Hobby Horse

Somone (probably John Medd) mentioned Fila Brazillia the other day. 

I don't often do requests, even implicit ones, but their name started bouncing around in my head until I succumbed to the urge to compile a Fila Brazillia selection, celebrating the great remixes that they've produced in the last 30 (!) years.

Fila Brazillia appeared to be rested in 2006, Dave McSherry and Steve Cobby following other pursuits not limited to making music. Except they never really went away, reactivating the FB name for a series of remixes in the 2020s, not least for shoegazers bdrmm, who also happen to be fellow citizens of Hull.

In a nod to the more recent past, I've included a track from Offshore Sunsets, the rather wonderful EP released last year by Steve Cobby & Third Attempt aka Torje Fagertun Spilde.

As I was in the midst of uploading this selection, and typing a dedication to the aforementioned Mr. Medd, I belatedly realised that I've done the very same thing in March 2023! 

Fortunately, I've only duplicated two of the eight songs on each selection, so I hope you will overlook this dereliction of due diligence on this occasion. 

Forty six minutes of phat beats and summer vibes, with a lil' bit of chill. Raising a glass to you, John! 

1) Forever Broke (Fila Brazillia Remix): The Seatbelts (1999)

2) Nepalese Fish Dances (Remix By Fila Brazillia): The Irresistible Force (1999)

3) Wild Party (Remix): Fila Brazillia vs. A Certain Ratio ft. Denise Johnson (2003)

4) The Sign's Alive (Fila Brazillia Dub Mix): Lypid (2000)

5) Be Careful (Fila Brazillia Remix): bdrmm (2023)

6) Golden Brown (Fila Brazillia Remix-Ambient) (Cover of The Stranglers): Better Daze (1997)

7) The Spy From Ankara (Fila Brazillia Remix): Snooze (1996)

8) Feeling Seen: Steve Cobby & Third Attempt (2024)

1996: The Man In The Shadow: 7

1997: Remix Project: 6

1999: Cowboy Bebop: Remixes: Music For Freelance: 1

1999: Fish Dances: 2

2000: The Sign's Alive EP: 4

2003: Fila Brazillia Versus A Certain Ratio EP: 3

2023: Be Careful EP: 5

2024: Offshore Sunsets EP: 8

Hobby Horse (46:24) (GD) (M)

You can find my previous Fila Brazillia selection, A Gazillion Brazillians, waiting for you here.

And whilst I'm name checking talented music makers, check this out.

A Gazillion Brazillians

Today's selection flies the flag for Fila Brazillia aka Dave McSherry & Steve Cobby. 

The duo began to record under that name in 1990 but I think it was probably the mid-90s when I particularly became aware of Fila Brazillia via two tracks: their own song A Zed And Two L's and a remix of Cotton Wool by Lamb, which I featured here last month.

 

This selection focuses exclusively on Fila Brazillia's remix work from the late 1990s to early 2000s, a 45 minute ride taking in The Irresistible Force, King Louis, Lypid, Unitone and UNKLE. There's another great remix of a Lamb track, unreleased at the time in 1996 but which surfaced online circa 2015. The pair also bravely take on a Simple Minds classic. The original of Theme For Great Cities is unbeatable but I like what they've done, increasing the tempo but retaining enough of what makes the song so special. Busta Rhymes also gets Brazillified, the first of what turned out to be (at least) four remixes of Do My Thing across multiple releases. Kids warning on the latter, as Monsieur Rhymes is characteristically potty mouthed throughout.

 

One thing you can depend on Fila Brazillia for is bringing an irresistible groove to the party and they do not disappoint on any of the eight remixes featured here. I'll be playing this loud today to counter the midweek slump with some midweek funk. Bring it on!

 

If that's not enough Fila Brazillia for you, the boys have kindly obliged by making a large chunk of their back catalogue available on Bandcamp.

 

Today's selection was inspired by and is dedicated to the multi-talented John Medd. Thanks, John!

