All You Need Is Dub

As a Bank Holiday special here in the UK, here's both sides of a mixtape I compiled on 5th September 1993. Nearly thirty years ago. What happened?

I've recorded two compilations called All You Need Is Dub, this one on cassette and the other in 2005 on CD-R, both very different selections. The latter was more rooted in old school dub and it's influence on later artists. This mixtape is very much all about electronic music circa 1990-1993, vocals dubbed to a minimum or removed altogether to enhance the dancefloor experience.

 

Setting the bar high is Andrew Weatherall's still jaw-dropping remix of Papua New Guinea by The Future Sound Of London. The 12" single was packed with top notch mixes but this one was on another tier altogether. 

 

Fearlessly following up are the Hartnoll Brothers, Phil and Paul adding a heft to Daydream by Back To The Planet that makes me wish the band had got Orbital to remix more of their music. I first got this on 7" vinyl, the flip side to the original version and an Adrian Sherwood dub. Probably paid less than a couple of quid for it at the time. What a bargain.

Miranda Sex Garden were on the Mute record label but always felt more suited to 4AD. This remix by Danny Rampling only appeared on the 12" single along with a couple more mixes, including another rather good one by Thrash aka Kris Weston of The Orb.

I'd like to pretend I was so on it that I picked up the Palatial single by Love Corporation aka Edward Ball of The Times. Not a chance. However, Creation Records were good at ensuring you didn't miss out by putting out a shedload of compilations that mopped up lots of essential purchases. This version turned up on Do You Believe In Love? released in 1990, the same year as the single. Palatial II was originally a B-side and perhaps in the shadow of Danny Rampling's monumental remix, but I like this mix by Doug Martin a lot.

 

After several attempts with What Time Is Love?, The KLF finally released a chart-smashing version in 1990. I went for the limited edition 12" single which featured an unexpected remix by Echo & The Bunnymen. Much as I'd love to imagine Ian McCulloch at the controls, he was long gone by this point and this is the unloved incarnation that released the Reverberation album which hasn't quite been erased from Bunnymen history. The remix is credited to the band but I'm guessing it maybe largely if not solely Will Sargeant's work. Lots going on, with sitar and tabla replacing the main chord, fuzzy guitar, Star Trek transporter SFX, soundbite samples including Gordon Rollings' "Herbidacious" from a beloved TV series from my childhood. Great stuff.

From Bunnymen to Bowie, with his 1992 comeback single and one of three remixes by Leftfield, who at the time were embroiled in record label shenanigans that prevented them from releasing new music of their own and resulted in some astonishing remixes for other artists. Their 'Dub Oddity' mix of Jump They Say was one of three but (hard) hands down, the best.

Sunsonic were born from the ashes of The Flowerpot Men, who I also liked a lot, though sadly even more short-lived, producing a brilliant album (Melting Down On Motor Angel) and three fantastic singles in 1990. Driveaway was their last, the main single remixed by Graham Massey/808 State, the limited edition 12" single reworked by the band themselves. The Primate Mix strips away the vocals, ups the tempo and adds sparkling synth lines to great effect. 

 

Cabaret Voltaire took what many considered a back step in 1989/90 by making a commercial album that seemed rooted in the present music scene rather than setting the pace for others to follow. Regardless, I loved what they were doing although even I questioned the choice of Easy Life as the third and final single. No matter, the remixes were great including the suitably named Very Strange Mix by Robert Gordon of Forgmasters/Fon Force fame (oh, and a co-founder of Warp Records). 

 

White Love by One Dove was one of those singles that I bought in multiple formats as it was impossible to choose just one. The CD single included Andrew Weatherall remixes and a beautiful 10-minute demo version, whilst the limited edition 12" single featured a brace of Slam remixes that redefined epic. This mixtape features the first of these, a fifteen-and-a-half minute journey from ambient to vocal to techno and back again without ever seeming like it's time to end. Still stunning today.

