) Little Wonder (Junior's Club Instrumental) (Remix By Junior Vasquez) (1997)

3) Plan (Album Version By David Bowie & Tony Visconti) (2013)

4) When The Wind Blows (Instrumental) (Remix By David Bowie & David Richards) (1986)

5) Moss Garden (Album Version By David Bowie & Tony Visconti) (1977)

6) Sound And Vision (808 'Lectric Blue Remix Instrumental) (Remix By 808 State) (1991)

7) Young Americans (Dublin Bus Disco Instrumental Edit) (2010)

8) Crystal Japan (Single Version By David Bowie & Tony Visconti) (1980)

9) Speed Of Life (Album Version By David Bowie & Tony Visconti) (1977)

10) Hallo Spaceboy (Instrumental) (Remix By Dave Ball & Ingo Vauk) (1996)

11) Brilliant Adventure (Album Version By David Bowie, Reeves Gabrels & Mark Plati) (1999)

12) Art Decade (Album Version By David Bowie & Tony Visconti) (1977)

13) Pallas Athena (Gone Midnight Mix By Meat Beat Manifesto / Jack Dangers) (1993)

14) The Mysteries (Album Version By David Bowie & David Richards) (1993)

1977: "Heroes": 5

1977: Low: 1, 9, 12

1980: Crystal Japan EP (Japan-only 7"): 8

1986: When The Wind Blows EP: 4

1991: Sound And Vision Remix (David Bowie vs 808 State) EP: 6

1993: Pallas Athena EP: 13

1993: The Buddha Of Suburbia OST: 14

1996: Hallo Spaceboy EP: 10

1997: Little Wonder EP: 2

1999: Hours...: 11

2010: Young Americans EP (bootleg MP3): 7

2013: The Next Day Extra (ltd 2x CD + DVD): 3

Worlds Without Words (1:00:32) (KF) (Mega)

If all that has left you wanting to hear Bowie's pipes, then I've reposted both sides of my 1999 mixtape here and here.

Dripping Onto My Tongue

Side 1 of a mixtape compiled 11th January 2003. Back to the old school - well, early 1990s at least - for today's selection of end-of-week bangers.

Bolting from the gate is Apollo 440 with Liquid Cool, which came with a plethora of mixes, including The Future Sound Of London and Jah Wobble and several from French duo Deep Forest. I wasn't a huge fan of the latter's music at the time but they turned out some pretty satisfying if safe remixes of this standout from the Millennium Fever album.

Dutch DJ/producer Patrick Prins was the brains behind Subliminal Cuts, originally releasing Le Voie Le Soleil in 1994. It was re-released in 1996 with further remixes, including this one by obvious fans of The Simpsons, Itchy & Scratchy. A duo of Seb Fontaine and Julian Peake, the latter had further chart success as Jules Vern, one half of Stretch & Vern.

 

Volcano were a trio of Norwegian DJs/producers, Ole Mjøs, Bjørn Torske and Rune Lindbæk, who teamed up with Sam Cartwright for a few singles on the Deconstruction label. Only Bjørn Torske and Rune Lindbæk are familiar to me from their later output. If you're into re-edits of 1980s classics, Rune Lindbæk offered up a 50-track smorgasbord including Thomas Dolby, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Amanda Lear and Toto. The whole collection is available as a name your price download from Bandcamp. 

 

Edinburgh meets Glasgow on the next track, Botany 5 representing the former, the legendary Slam the latter. Love Bomb is a match made in heaven, well, Scotland but what's the difference really? Botany 5 sadly didn't get beyond a debut album and handful of singles but it would be an understatement to say that Slam have done pretty well since then. 

 

Speaking of which, William Orbit was already well on the way to global domination when Water From A Vine Leaf was released in 1993. Featuring Beth Orton on vocals (although not noticeable here) and a stunning remix from Underworld (one of two), both of whom had even greater things ahead of them. This remix comes in at just under 12 minutes and really, just isn't long enough.

 

Keeping it short and sweet for the closer then is 808 State, with a scuzzy mix of Open Your Mind, a double A-side with Lift which just about cracked the UK Top 40 (#38) in August 1991, continuing their on/off relationship with singles-buying public. I bought this on CD single for pennies a couple of years later from a music stall in the Eagle Shopping Centre in Derby. Great times...!

