A six song selection for Saturday, some strange bedfellows, but all committed to the groove.
Fortran 5 were formed from the ashes of I Start Counting, record label Mute perhaps hoping for a smidge of commercial success, given the proliferation of sample-heavy dance music in the popular charts.
It didn't happen, and Fortran 5 remain an under appreciated gemstone compared to the diamond brightness of Orbital or The Prodigy. Crazy Earth was Fortran 5's debut single, one of many songs inspired by Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, specifically The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. The sample here is from The Gnome. Isn't it good?
The Men was an experiment by The Human League Mk. I, aka Philip Oakey, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, to see if they could have a hit single. The disco-inspired 7" single I Don't Depend On You featured Phil backed by Katie Kissoon and Lisa Strike, wasn't heavily promoted and failed to dent the charts, but remains an ear-pleasing curio.
In 2011, gkugno from Italy addressed the three-decade lack of a 12" version of I Don't Depend On You by creating an edit from the A-side and instrumental B-side aka Cruel, then posting it on YouTube. I think he did a pretty good job.
The mysterious mind behind MATDMixes has a similar M.O. What is less of a mystery is who their favourite artist is, as the YouTube page is dedicated to re-edits and remixes of music by Marina Diamandis aka Marina & The Diamonds aka Marina.
I've featured their 2020 extended mix of Living Dead in a Marina-themed Dubhed selection, but it stands just as well in this mixed crowd. I'd recommend checking out the many, many MATDMixes available online.
Circuit, Lap 2 is the sole EP in my collection by Paris-based David Rubato, though he only seems to have released a handful of singles in the late Noughties and these days practices as a music teacher.
Circuit, Lap 2 is a companion piece to 2008 single Circuit, this one featuring remixes by DJ Mehdi, Steve Moore, Siriusimo and - featured here - Aeroplane.
Personal Jesus has become one of Depeche Mode's best known songs. Even back in 1989, it marked a change of direction for the Basildon boys, and a precursor to their global smash album Violator.
François Kevorkian was their go-to for remixes at this point in time and as Depeche Mode singles came in two 12" vinyl varieties by default, there were multiple FK versions of this song, including the Holier Than Thou Approach and Telephone Stomp Mix. I've gone for the Pump Mix on the limited edition remix 12", the longest of the three and stretching out that pulsing electronic groove and dropping in a TV evangelist sample here and there. Great stuff.
Betty Boo may be an unexpected choice to close this selection. However - and with apologies to the fabulous Alison Clarkson - this remix by David Morales doesn't feature her voice at all....
Catch Me was a single from second album Grrr! It's Betty Boo in 1992, which couldn't match the chart success of her debut, but was a decent attempt to expand her songwriting and performance. Happily, albums #3 and #4 arrived thirty years later and the world is a brighter place for having Betty Boo back in it.
I will endeavour to keep the happiness going tomorrow....
1) Crazy Earth (Full Greenhouse Effect Mix By Edson Arantes Di Nascimento): Fortran 5 (1990)
2) I Don't Depend On You (Extended Re-Edited Version By gkugno): The Men (2011)
3) Living Dead (Extended Mix By MATDMixes): Marina & The Diamonds (2020)
4) Circuit (Aeroplane Remix By Stephen Fasano & Vito De Luca): David Rubato (2008)
5) Personal Jesus (Pump Mix By François Kevorkian): Depeche Mode (1989)
6) Catch Me (Def Version By David Morales): Betty Boo (1992)
1989: Personal Jesus EP: 5
1990: Crazy Earth EP: 1
1992: Catch Me EP: 6
2008: Circuit, Lap Two EP: 4
2011: I Don't Depend On You EP: 2
2020: Living Dead EP: 3