 

Happiest Girl was one of two new songs accompanying the single release of World In Your Eyes by Depeche Mode. To be honest, I wasn't all that blown away by the single or 12" versions until I bought the (you guessed it) limited edition 12" single. It was a sod to get into, sealed in a blue plastic outer sleeve that you had to physically cut to retrieve the record inside, which included a 'standard' 12" and lavish inner sleeve. Goodness only knows how much the band lost on this one. But the music within was a revelation, not least The Pulsating Orbital Mix of Happiest Girl. Not to be confused with Phil and Paul, who appeared earlier, this was Alex Paterson and Kris Weston aka The Orb, who also had a habit of using the word Orbital in their mix titles to confuse the heck out of we mere record-buying mortals. The Vocal Mix is more readily available these days and pops up on most compilations. No offence Dave Gahan, but this is the go-to mix for me.

 

System 7 had already made an impression with their debut album and singles and 7:7 Expansion was an encouraging primer for the new material that was to follow in 1992. Youth aka Martin Glover delivers a brilliant 10-minute mix with vocal samples echoing Buffalo Gals by Malcolm McLaren and trademark guitar squalls from Steve Hillage. 

 

And back to where we started with the Dub Mix reprise at the end, Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain remixing their own song in succinct fashion.

 

The majority of these versions were only available on vinyl formats back in the day and many have yet to be re-released digitally and/or duplicated in my collection. In other words, there's a fair bit of crisp and crackle in several tracks, betraying their wax origins. I don't think any of it detracts from how bloody good the music is though. 

 

Side One

1) Papua New Guinea (Andrew Weatherall Mix): The Future Sound Of London (1991)

2) Daydream (Orbital Mix By Paul Hartnoll & Phil Hartnoll): Back To The Planet (1993)

3) Gush Forth My Tears (Dance Mix By Danny Rampling): Miranda Sex Garden (1991)

4) Palatial II (Remixed By Doug Martin): Love Corporation (1990)

5) What Time Is Love? (Echo & The Bunnymen Mix): The KLF ft. The Children Of The Revolution (1990)

6) Jump They Say (Dub Oddity Mix By Leftfield aka Neil Barnes & Paul Daley): David Bowie (1992)

Side Two

1) Driveaway (Primate Mix By Sunsonic aka Adam Peters & Ben Watkins): Sunsonic (1991)

2) Easy Life (Very Strange Mix By Robert Gordon): Cabaret Voltaire (1990)

3) White Love (Slam Mix By Stuart McMillan & Orde Meikle): One Dove (1993)

4) Happiest Girl (The Pulsating Orbital Mix By The Orb aka Alex Paterson & Kris Weston): Depeche Mode (1990)

5) 7:7 Expansion (Conspiracy Mix By Youth): System 7 (1992)

6) Papua New Guinea (Dub Mix By Brian Dougans & Garry Cobain): The Future Sound Of London (1991)

Side One (46:35) (KF) (Mega)

Side Two (46:04) (KF) (Mega)

Definitely His Final & Most Fabulous Creation

Side 2 of a mixtape compiled for me by my brother, circa 1995.

For a mid-90s compilation, like Side 1 before it, this selection focuses quite heavily on the tail end of the 80s, with the rest made up of tracks that were already a couple of years old. All essential tracks though, in this blogger's humble opinion.

M|A|R|R|S start things off with what is still one of the finest four minutes of chop and edit sampladelic music ever. Incredible at the time, incredible now to believe that this is 36 years old. Still sounding fresh after all these years.

Ché aka Alex Johnson was completely new to me when I first heard this cassette but will have been included as a club classic from the days before I started going clubbing with my brother and also because I was really getting into Adrian Sherwood, who produced and remixed this song. I've managed to track down other versions of this song since but this remains the definitive version for me.

I loved System 7 from the first time I borrowed my brother's handful of 12" singles and the Ultraworld Colony Mix of Mia is simply spectacular. The Orb's Alex Paterson was 'mix consultant' on this and it shows, lots of trademark Orbient sounds complementing Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy's sonic palette. Producer Nigel Butler also gets a co-writing credit on this one.

