Booty-full

You may be relieved to read that the post title is the one and only reference to Bernard Matthews, as I present my second selection collated from the #90sRumpShaker BlueSky challenge, hosted by @stevenh1974.bsky.social last month.

Ten tracks and (hopefully) not a single turkey amongst them. 

Utah Saints sample Phil Oakey to great effect on Believe In Me, Fortran 5 go one step further and get Neil Arthur in the studio for Persian Blues, whilst The Source resurrect a forgotten Candi Staton vocal for a second time, with similarly epic results. And Soho's appropriation of Johnny Marr's unforgettable guitar effect from How Soon Is Now? is the stuff of legend.

Bentley Rhythm Ace, Global Communication and Roni Size Reprazent brought fresh perspectives to dance music in the late 1990s, whilst respecting the past, and Temple Head by Transglobal Underground was, for me at least, one of the songs that defined the optimism of the (then new) decade, the hope of a better world. 

To close, arguably the most unlikely pairing of the decade, Traci Lords teaming up with Juno Reactor aka Ben Watkins and Johann Bley for music that is a little bit techno, a little bit trance, and never dull.

The third and final volume will be landing tomorrow. Hope to see you there!

1) Believe In Me (12-Inch Mix): Utah Saints (1993)

2) You Got The Love (Now Voyager Mix): The Source ft. Candi Staton (1996)

3) Release The Pressure (Album Version): Leftfield ft. Earl Sixteen & Papa Dee (1995)

4) Bentley's Gonna Sort You Out! (Full Version): Bentley Rhythm Ace (1997)

5) Hippychick (Extended): Soho (1990)

6) Persian Blues (3YE1270 Mix): Fortran 5 ft. Neil Arthur (1993)

7) The Way (Original Mix): Global Communication (1996)

8) Temple Head (Zenana Mix): Transglobal Underground (1991)

9) Share The Fall (Version): Roni Size Reprazent ft. Onallee (1997)

10) Control (Olympic 7" Edit): Traci Lords (1994)

#90sRumpShakersVolumeTwo (1:00:02) (GD) (M)

Monoliths

Four sonic slabs to stir the senses on a Sunday. Rescued from the abandoned shopping trolley of an overstuffed music collection, these are not for the faint hearted - the pieces run between 15 and 23 minutes long - but will hopefully have an energising not enervating effect.

1) When We Return You Won't Recognise Us (Manafon Variation): David Sylvian (2011)

2) III: Taj Mahal Travellers (1974)

3) The Monolith: The Beta Band (1998)

4) Alpha Phase (Retranslated By Global Communication aka Tom Middleton & Mark Pritchard): Chapterhouse (1993)

1975: August 1974: 2

1993: Blood Music: Pentamerous Metamorphosis (Retranslated By Global Communication): 4

1998: The Patty Patty Sound EP / The Three E.P.'s: 3

2011: Died In The Wool: Manafon Variations: 1

Monoliths (1:13:25) (GD) (M)

Loop Da Loop Da Loop

Side 1 of a mixtape, recorded sometime in 1999 and bringing another half dozen tracks with rolling beats and repetitive rhythms.

 

The selection starts off with Mark Pritchard reuniting with former Global Communication partner Tom Middleton for a remix/edit of the latter's Summer In Space, released in 1999 under his Cosmos moniker. It's a jazzy, syncopated saunter along the starways. 

 

The boys are back later on with one of their final releases as Global Communication, here remixed by DJ/artist Davidson Ospina, born and raised in Queens, New York and bringing some pulsing, insistent grooves to the floor.

 

Over in Washington DC, Jean-Phillippe Aviance and Victor Imbres aka Alcatraz take on Apollo 440's tribute to Gene Krupa. A cracking tune in it's original form, the remix stretches out the ride to nearly 11 minutes without missing a beat. 

Meanwhile in Europe... German duo Hardfloor meet Dutch duo Work for a meeting of the minds on 1995 single Mahogany Roots, with suitably explosive results.

Side 2 opens with Ben Watkins aka Juno Reactor, but his first appearance on this mixtape is as co-writer (with Wonder Schneider, one half of Secret Knowledge) of Traci Lords' 1994 single Control. Traci first gained notoriety in the adult film industry before moving into mainstream acting and then music, duetting with Manic Street Preachers in 1992 then releasing a solo album (produced by Watkins) called 1000 Fires a couple of years later. 