 

1) Liquid Cool (Deep Forest Trans-Afrique Life Extension Express) (Remix By Eric Mouquet & Michel Sanchez): Apollo 440 (1994)

2) Le Voie Le Soleil (Itchy & Scratchy Mix By Julian Peake & Seb Fontaine): Subliminal Cuts (1996)

3) More To Love (K-Klass Pharmacy Dub): Volcano (1994)

4) Love Bomb (The Slam Production) (Remix By Stuart McMillan & Orde Meikle): Botany 5 (1990)

5) Water From A Vine Leaf (Underwater Mix Part 2 By Underworld): William Orbit ft. Beth Orton (1993)

6) Open Your Mind (Sound Garden Mix): 808 State (1991)

Side One (46:11) (KF) (Mega)

Heaven Leads To Hell

Side 2 of a mixtape, recorded 13th July 1997 and featuring a selection of 1990s favourites.

First appearance on this blog for German acid techno duo Hardfloor aka Oliver Bondzio and Ramon Zenker. Mr. Anderson was an early single on the Harthouse label, typical of the Hardfloor sound with hard beats and a chorus of Roland TB-303 bass synthesizers in the breakdown. 

 

Propellerheads aka Alex Gifford and Will White were everywhere in the mid-late 1990s, collaborating with Dame Shirley Bassey and composing the theme tune to The Graham Norton Show on Channel 4. They were also ubiquitous remixers and this, combined with Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield on vocals, helped (excuse the pun) propel Lopez by 808 State to #20 in the UK singles chart in February 1997.

A Man Called Adam aka Sally Rodgers and Steve Jones called in another duo, Glasgow heavyweights Slam aka Stuart MacMillan and Order Meikle, to remix Bread, Love And Dreams from their debut album The Apple. The sleeve of the single features Sally Rodgers' arse but there's not a single bum note (sorry, no more puns) in this remix.

 

I bought the 12" single of Sincere / 3-Wheel Crash by Robin Reliant for the sole reason that it was on the Finiflex label and it turned out to be a safe bet. Robin Hickman is joined on The Unstable Mix of the latter by John Vick and Fred Parsons aka Mr. Samples and Phunky Torso for ten minutes of progressive house, which really hits the spot.

 

Bumble were an early 1990s act that sought to marry club beats with traditional Irish music. 1992's West In Motion was released on U2's Mother label (yes, really). It caught the attention of Andrew Weatherall who provided an epic twelve minute remix, which itself laid the groundwork for his subsequent and equally epic remix of Peace Together with Sabres Of Paradise. The original cassette compilation featured Bumble's own club mix of the track, featuring Breda Mayock on vocals. I've swapped it here, mainly because I haven't ripped the 12" single in full but also because it gives me an excuse to include an alternative Weatherall mix, which appeared on a white label 12" and the CD single. 

 

Rounding things off is System 7 aka Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy, with the lush synth-rinsed breakbeats of Interstate, as remixed by Doc Scott. I'm a huge fan of System 7 and the duo's ongoing thirst for collaboration with contemporary artists. Simultaneously urgent and calming, this mix of Interstate is eight minutes but could have stretched to at least twice the length and not outstayed it's welcome. 

1) Mr. Anderson: Hardfloor (1994)

2) Lopez (Hard On) (A Progressive Mix By The Propellerheads): 808 State ft. James Dean Bradfield (1997)

3) Bread, Love And Dreams (Slam Mix): A Man Called Adam (1992)

4) 3-Wheel Crash (The Unstable Mix): Robin Reliant (1993)

5) West In Motion (Andrew Weatherall Drum Mix): Bumble (1992)

6) Interstate (Doc Scott Mix): System 7 (1995)

Side Two (46:55) (Box) (Mega)

Everybody Needs A Bosom For A Pillow

Side 1 of a mixtape, compiled 14th February 1998. 

 

I have no memory of this particular day so I can only hope that I'd woken early (as I do) to record this mixtape, rather than it being one of the least romantic Valentine's Days ever. I hasten to add that, either way, my girlfriend at the time was not the currently long-suffering Mrs. K.

This was definitely an attempt at an 'upbeat' selection, starting off with a Manchester two-hander from 808 State and Intastella, the latter remixed by A Certain Ratio's Martin Moscrop. Things then take a veer left(field) with possibly one of the maddest singles The Times/Ed Ball ever released, and that's including I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape. 