For a brief period in the 1980s, Psychic TV went about as pop as they could and ever would, exploring the 1960s in a way that no Levis advert-endorsed reissue or cover version was at the time. None of it really troubled the charts but it was spectacular, including Godstar, their homage to Brian Jones, and a surprisingly faithful cover of The Beach Boys' Good Vibrations which makes every second of it's 7-minute 12" version count. 

The Chrono Psionic Interface is a much-loved song by A Man Called Adam, even more so with Andrew Weatherall at the controls. The Godiva Mix is the one that seems to pop up on t'internet the most though I also love the more conventional, radio friendly mix included here, not least because it features Sally Rodgers' vocals in full.

I might be in a minority here but I think that, as Jesus Loves You, Boy George produced some of the finest music of his career and it still holds up really well. Massive Attack's bass-heavy, sample-laden remix of One On One is just brilliant, up there with their rework of Neneh Cherry's Manchild.

The selection - and the compilation - ends with Fluke, who I adored...and still do. They didn't seem to attract the same level of credit and respect that, say, Orbital and Underworld got, The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim later, and certainly not the stellar commercial success that any of these achieved, which always seemed hugely unjust to me. So many classic singles and remixes throughout the 1990s, though it doesn't get much better than their Make Mine A 99 remix of Groovy Feeling. Thirty years later, still a masterclass in making huge, euphoric dance music.

Damn, is it really on Tuesday? Suddenly feels like a Friday. Oh well, only one thing for it... (presses 'repeat')

1) Pump Up The Volume (7" Version): M|A|R|R|S (1987)

2) Be My (Powerstation) (Bloodsucker Mix By Adrian Sherwood, Ché & Fats Comet): Ché (1986)

3) Mia (Ultraworld Colony Mix By Steve Hillage, Nigel Butler & Alex Paterson): System 7 (1991)

4) Good Vibrations (Kundalini Mix By Phil Harding) (Cover of The Beach Boys): Psychic TV (1986)

5) The Chrono Psionic Interface (Spaced Out Mix By Andrew Weatherall): A Man Called Adam (1991)

6) One On One (Massive Attack Mix): Jesus Loves You (1990)

7) Groovy Feeling (Make Mine A 99): Fluke (1993)

 

Side Two (45:57) (Box) (Mega)

Side One here

The One You Won't Regret

Today's selection started out with the intention of being a relaxed, laidback affair, triggered by a week revisiting Baby Ford's brilliant 1992 album Bford 9. I think somewhere along the line it morphed into a late night/headphones kind of vibe...

The nine tracks are all drawn from albums I've been listening to this week, several purchased last year, some having been in my possession for many years and one picked up one of two compulsory Sahel Sounds purchases last Bandcamp Friday. An eclectic bunch, it has to be said, but I think they make good partners.

I'll revisit Bford 9 again in the future but suffice to say my previous preconceptions about Baby Ford were completely upended by this album. I bought it on spec for £7.99 from a record shop in Yate (#45 in 2003's Top 50 Crap Towns) a couple of years after it's release and it's remained one of my favourite electronica/dance albums. There's a vocal version of 20, Park Drive; I've opted for the instrumental version to open this selection, to set the (languid) pace.

Happy Ending by Hifi Sean and David McAlmont was officially released in February this year. To say I love it is an understatement. In fact, I love it so much that when I got the double vinyl last December as a Last Night From Glasgow subscriber, I made it my 2022 album of the year. Transatlantic is a beautiful, downtempo moment, sweeping strings and shiver-inducing vocals.

Electribe 101's contribution dates from 1992 though didn't see an official release for three decades due to the record label dropping them midway through recording their second album. I wrote about it last January in anticipation of the album's long awaited release (thanks to Billie Ray Martin) and it didn't disappoint. Conquering Tomorrow is a bonus track on the CD, a brief instrumental that segues neatly into the next song on this selection.