Bringing this side to a close in spectacular fashion is Leftfield with Afro Ride, as remix of Leftism album highlight Afro-Left and featuring Djum Djum, who they'd previously collaborated with on the 1990 single Difference. Afro Ride takes the original, takes it for a night on the tiles and ends up at a heaving club, nine minutes feeling like it could go on forever.

1) Summer In Space (Mark Pritchard Edit): Cosmos ft. David Laudat (1999)

2) Mahogany Roots (Work Remix By Olav Basoski & Erick Eerdhuijzen): Hardfloor (1995)

3) Krupa (Alcatraz Within The Joint Remix vs. @440) (Remix By Jean-Phillippe Aviance & Victor Imbres): Apollo 440 (1996)

4) The Way (Davidson Ospina Mix): Global Communication (1996)

5) Control (DJ E FX San Frandisco Dub): Traci Lords (1994)

6) Afro-Left (Afro Ride) (Remix By Neil Barnes & Paul Daley): Leftfield ft. Djum Djum (1995)

 

Side Two (45:31) (Box) (Mega)

Side One here

A Quiet Glade In A Burning Forest

Side 2 of a mixtape, recorded sometime around 1997, featuring the music of Mark Pritchard & Tom Middleton in a variety of guises, but mainly Global Communication.

 

First off however is one of their remixes as Reload. The 147 Take of In Mind by Slowdive appeared on Side 1 and was recently highlighted in a typically great post by Swiss Adam over at Bagging Area. Their remix of On by Aphex Twin is a close second as my favourite remix that Mark and Tom did as Reload, but then the song is a thing of beauty to begin with so how could they possibly go wrong?

Next up is Link, one of Mark Pritchard's many, many solo projects. This remix of Arcadian by Global Communication originally appeared on Warp Records compilation Artificial Intelligence II, running to just under ten minutes. In order to squeeze it into a C90 side, I crudely faded it out halfway through. Unlikely Side 1, where I restored the minimal cut to a track, I've kept this one in to maintain the original sequencing and running time.

The Grid aka Dave Ball and Richard Norris were enjoying much-deserved success with a brace of UK hit singles, Texas Cowboys reaching #21 in October 1993 and then Swamp Thing crashing in at #11 in June 1994, peaking at #3 a month later, spending a total of 12 weeks in the Top 20. Rollercoaster didn't enjoy quite such a chart run, entering at #19 in September 1994, then #22, #42, #70 and out of the Top 100 by mid-October. It's an underrated single and contained a hidden gem in Global Communication's ambient reworking of the song. I say 'hidden' but the remix was that good that it appeared on several compilations, including Survival 2000 and respective 'best of' remix collections by Global Communication and The Grid *

 

Epsilon Phase is the closing track on Mark and Tom's radical overhaul of Chapterhouse's Blood Music album, originally released as a limited edition double CD in 1993. I discovered the Global Communication CD all on its own in the secondhand trough at Replay Records in Bristol and bought it without hesitation. It was roughly another ten years before I bought and heard the parent album by Chapterhouse for the first time!

 

Nav Katze (translates as 'Nervous Cat') were a Tokyo-based female rock group who released music between 1987 and 1997. Initially a trio, by 1994, Nav Katze were Miwako Yamaguchi and Naoko Iimura, with male producer Yuji Sugiyama as unofficial third member. Wild Horse appeared on the first of two remix compilations titled Never Mind The Distortion, in a beautiful 15-minute journey with Global Communication, easing in with synth washes and snatches of vocal before heading into more percussive territory in the latter stages. Like much of Mark Pritchard and Tom MIddleton's music from the early/mid-1990s, Wild Horse should have been all over like-minded compilations of the time but according to Discogs seems to be relatively rare.

 

* I realised when researching and writing this post that tracks 3 to 5 of this selection are the exact same sequence as the last three tracks on the aforementioned Remotion: The Global Communication Remix Album from 1995. I bought the compilation for my girlfriend at the time but I have no recollection whether I was so inspired by the running order that I was compelled to replicate it for my mixtape or if I was simply being a lazy git. Probably a bit of both and definitely no coincidence!