 

Next up is Mucho Macho's remix of Cornershop's Brimful Of Asha, from the 'flop' first release of the single in 1997. I had to check the dates but, a mere two weeks after this mixtape was recorded, Brimful Of Asha was re-released with a Norman Cook remix and went straight to #1 in the UK, where it remained for a further 12 weeks, 11 of those remaining above the #60 peak of the original release. Spooky.

 

Planetary Sit-In is Julian Cope in string-drenched pop-with-a-message mode, his last ever UK singles chart hit, #34 in October 1996. 

 

Stay was 18 Wheeler's biggest UK hit, charting at #59 in March 1997. Wikipedia damningly cites their biggest claim to fame as being the band that Oasis were supporting (at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in 1993) when Creation head honcho Alan McGee discovered the latter. Being on the same label clearly did 18 Wheeler no favours.

Fellow Scots The Apples fared similarly poorly with the record-buying public, managing just one UK #75 single, which isn't this one. This version appeared on the CD single, mis-labelled as the Stereo Guitar People Mix by Pete Lorimer. Ironically, this remix by James Reynolds is actually heavier on the guitar so you can understand the mix up. Reynolds arguably enjoyed much greater success, not least being the 4th Baronet of Woolton, having succeeded to the title in 2015.

Freak Power (aka Norman Cook & Ashley Slater) took two goes to have a hit with Turn On Tune In Cop Out, #29 in 1993 then #3 in 1995. Ashley Slater went on to appear in 2014 with his partner Scarlett Quinn as Kitten And the Hip in an excruciating X-Factor audition, which YouTube has preserved for posterity). Having survived this ordeal, the pair continue in a reformed Freak Power.

 

Not much to say about Groove Is In The Heart, other than Deee-Lite were a breath of fresh air in 1990 and this song still has the desired effect, three decades on.

 

Last but not least, the mysterious collective, The KK Kings. I heard this song originally on the soundtrack to the wonderful 1993 film Bhaji On The Beach. I think this was their only official single, though they'd previously released a promo, Justified & Ancient, which together with their prodigious use of samples, led to comparisons with The KLF. It's so much better than that and a shame that we didn't get to hear more from them.

 

As a final note, the mixtape title comes from a key line in Cornershop's Brimful Of Asha, which itself is the hook of the Mucho Macho remix. Despite all this, I still managed to write Everyone Needs A Bosom For A Pillow on the cassette sleeve. Again, either a case of not enough sleep or the worst Valentine's Days ever. Amazingly, I was in the same relationship the following year, but I have no record of whether Valentine's Day 1999 fared any better. It couldn't have been any worse, could it?

 

1) Lift (7" Version): 808 State (1991)

2) This Is Bendy (Remix By Martin Moscrop): Intastella (1991)

3) Finnegans Break (Edit By Ian Shaw & The Big Noize Supremists): The Times ft. Tippa Irie (1993)

4) Brimful Of Asha (Mucho Macho Bolan Boogie Mix): Cornershop (1997)

5) Planetary Sit-In (Album Version): Julian Cope (1996)

6) Stay (Radio Edit): 18 Wheeler (1997)

7) Beautiful People (Silver Sky Mix By James Reynolds): The Apples (1991)

8) Turn On Tune In Cop Out (Radio Mix By Norman Cook & Simon Thornton): Freak Power (1993)

9) Groove Is In The Heart (Peanut Butter Mix): Deee-Lite (1990)

10) Holidays (In The United KK Kingdom) (Extended) (Remix By Mikha K): The KK Kings (1994)

 

Side One (45:25) (KF) (Mega)

His Final & Most Fabulous Creation

Side 1 of a mixtape compiled for me by my brother, circa 1995.

Back to the beats for this Saturday selection which, despite it's mid-90s creation, seems to have a lot of love for 1992, with two thirds of the selection from that year.

A bit of a red herring to start, with Jim Thirwell's Foetus guise in full orchestral pomp, before we dive straight into a remix of rave classic Stakker Humanoid by Brian Dougans and FSOL partner Garry Cobain, then sidestep into Hi-NRG disco with the ever-brilliant Divine. 

A couple of Buzz McCoy tracks to follow, first up with his main concern, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, then a partnership with Sascha from KMFDM as Excessive Force for a one-off single in 1991, this version popping up on the Conquer Your World album, which reached the UK the following year.