My sideways step into the world of New York indie pop trio Au Revoir Simone came via their appearance on Paris by Friendly Fires. I picked up a few freebie sample songs via the now-defunct RCRD LBL website and then bought 2009 album Still Night, Still Light, followed by 2010 remix companion Night Light. The version of Take Me As I Am featured here is from the latter, London-based DJ Max Cooper delivering a shimmering version with hushed vocals coming in quite late.

 

Telefís was an inspired meeting of minds between Cathal Coughlan and Garret 'Jacknife' Lee. Debut album a hAon was released in 2022 and whilst the equally excellent follow up a Dó came in October the same year, it sadly proved to be a posthumous release, due to Cathal's untimely passing in May. Picadors is taken from a hAon and an example of a duo at the top of their game, lyrically and sonically. A tragic loss.

I featured a System 7 selection at the end of April and they've continued to be on my playlist since. The Abyss is the penultimate track on 2001 album Seventh Wave, seven and a half minutes of ambient waves which Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy do so well.

 

From there and another of my favourite albums of 2022, And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood. Another spine-tinglingly beautiful vocal, this isn't really ambient at all, more 1970s West Coast vibe yet it was an obvious next step from the System 7 song. The build towards the end is just wonderful.

 

Whilst I have a few Wau Wau Collectif songs from previous Sahel Sounds compilations, Friday saw my first purchase of a full length album by them, their second as it transpires. The Senegalese musicians collaborate again with Sweden’s Karl Jonas Winqvist, a name I only recognise from his work with James Yorkston & The Secondhand Orchestra. Again, Mariage Forcé is not a song that would be described as 'chill out' but I was struck by the tone of the two-second intro nearly matching that of the closing seconds of the Weyes Blood song, which made for a serendipitous pairing.

On more familiar territory for the closer, with William Orbit. Strange Cargo was the title of his second album in 1987, with volumes II and III following in the 1990s. The next volume in 1995 was confusingly credited to Strange Cargo and titled Hinterland. Business as usual belatedly resumed (and reverted to a William Orbit release) in 2014 with Strange Cargo 5. Kiss Of The Bee appears on the standalone Strange Cargo release in 1995, featuring Beth Orton and Christine Leach. Beth was about to release her second solo album, to great acclaim, whilst Christine fronted Baby Fox, who were unfairly lumped in with the mid-90s trip hop set.

 

1) 20, Park Drive (Inst): Baby Ford (1992)

2) Transatlantic: Hifi Sean & David McAlmont (2022)

3) Conquering Tomorrow: Electribe 101 (1992)

4) Take Me As I Am (Max Cooper Remix): Au Revoir Simone (2010)

5) Picadors (Album Version): Telefís (2022)

6) The Abyss: System 7 (2001)

7) God Turn Me Into A Flower: Weyes Blood (2022)

8) Mariage Forcé: Wau Wau Collectif (2022)

9) Kiss Of The Bee: Strange Cargo ft. Beth Orton & Christine Leach (1995) 

 

1992: Bford 9: 1

1995: Hinterland: 9

2001: Seventh Wave: 6

2010: Night Light: 4

2022: a hAon: 5 

2022: And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow: 7

2022: Electribal Soul: 3

2022: Happy Ending: 2 

2022: Mariage: 8

 

The One You Won't Regret (47:34) (Box) (Mega) 

Wave Forms

Back to System 7 aka Steve Hillage, Miquette Giraudy and various other travellers including Nicola Capobianco, Tony Thorpe, Bruno Catala, Adam Wren and Japanese space rock supergroup Rovo.

The first Dubhed selection since the 1991 mixtape I discovered in the attic back in December 2021, this is another half dozen songs, spanning 1992 to 2013 and likely to induce an involuntary rhythmic reaction at various points over the next 46 minutes.