 

On a completely unrelated note, after 2 years, 2 months and 18 days and 685 posts, I've received my first takedown notice via Mega. It was for my recent posting of Django Django and was submitted by one of those companies that appear to specialise in actively finding and shutting down any potential infringements. I'm wondering whether my uncharacteristic decision to include the artist's name in the post and MP3 title made it easier for the bots to home in this particular Dubhed selection. 

 

Anyway, Box and Mega links have now been removed from the offending post and, in a bit of housekeeping, I'm now running a tighter ship on how long links stay up in general. Whenever I post the corresponding side of a mixtape that's appeared previously, I'll continue to add new Box and Mega links to the older post.

 

1) On (Reload Mix): Aphex Twin (1993)

2) Arcadian (Remix By Global Communication) (Edit): Link (1994)

3) Rollercoaster (The Global Communication Yellow Submarine Re-Take): The Grid (1994)

4) Epsilon Phase (Retranslated By Global Communication): Chapterhouse (1994)

5) Wild Horse (Global Mix Communication): Nav Katze (1994)

1993: Blood Music: Pentamerous Metamorphosis: 4

1993: On EP: 1

1994: Artificial Intelligence II: 2

1994: Never Mind The Distortion: 5

1994: Rollercoaster EP: 3

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

Side One here

Roots 'n' Culture

Side 1 of a mixtape compiled for my then-girlfriend, circa September 1995. I think we were living together by this point and this may have been recorded as an extra birthday present but, as Tears For Fears once sang, memories fade. 

 

This is another mixtape tracklist rescued from some papers boxed up in the attic, otherwise lost to the mists of time. No other info apart from the year I recorded the mixtape, but the inclusion of the opening track helped me to narrow down the period. Something Wicked This Way Comes was previewed on 180°: A Mute Records Compilation, a cover-mounted CD with The Wire magazine, dated October 1995. The song subsequently reappeared on Barry Adamson's 1996 album Oedipus Schmoedipus and (in edited form) the soundtrack to David Lynch's film Lost Highway the same year.

 

This is the same girlfriend who was heavily invested in indie music and later gifted me with the Now That's What I Call Jangly mixtape which I posted previously. My mixtape was obviously an attempt to satisfy some of those loves (Lightning Seeds, The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Boo Radleys), whilst also sneaking in some electronica and dance music (Global Communication, The Future Sound Of London, The Grid). 

 

Saint Etienne's excellent So Tough album is served by a mere 25-second snippet featuring Simon Price, who was a journalist with Melody Maker at the time as I recall.

 

The Colour Of My Love previously appeared on one of three Ed Ball/The Times compilations that I posted last year. Ed re-recorded the song (as Edward Ball) as Love Is Blue for his 1997 album Catholic Guilt and it also reached #59 in the UK singles chart. Personally, I think The Times' version wasn't bettered.

 

I've swapped out the single mix of Enjoy The Silence for an alternate version labelled 'cold end'. To these ears, it sounds like an earlier, pre-release mix but I think works better with the lead in to The Future Sound Of London track.

 

What can I say about Floatation? One of the greatest electronic pop singles of the 1990s, which is no surprise given the involvement of Andrew Weatherall, Richard Norris and Dave Ball. One sadly lost to us, the other two continuing to produce great music in 2022.

 

1) Something Wicked This Way Comes (Album Version): Barry Adamson (1995)

2) 15 Reasons: Lightning Seeds (1990)

3) Memo To Pricey: Saint Etienne (1993)

4) Leonard Nimoy (Extended Version): Freaky Realistic (1993)

5) Sometimes Always (Album Version): The Jesus & Mary Chain ft. Hope Sandoval (1994)

6) The Colour Of My Love: The Times ft. Jan Stevens (1993)

7) Funk In The Fridge: Global Communication (1994)

8) Enjoy The Silence (Single Mix/Cold End): Depeche Mode (1990)

9) Bring Me Home: The Future Sound Of London (1994)

10) Lazarus (Album Version): The Boo Radleys (1993)

11) Floatation (Subsonic Grid Mix By Andrew Weatherall, Richard Norris & Dave Ball) (7" Version): The Grid ft. Sacha Souter (1990)

 

1990: Enjoy The Silence EP: 8 

1990: Floatation EP: 11

1990: Gigantic! 2: 2 

1993: Baby Girl EP: 6 

1993: Giant Steps: 10

1993: Leonard Nimoy EP: 4

1993: So Tough: 3

1994: Maiden Voyage EP: 7 

1994: Signed Sealed Delivered 2: 9

1994: Stoned & Dethroned: 5

1995: 180°: A Mute Records Compilation: 1

1996: Oedipus Schmoedipus: 1

 

Side One (45:05) (KF) (Mega)
 

There's Help, If You Know Where To Look

Side 2 of a mixtape, recorded sometime in 1998. 

