Celebrate The Drum

I'll confess straight up that I remember very little about this night, other than I had a really, really good time. It was my second and last Megadog gig, with Drum Club and Finitribe headlining. My first was in Derby, around March 1994 and fronted by Transglobal Underground and Banco De Gaia. 

Drum Club were on fire at this point, having just dropped second album Drums Are Dangerous, following debut Everything Is Now and seminal single Sound System. Finitribe had released An Unexpected Groovy Treat in 1992 and I'm guessing will have been showcasing tracks from their follow-up Sheigra, which followed in 1995; I recall lead single Brand New getting an airing. 

 

Setlist has been unfortunately unable to fill in the blanks on this occasion, so I've instead opted for a handful of tracks from Drum Club and Finitribe, circa 1993-1994. I've intentionally left off the Underworld mix of Sound System for a future post and the Andrew Weatherall mixes of 101 as they've featured here previously. In between, you get a clutch of remixes that appeared on singles and electronica/dance compilations. Not your typical Sunday fare, but a good way to dispel the November gloom (on this island, at least).

1) Brand New (Tip-Top Tune): Finitribe (1994)

2) Sound System (Dub Me Crazy): Drum Club ft. Wonder (1993)

3) Drums Are Dangerous (Stand And Fight Mix): Drum Club ft. Maxine Harvey (1994)

4) Monster In The House (Monster Mutley Medley): Finitribe ft. Mutley & The Gang (1993)

5) De-Lushed (Stars Above The Campfire Mix): Drum Club (1994)

6) Follow The Sun (Remix): Drum Club ft. Kate Holmes & Wonder (1993)

7) 101.93: Finitribe (1993)

 

1993: Monster In The House EP: 4, 7

1993: Sound System EP: 2 

1993: Trance Europe Express: 6

1994: Brand New EP: 1 

1994: Survival 2000: 5

1994: Taking Liberties: 3

 

Celebrate The Drum (49:54)

I Believe That The Present's Perfect

Between Frazier Chorus and Client, Kate Holmes formed Technique with singer Xanthe Tyler. Technique released a couple of singles in 1999, followed by an album, Pop Philosophy, in 2001.  You + Me was the most successful of the two singles, reaching #56 in the UK in August 1999. On paper, You + Me had a lot going for it: Stephen Hague on production, Youth on bass, released on Creation; a radio-friendly dance pop song. Unfortunately, You + Me, follow-up Sun Is Shining and the album didn't result in commercial success.

 

At the same time, Holmes and Tyler also embarked on an interesting dub excursion with Mad Professor as Mission Control, releasing the single The Last Trumpet, featuring Lee 'Scratch' Perry on vocals, and an album, Dub Showcase, in 2001. As with the Technique album, the Mission Control releases were on Poptones, the label established by Holmes' husband Alan McGee following the sale of Creation to Sony in 1999.

 

Kate Holmes went on to form Client with Sarah Blackwood (Dubstar) and further developed the fashion house Client London. I have relatively little Client music, although I really like what I do have, which will prompt some retrospective purchasing and a post in their own right in the future.

Xan Tyler is poorly served by info on Discogs, but a quick search on t'internet reveals that she has continued to actively create music in the past couple of decades. Xan recently returned to a partnership with legendary producer Kramer, this time as Let It Come Down, releasing their debut album, Songs We Sang in Our Dreams, in June 2020.  You can also find videos for 9 of the songs on YouTube.

 

You + Me (Single Version): Technique (1999)

The Last Trumpet: Mission Control ft. Lee 'Scratch' Perry (2001)