 

1) Space Bird (Liquid Soul Remix By Nicola Capobianco) (2008)

2) Ring Of Fire (Volcaniq Mix By System 7) (1998)

3) 7:7 Expansion (Nutritious Mix By Tony Thorpe) (1992)

4) Hinotori (System 7 2013 Remix): Rovo & System 7 (2013)

5) Manik Shamanik (Album Version By System 7 & Bruno Catala) (2001)

6) Big Sky City (Remix By System 7 & Adam Wren) (1996)

1992: 7:7 Expansion EP: 3

1996: Volume Seventeen: 6

1998: Ring Of Fire EP: 2

2001: Seventh Wave: 5

2008: Space Bird EP: 1

2013: Hinotori EP: 4

Wave Forms (46:52) (Box) (Mega)

You can find my System 7 mixtape from 1991 here

Heaven Leads To Hell

Side 2 of a mixtape, recorded 13th July 1997 and featuring a selection of 1990s favourites.

First appearance on this blog for German acid techno duo Hardfloor aka Oliver Bondzio and Ramon Zenker. Mr. Anderson was an early single on the Harthouse label, typical of the Hardfloor sound with hard beats and a chorus of Roland TB-303 bass synthesizers in the breakdown. 

 

Propellerheads aka Alex Gifford and Will White were everywhere in the mid-late 1990s, collaborating with Dame Shirley Bassey and composing the theme tune to The Graham Norton Show on Channel 4. They were also ubiquitous remixers and this, combined with Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield on vocals, helped (excuse the pun) propel Lopez by 808 State to #20 in the UK singles chart in February 1997.

A Man Called Adam aka Sally Rodgers and Steve Jones called in another duo, Glasgow heavyweights Slam aka Stuart MacMillan and Order Meikle, to remix Bread, Love And Dreams from their debut album The Apple. The sleeve of the single features Sally Rodgers' arse but there's not a single bum note (sorry, no more puns) in this remix.

 

I bought the 12" single of Sincere / 3-Wheel Crash by Robin Reliant for the sole reason that it was on the Finiflex label and it turned out to be a safe bet. Robin Hickman is joined on The Unstable Mix of the latter by John Vick and Fred Parsons aka Mr. Samples and Phunky Torso for ten minutes of progressive house, which really hits the spot.

 

Bumble were an early 1990s act that sought to marry club beats with traditional Irish music. 1992's West In Motion was released on U2's Mother label (yes, really). It caught the attention of Andrew Weatherall who provided an epic twelve minute remix, which itself laid the groundwork for his subsequent and equally epic remix of Peace Together with Sabres Of Paradise. The original cassette compilation featured Bumble's own club mix of the track, featuring Breda Mayock on vocals. I've swapped it here, mainly because I haven't ripped the 12" single in full but also because it gives me an excuse to include an alternative Weatherall mix, which appeared on a white label 12" and the CD single. 

 

Rounding things off is System 7 aka Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy, with the lush synth-rinsed breakbeats of Interstate, as remixed by Doc Scott. I'm a huge fan of System 7 and the duo's ongoing thirst for collaboration with contemporary artists. Simultaneously urgent and calming, this mix of Interstate is eight minutes but could have stretched to at least twice the length and not outstayed it's welcome. 

1) Mr. Anderson: Hardfloor (1994)

2) Lopez (Hard On) (A Progressive Mix By The Propellerheads): 808 State ft. James Dean Bradfield (1997)

3) Bread, Love And Dreams (Slam Mix): A Man Called Adam (1992)

4) 3-Wheel Crash (The Unstable Mix): Robin Reliant (1993)

5) West In Motion (Andrew Weatherall Drum Mix): Bumble (1992)

6) Interstate (Doc Scott Mix): System 7 (1995)

Side Two (46:55) (Box) (Mega)

Is There Room In Your Life For One More Trip To The Moon?

In case you were disappointed by Friday's lack of beat-laden bangers, here's a suitably slipshod mix to see in Saturday. 

As usual, it's an eclectic mix spanning 1993 to 2022. It may not keep you moving, as k.d. lang implores, but you will hopefully get an involuntary twitch or jerk here and there. I would like to apologise for the cack-handed segueways and fade ins but if I did, I'd have to do so for each and every track. Hopefully, the quality of the tunes will encourage you to overlook my enthusiastic but amateurish approach...!