 

1) Nepalese Fish Dances (Remix By Fila Brazillia): The Irresistible Force (1999)

2) The Sign's Alive (Fila Brazillia Dub Mix): Lypid (2000)

3) Theme For Great Cities (Fila Brazillia Remix) (Full Length): Simple Minds (1998)

4) Berry Meditation (Fila Brazillia Mix): UNKLE (1997)

5) Do My Thing (Fila Brazillia Mix 1): Busta Rhymes (1996)

6) Dag Nabbit (Fila Brazillia Remix): Unitone (2000)

7) Lusty (Fila Brazillia Mix) (unreleased): Lamb (1996)

8) Paraplegic Soul (Fila Brazillia Remix): King Louis (2003)

 

1997: Do My Thing EP: 5

1998: Glitterball EP: 3 

1999: Brazilification: Remixes 95-99: 4

1999: Fish Dances: 1

2000: Fresh Diggings From The Claypit EP: 6

2000: The Sign's Alive EP: 2 

2003: Fila Brazillia: B2: 8

2015: Lusty (promo MP3): 7

 

A Gazillion Brazillians (45:38) (GD) (M)

You Got Music In Your Step

Hello Lamb aka Louise Rhodes and Andy Barlow. A return to my very infrequent recreation of gig setlists, this time with a mystery to solve.

I saw Lamb live in concert for the first and only time at the Trinity Centre in Bristol with my friend Dave, possibly also with our work colleague Cath, not sure. It was definitely touring Fear Of Fours, so it was either 1999 or 2000. The support act - and, I'll be honest, the real reason I was there - was Smith & Mighty playing a full band set to promote their album Big World Small World, which was promoted in 1999 but not formally released until January 2000.

Unfortunately, I've lost the ticket and trawling the internet hasn't brought up any information on when the gig actually took place. As far as I can tell, Lamb did a few dates in the UK circa May 1999 whilst 2000 was mainly festivals or overseas gigs. So, I'm going to have a stab in the dark and say that the gig I went to was mid to late 1999. If anyone out there was there or can shed any light on the actual dates, I'll be very grateful!

I was a big fan of "The Bristol Sound" (biased, being as it was my birthplace), trip hop and drum and bass in general, but I couldn't quite get into Lamb's music at first. I loved debut single Cotton Wool, though the standout was A Guy Called Gerald's remix and their choice of remixers for the follow up singles was impeccable. 

Something I couldn't quite put my finger on, but it was almost a feeling that Lamb were trying too hard to be cool. Completely my own response but it put me off getting the first album and embracing their music.

Earlier in 1999, my friend Stuart and I went to New York for a short holiday. It was last minute change of plan: we'd originally been planning to go to Reykjavík, with probably some romantic notion of walking the streets of Björk's birthplace. The only snag was it was way out of our budget. Conversely, New York was ridiculously affordable, not least because I only booked accommodation for the first couple of nights and thought we'd wing it for the rest.

 

I won't retell the story of our NYC trip, which I partly touched on in my recreation of the Blondie gig we went to whilst there and the rest of which is best saved for another post. Getting back to the point of this post though, we did a bit of record shopping in New York and one of the CDs that Stuart picked up was Fear Of Fours. It was regularly played for the rest of the holiday and was the turning point in my appreciation of Lamb.

 

So, whilst they weren't the primary reason for my visit to the Trinity that night, I was more disposed to like Lamb than I had been previously. My vague memory is that Smith & Mighty were unbeatable, but Lamb acquitted themselves pretty well. I've never seen them live in concert since but I would be tempted if Lamb roll into a local venue in future. Their last album was released in 2019, so there is hope.

 

So, in the absence of any gig info whatsoever, I've gone for a composite of three gigs performed in 1999 with very minor variations in songs and running order. Unsurprisingly, the setlist draws heavily on Fear Of Fours, so I've swapped out several album versions with remixes by sympathetic acts such as Klute, The Herbaliser, Fila Brazillia, Rae & Christian and Mr. Scruff.

 

1) Soft Mistake (1999)

2) Little Things (Klute Mix) (1999)

3) B Line (Herbaliser Mix) (1999)

4) Lusty (Album Version) (1996)

5) Cotton Wool (Fila Brazillia Mix - Alternative Version) (1996)

6) All In Your Hands (Rae & Christian Remix) (1999)

7) Ear Parcel (1999)

8) Alien (Album Version) (1999)

9) Softly (Radio Mix) (1999)

10) Fly (1999)

11) Gold (Mr. Scruff Mix) (1996)

12) Górecki (Album Version) (1996)

 

1996: Gold EP: 11

1996: Lamb: 4, 12

1997: Vrooom! Motorcycle Loveliness (Select magazine promo CD): 5

1999: All In Your Hands EP: 2, 6

1999: B Line EP: 3

1999: Fear Of Fours: 1, 7, 8, 10

1999: Softly EP: 9

Music In Your Step (1:05:17) (Box) (Mega)