 

This one's a bit of a mystery as the original cassette is long lost and I only came across the track listing whilst sorting through a box of paperwork. I've no idea if I did the mixtape for myself or a friend, but it's big on beats and euphoric synths so it's ideal for getting up and out on Saturday after an exceptionally long week at work.

1) Salva Mea (Album Version By Rollo & Sister Bliss): Faithless (1996)

2) Atom Bomb (Atomix 4): Fluke (1996)

3) A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld (Orbital Dance Mix By Alex Paterson & Jimmy Cauty): The Orb (1990)

4) The Way (Joshua's Dubwise Mix By Joshua Michaels): Global Communication (1996)

5) La La La (Fatboy Slim Mix By Norman Cook): Tranquility Bass (1997)

Side Two (45:26) (KF) (Mega)

A Pool Of Calm In A Sea Of Chaos

Side 1 of a mixtape, recorded sometime around 1997, featuring the music of Mark Pritchard & Tom Middleton aka Global Communication and Reload. Their remix of In Mind by Slowdive is memerising and a precursor to their similarly radical overhaul of Chapterhouse's Blood Music album the same year. The selection closes with the transformative Ob-Selon Mi-Nos By Mystic Institute aka Mark Pritchard & Paul Kent, which itself transformed into 14:31 by Global Communication on their seminal 1994 album, 76:14. This remix originally had a couple of minutes lopped off to squeeze the tracks onto one side of a cassette; this recreation features the full 15-minute version.

1) Amor Real (Remix By Global Communication): Jon Anderson ft. Milton Nascimento (1995)

2) In Mind (Reload Remix (The 147 Take)): Slowdive (1993)

3) Maiden Voyage (Original 8'07>5'23 Version): Global Communication (1994)

4) Le Soleil Et La Mer (Original Mix): Reload (1993)

5) Ob-Selon Mi-Nos (Re-Painted By Global Communication): Mystic Institute (1993)

1993: 5 EP: 2

1993: Auto Reload EP / A Collection Of Short Stories: 4

1993: The Cyberdon EP (Reload Remixes): 5

1994: Maiden Voyage EP: 3

1995: The Deseo Remixes: 1

Side One (47:14) (Box) (Mega)

Chic Thug Stuttered Through A Stereo Dream

I have too much collected music. Simple as that. 

I listen to music for at least 2-3 hours every day, directly tuned in through my headphones, in the background whilst I'm working from home or soundtracking my business commutes across Gloucesterhire. I try to discover new music, revisit old favourites and dust off songs neglected in the depths of my hard drive. 

This selection falls into the latter category, Apple Music stating plainly (though with a possible hint of cybernetic smugness) that I have failed to give any of these songs an airing since November 2013. Jeez, that's nearly 8 years ago, where did the time go?!

The common thread here - apart from the fact that they're all very long - is that I first heard them in the 1990s, a time when I was fully immersed in electronic and ambient music. Gavin Bryars' truly epic Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet dates from two decades previously, originally paired with his equally epic The Sinking Of The Titanic. However, like many, I first heard the song on the radio - possibly Annie Nightingale's wee hours BBC Radio 1 show - in the re-recorded version with Tom Waits from 1993, which places it with the other songs in this selection. 

The post title is a line from the album version of the opening song (in this remix arguably better titled Eno's Removing The Band), Brett Anderson trying to channel Mark E. Smith, perhaps.

 

1) Eno's Introducing The Band (Remix By Brian Eno): Suede (1994)

2) Mogwai Fear Satan (Mogwai Remix, LP Version): Mogwai (1998)

3) Democracy (The Russian Tundra Mix By Le Petite Orb & Sheldon Isaac): Killing Joke (1996)

4) Wild Horse (Global Mix Communication) (Remixed by Tom Middleton & Mark Pritchard): Nav Katze (1994)

5) Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (Album Version): Gavin Bryars (1975)

Chic Thug Stuttered Through A Stereo Dream (1:24:22) (GD) (M)