Orbital's Chime is a brilliant song in any version, but I particularly like this remix by the Hartnoll brothers, which appeared on their Mutations EP. Likewise, If? benefited from some top remixes of their songs, especially by Leftfield, as evidenced here.

808 State's variations on Pacific, like Orbital's Chime, never get boring or sound dated to these ears. This is the version that was used for their debut album on ZTT, 808:90.

Rounding things off is another remix by The Future Sound Of London, this time of one of their many, many aliases, Semi Real. A lovely Balearic vibe here. As the original cassette side ran a couple of minutes short, I've swapped the original radio edit for the extended Med Mix here.

Happy memories of driving around with my college friends in my clapped out motor, playing this very loud, usually to requests/protests for Ned's Atomic Dustbin or The Levellers. Solid times.

 

1) Theme From Pigdom Come: Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel (1985)

2) Stakker Humanoid (Outer Limits) (Remix By The Future Sound Of London): Humanoid (1992)

3) Native Love (Step By Step) (Short Version By Bobby Orlando & Mark Bauman): Divine (1982)

4) Sex On Wheelz (Motor City Remix By Buzz McCoy): My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult (1992)

5) Conquer Your House II (Album Version By Sascha Konietzko): Excessive Force (1991)

6) Chime Crime: Orbital (1992)

7) Everything And More (Leftfield Vocal Mix): If? (1992)

8) Pacific 202 (Album Version): 808 State (1989)

9) People Livin' Today (Med Mix By The Future Sound Of London): Semi Real (1992)

Side One (45:42) (Box) (Mega)

Still Praying To The Skies...!

Side 2 of a mixtape, originally recorded 20th July 1992.

 

When I previously posted Side 1 in July last year, it was with no commentary or fanfare. It was a couple of months into challenging myself to post every day, maybe I was tired, maybe I was late for work and didn't have the time to wax lyrical. Either way, I did a disservice as I really, really love this mixtape.

It's a snapshot in time: after a year travelling, I was a year into my second attempt at A-Levels and college, having dropped out six months into my previous attempt; I was also back home living with my parents "out in the sticks" (boo! hiss!) but I was in love with a beautiful woman (back off, Dr. Hook!). More importantly, I had my own set of wheels. Whilst I could barely afford to keep the car on the road, any money left over from my part-time job went on music and recreation.

I'd hear very little of the "club music" selected here when I was out and about, but it was the sound track to my excursions to and from college and occasional nights out in Bristol and Bath, when taxi fares were prohibitive and city centre bedsit flops were limited. I think I had less success in converting my girlfriend and other college compadres - The Levellers, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Ozric Tentacles, Nirvana were more popular choices - but there was little denying the get-up-and-dance joy of, say, Opus III.

This isn't the first appearance of the 12" Mix of It's A Fine Day, written by Edward Barton and originally performed as a straight a cappella by Jane Lancaster in 1983. Opus III gave the song a trance overhaul, but it's Kirsty Hawkshaw's vocals that define this song. 

 

Side 1 contained several heavy hitters, starting off with In Yer Face by 808 State and taking in the mighty Hypnotone Mix of Cascades by Sheer Taft and Andrew Weatherall's unbeatable mix of Don't Fight It, Feel It by Primal Scream. The rest of the side saw several 1970s and 1980s artists rejuvenated by the exploding electronica and dance scene - Cabaret Voltaire, The Cure and Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy as System 7. Even the fey indie popsters were declaring there had always been a dance element to their music, in this case, Frazier Chorus to surprisingly good effect.

Side 2 similarly starts with 808 State, this time with indie darling Björk, and the start of what was the end of one partnership (with The Sugarcubes) and the beginning of another (with Graham Massey and other like-minded dance producers). There's less of Björk on this mix, but it's brilliant all the same.

 

Rainbow was the first Sly & Lovechild I heard, courtesy of a great remix by Mark Moore. It was a few years before I was able to track down the debut 12" and Andrew Weatherall remix, but Rainbow was an equally great single. A shame that chart success eluded the duo.

 

The Deee-Lite remix was taken from my girlfriend's copy of the Groove Is In The Heart 12" single, which was already popping and crackling like a breakfast cereal a year on. Likewise, my brother had the original Deconstruction 12" of Temple Head, which introduced me to an enduring love of Transglobal Underground and consequently, Nation Records.