A couple of current loves in here, including one of many excellent remixes of the current David Holmes single and the latest in a consistent series of great one-off tracks by Pye Corner Audio aka Martin Jenkins. There are some reworkings of musical legends Gong, Kraftwerk and The Cure and - I couldn't resist - two helpings of Andrew Weatherall, back-to-back. 

The opening twofer by Baron Von Luxxury aka Blake Robin and k.d. lang remixed by Tony Garcia may be a bit of red herring regarding the subsequent direction of the mix, but I think it just about works. 

I've also dropped in a bit of uptempo Four Tet, from Kieran Hebden's excellent 2020 album Parallels, as well as Confidence Man. The latter track might be from 2017, but their current album Tilt is on constant rotation at Casa Khayem.

 

To close, another Dubhed favourite, Dan Wainwright. Dan and his partner Elle Redding have just released a new album, Mother Oak, which I received this week, so expect to a further appearance here in the not too distant future.

1) I'm Not Bad, I'm Just Drawn That Way (Instrumental): Baron Von Luxxury (2013)

2) Just Keep Me Moving (Wild Planet Mix By Tony Garcia): k.d. lang (1993)

3) It's Over, If We Run Out Of Love (Working Mens Club Remix): David Holmes ft. Raven Violet (2022)

4) A Sprinkling Of Clouds (Belly Dance Mix By System 7): Gong (1999)

5) Evidence The Enemy: Andrew Weatherall (2017)

6) Bubblegum (Andrew Weatherall Remix): Confidence Man (2017)

7) Aerodynamik (Intelligent Design Mix By Alexis Taylor & Joe Goddard): Kraftwerk (2007)

8) Wrong Number (Crossed Line Mix By Omid Nourizadeh): The Cure (1997)

9) Parallel 8: Four Tet (2020)

10) Dirty Window Of Opportunity: Pye Corner Audio (2022)

11) Nothing Ever Stays The Same: Dan Wainwright (2021)

Is There Room In Your Life For One More Trip To The Moon? (47:45)

There Could Never Be A Time More Vital To This Earth

I had no idea who Steve Hillage was before System 7. I had very little interest in prog rock or it's subsequent pretenders to the crown. The closest I came being my school friend Phil, who lent me his Marillion albums and singles. I don't think I ever need to listen to 18 minute B-side Grendel ever again...

 

But I digress. Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy formed System 7 as a response to the late 1980s emerging dance music movement, collaborating with Alex Paterson/The Orb on 1990 debut single Sunburst. Collaboration was key from the start and other fellow travellers in those early recordings included Youth (Killing Joke), Paul Oakenfold, Thrash (aka Kris Weston), Derrick May, Steve Waddington (The Beloved), Nigel Butler (subsequently of Hysterix & theaudience) and vocal performers Aniff Cousins (Chapter + The Verse), Monday Michiru and Zoë, to name a few.

 

My brother had been buying loads of 12" singles whilst I'd been away travelling during 1990/91 and had Habibi and Freedom Fighters, which were my entry point to System 7. I've followed them intermittently since and they're still going strong. Hillage was entering his 40s when System 7 formed and turned 70 this August. Proof if needed that you're never too old to create music for the head and the feet, even if my body audibly creaks a lot more when I move...

 

I was going through some boxes in the attic last week and came across this C90 cassette that I recorded in September 1992, compiling my brother's 12" singles on one side and a cut-down version of The Shamen's En-Tact CD on the other. We'd found ourselves both living back at home with our parents: he'd just finished a degree; I'd gone back to college to do A-Levels, after dropping out six months in the first time around. I guess we were both looking for some kind of escape.

