Solid Gould

Sublime sounds for Sunday courtesy of Mixmaster Morris aka Morris Gould aka The Irresistible Force.

Although he's created some deft beats and pieces, Morris is best known for defining then redefining the ambient/chillout crossover in the 1990s. The first time I heard of him though was in 1987 and an insane chopped up edit of Perfect Skin by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, tucked away on the B-side of the My Bag 12" single. 

 

I also had a 12" of Yon Yonson by The Dave Howard Singers with a couple of bonkers remixes featuring samples of 80s TV sensation and sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer but I didn't realise that these were early Morris mixes until he replied to a Tweet I posted about the record a year or so ago. A remix of the Stump single Charlton Heston the same year is similarly cracked.

Today's mix is a little more laid back...well, apart from a cheeky sneak in of one of the above near the end. Oh, and an even cheekier phone prank pulled by Richard D. James on Morris and Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner.

 

Apart from that though, it's a little more laid back, I promise. You get several of the usual suspects in the early to mid 1990s downtempo arena, plus a few 21st century remixes and a couple of reworks of his own music as The Irresistible Force. All in, a baker's dozen of tracks coming in at a wink over 85 minutes. 

This selection is not a patch on what Morris himself would mix together - for evidence, I can easily recommend any of the mixes that are available to purchase or view online. But I'm learning very slowly.

 

1) Speedlearn (Reformed By The Irresistible Force): The Higher Intelligence Agency (1994)

2) Space Is The Place (Intergalactic Ambient Mix): The Irresistible Force (1991)

3) Freeform Attractor (Remixed By Mixmaster Morris): Aural Expansion (1995)

4) Phone Pranks 1: Caustic Window ft. Morris Gould & Robin Rimbaud (1994)

5) 2046 (The Irresistible Force Remix): Saafi Brothers (2019)

6) Autumn Leaves (The Irresistible Force Full Chill Mix) (Cover of Edith Piaf): Coldcut ft. Janis Alexander (1992)

7) Duende (Mixmaster Morris Ambient Sunrise Mix): The Irresistible Force ft. Nik Turner & Youth (2016)

8) Barbarella (The Irresistible Force Remix): Barbarella (1993)

9) Scientas (Irresistible Force Mix): The Shamen (1993)

10) Yon Yonson Meets Dr. R-R-Ruth (Sex Sample Sequel #One) (Remix By Dave Howard, John King & Morris Gould): The Dave Howard Singers (1987)

11) Fish Dances (Instrumental) (Remix By Mixmaster Morris): The Irresistible Force (1999)

12) Tranquility Gate (Mixmaster Morris Remix): Bluetech (2019)

13) Hey There Look At You, Unravelling (Mixmaster Morris vs Chris Coco Remix): Coco, Steel & Lovebomb (2015)

 

1987: Yon Yonson Meets Dr. R-R-Ruth (limited edition 12"): 10

1991: Space Is The Place EP: 2 

1993: Autumn Leaves (promo white label 12"): 6 

1993: Barbarella EP: 8

1993: Different Drum: 9

1994: Caustic Window LP: 4

1994: Colour Reform EP: 1

1995: Remixed Sheep: 3 

1999: Fish Dances: 11 

2015: The Chillout Album Remixed: 13

2016: Society Of Inner Light: 7 

2019: Liquid Geometries In Dub: 12

2019: Mystic Cigarettes: Special Mixes Of Classic Flavours: 5

 

Solid Gould (1:25:10) (KF) (Mega)

Still Dripping Onto My Tongue

Side 2 of a cassette compilation recorded 13th January 2003. A return trip to the early-to-mid 1990s with some mid-week bangers.

 

The first of a double bill of The Grid on this side, Dave Ball and Richard Norris remixing one of Dublin's finest, Fionán Martin Hanvey aka Gavin Friday. You Me And World War Three was a single from Gavin's criminally underrated album, Shag Tobacco. 

From Dublin to London via Bristol as Way Out West rework Lucky Monkeys... well, it's Fluke really, using an alias to release the rather tip top tune Bjango on another label. Bjeautiful bjeats, one might say.

Next up a game of "Where's Bryan?" as Monsieur Ferry's cover of a Screamin' Jay Hawkins classic gets remixed beyond recognition by The Future Sound Of London. There were two Yage mixes on the CD single, one at 5 minutes and the 'Long Version' featured here just tipping the 10 minute mark. 

Shades Of Rhythm are Nick Slater, Kevin Lancaster and Rayan Hepburn. In 1991, they released Sound Of Eden on ZTT, with a re-release featuring a ton of remixes following a couple of years later. The Coco, Steel & Lovebomb Mix featured here is from the re-release (CD single). It's the only Shades Of Rhythm record that I own, but I've just discovered that they've been steadily releasing music from the archives on Bandcamp for the last couple of years, so I will check it out.

Back to The Grid with standalone single Diablo from 1995, featuring the vocals of another Dubhed favourite, Vanessa Contenay-Quiñones. Similar in tone to mega hit Swamp Thing, replacing the Deep South for Mexico, Diablo didn't match the success of the former but I never tire of hearing this song, especially in the full length version included here.

Rounding off this side is Rising High Collective aka Plavka Lonich and Caspar Pound. Caspar sadly passed in 2004, only 33 years old. Plavka has continued in music, both as a collaborator - most famously with Jam & Spoon - and as a solo artist. Her latest single, In The VIP, was released last month and you can find Plavka's recent releases on YouTube.

 

1) You Me And World War Three (Armageddon Mix By The Grid aka Dave Ball & Richard Norris): Gavin Friday (1996)

2) Bjango (Way Out West 'Bjangin' Dub) (Remix By Nick Warren & Jody Wisternoff): Lucky Monkeys (1996) 

3) I Put A Spell On You (Yage Mix Long Version By The Future Sound Of London aka Brian Dougans & Garry Cobain) (Cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins): Bryan Ferry (1993)

4) Sound Of Eden (Coco, Steel & Lovebomb Mix By Chris Mellor): Shades Of Rhythm (1993)

5) Diablo (Acapulco Gold Mix By Dave Ball & Richard Norris): The Grid ft. Vanessa Contenay-Quiñones (1995)

6) Liquid (Perry & Rhodan Mix By Ralph Hertwig & Tommi Eckart): Rising High Collective (1994)

 

Side Two (45:55) (KF) (Mega)

Side One here