 

I'd heard of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, but I don't think I was particularly aware of Faith Healer at the time I bought this. My motivation was probably that Recoil was the solo project of Alan Wilder, formerly of Depeche Mode. Here, he's joined by Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy on vocals, with a ton of remixes on the 12" and CD singles. This one by Moby in his Barracuda guise, is the standout.

 

The selection closes with Treaty by Australian collective Yothu Yindi. I was in Australia when this song exploded. Aside from the fact that it was the first song by a predominantly Aboriginal band to chart in Australia and features significant portions sung in Gumatj, it was a perfectly timed song, protesting the lack of progress on the treaty between Aboriginal peoples and the Australian federal government, promised to be in place by 1990. Treaty initially didn't make the desired impact, but the subsequent remix by Filthy Lucre took it to the clubs and the singles chart. The song also had a global impact and the UK release sported remixes by William Orbit and K-Klass. The Filthy Lucre remixes remain the essential purchases. 

 

The inclusion of The Jesus & Mary Chain's Jim Reid as the mixtape cover star is slightly harder to explain. I can only assume that this was the only available clipping from my copies of NME or Melody Maker of someone looking up to, and thereby potentially praying to the skies. Sometimes, I was just that literal.

1) Ooops (Mellow Birds Remix): 808 State ft. Björk (1991)

2) Rainbow (Green Mix By Phil Nicholas & Doug Martin): Sly & Lovechild (1991)

3) What Is Love? (Holographic Goatee Mix By Satoshi Tomiie): Deee-Lite (1990)

4) Faith Healer (Barracuda Mix By Moby) (Cover of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band): Recoil ft. Douglas McCarthy (1992)

5) Temple Head (Zenana Mix By Aki Nawaz & Paul Tipler): Transglobal Underground (1991)

6) It's A Fine Day (12" Mix) (Cover of Jane): Opus III (1991)

7) Open Up Your Head (Vocalfield Mix By Leftfield): If? (1991)

8) Treaty (Filthy Lucre Remix By Gavin Campbell, Paul Main & Robert Goodge): Yothu Yindi (1991)

Side Two (46:18)

Side One here

Jars Of Fun!

Andrew Barker, 9th March 1968 - 6th November 2021. 

 

Side One

1) Can You Fly Like You Mean It? (Gungadin) (808 State Mix): Intastella ft. Shaun Ryder (1993)

2) Trailer Music (808 State Remix): Pizzicato Five (1997)

3) Pacific 303 (Remix): 808 State (1989)

4) Ooops (Utsula Head Remix): 808 State ft. Björk (1991)

5) Dedicated To Glam (Icehouse/808 Showdown) (Remix By 808 State): Icehouse (1993)

Side Two

1) Plan 9 (Guitars On Fire Mix): 808 State (1993)

2) Sound And Vision (808 Giftmix By 808 State): David Bowie (1991)

3) Halo (808 Dub) (Remix By 808 State): Texas (1997)

4) Body To Body (Vox Mix By 808 State): Soft Ballet (1992)

5) In Yer Face (Mancunian Delight): 808 State (1990)*

 

* This remix is from the US 12" of Cubik and to these ears sounds identical to the In Yer Face Mix on the UK single, bar a slight repeat of the looped ending.

Side One (23:05)

Side Two (22:57)

Praying To The Skies...!

Side 1 of a mixtape, originally recorded 20th July 1992. 
 

1) In Yer Face (In Yer Face Mix): 808 State (1991) 

2) Don't Walk Away (Remixed By Cabaret Voltaire & Parrot): Cabaret Voltaire (1991)

3) Cascades (Hypnotone Mix By Tony Martin) (Edit): Sheer Taft ft. Ingrid Kudos (1990)

4) Nothing (Has Been Proved Mix By Chad Jackson): Frazier Chorus (1990)

5) Don't Fight It, Feel It (Scat Mix By Andrew Weatherall & Hugo Nicolson): Primal Scream ft. Denise Johnson (1991)

6) Let's Go To Bed (Milk Mix By Mark Saunders): The Cure (1990)

7) Freedom Fighters (Praying By The Sea Mix): System 7 ft. Aniff Cousins, Monday Michiru & Zoë (1991)

Side One (45:03)

Mass(ey) Production

Mondays (Part 1): 808 State (1997) (You Tube) (4:56)

 

The full length version of this song originally appeared on the excellent 1997 compilation, Foundations: Coming Up From The Streets, in support of The Big Issue Foundation.