 

1) Habibi (Another World Mix By Robin Hancock & Hein Hoven) (ft. Olu Rowe)

2) Mia (Ultraworld Colony Mix By Steve Hillage, Nigel Butler & Alex Paterson)

3) Freedom Fighters (Praying By The Sea Mix By Robin Hancock) (ft. Aniff Cousins, Monday Michiru & Zoë)

4) Miracle (Orb Remix By Alex Paterson & Thrash) (Full Length)

5) Habibi (The Camel Mix By Miquette Giraudy & Andy Falconer) 

6) Depth Disco (Extended Mix By Steve Hillage & Tyrrell)

 

1991: MIracle EP: 2, 4

1991: Habibi EP: 1

1991: Freedom Fighters EP: 3, 6 

1993: Feed Your Head: 5

 

Note: 

Track 4 was originally the 5:35 edit found on the 12" of Habibi. The full length version here is from the Miracle CD single and also on the USA version of System 7's debut album, confusingly titled 777 by 777.

 

Track 5 was originally the Tex Mix, found on the limited edition clear vinyl 12" of Habibi. I don't have my own copy of this so I've swapped it for a completely different mix, which also more or less retains the running time of my original cassette.

There Could Never Be A Time More Vital To This Earth (46:27) (Box) (Mega)

Concocting A Rhythm That You Could Get Lost In...

Side 1 of a mixtape, recorded 5th September 1993, collecting some choice remixes and club cuts from 1989 to 1992. This is the 2nd appearance on this blog of The Stereo MC's remix of Television, previously featured on a 2003 mix CD and my favourite version of the song. Tracks 3 & 7 are taken from a 1990 2CD compilation, Dancemasters Vol. I: The Twelve Inch Mixes. Pianonegro is built around a sample from Masimba Bele by The Unknown Cases. Family Affair is remixed by Mark Brydon, post-Chakk and pre-Moloko and at the time one half of Fon Force. Sly & The Family Stone's Larry Graham provides lead vocals on the closing track by Fortran 5, Dave Lee sprinkling his customary 70s disco dust to great effect. Along the way, you get: a vocal-free opener from Swedish funk/hip-hop act The Stonefunkers; an early-ish remix by Judge Jules of Tim Hutton, perhaps now better known for his work with Groove Armada's Tom Findlay as Sugardaddy; System 7 collaborating with Derrick May and showcasing the wonderful vocals of Ultra Naté; Merlin and Billie Ray Martin trading off on a standout track from Original Soundtrack, the debut album by S'Express.

1) Can U Follow (TV Track): The Stonefunkers (1991)

2) Television, The Drug Of The Nation (Ultimatum Remix By The Stereo MC's): The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy (1991)

3) Pianonegro (Honky Tonk Remix By Creative Source aka Tim Bran, Ingmar Kiang & Nick Harris): Pianonegro (1990)

4) The Prophet (Vocal Dub Mix By Judge Jules): Tim Hutton (1992)

5) Altitude (Paradox) (Deep Mix By Steve Hillage & Derrick May): System 7 ft. Ultra Naté (1992)

6) Pimps, Pushers, Prostitutes (Album Version): S'Express ft. Merlin & Billie Ray Martin (1989)

7) Family Affair (Echo Vox Mix By Mark Brydon): Sly & The Family Stone (1990)

8) Look To The Future (Joey Negro's "Future Mind" Mix By Dave Lee & Andrew Livingstone): Fortran 5 ft. Larry Graham & Candy Mckenzie (1992)

Side One (46:25) (Box) (Mega)

Praying To The Skies...!

Side 1 of a mixtape, originally recorded 20th July 1992. 
 

1) In Yer Face (In Yer Face Mix): 808 State (1991) 

2) Don't Walk Away (Remixed By Cabaret Voltaire & Parrot): Cabaret Voltaire (1991)

3) Cascades (Hypnotone Mix By Tony Martin) (Edit): Sheer Taft ft. Ingrid Kudos (1990)

4) Nothing (Has Been Proved Mix By Chad Jackson): Frazier Chorus (1990)

5) Don't Fight It, Feel It (Scat Mix By Andrew Weatherall & Hugo Nicolson): Primal Scream ft. Denise Johnson (1991)

6) Let's Go To Bed (Milk Mix By Mark Saunders): The Cure (1990)

7) Freedom Fighters (Praying By The Sea Mix): System 7 ft. Aniff Cousins, Monday Michiru & Zoë (1991)

Side One (45:03)