He Who Seeks Only Vanity And No Love For Humanity Shall Fade Away

One of my music reissue highlights of 2021 was New Age Steppers career-spanning box set, Stepping Into A New Age 1980-2012. In addition to their three albums from the 1980s and the 2012 reunion, there's an additional album of previously unreleased dubs and outtakes. 

I was only really familiar with their debut self-titled album and follow-up Action Battlefield, both from 1981, so it was a delight to immerse myself in the set as as whole and it's one that I've repeatedly come back to in the past year. The much-missed Ari Up and Bim Sherman add a unique vocal edge, as does Denise Sherwood and the then-teenage Neneh Cherry. Musically it's all underpinned by a red hot line-up variously including Style Scott, Bruce Smith, George Oban, Viv Albertine, Skip McDonald, Nick Coplowe and Doctor Pablo, and (of course) Adrian Sherwood at the controls.

 

You can buy the individual albums on vinyl or digital formats, or the 5-disc box set on vinyl, digital or CD via Bandcamp. Well worth every penny, as today's selection hopefully demonstrates.

Side One

1) Fade Away (Album Version) (1981)

2) I Scream (Rimshot) (1981)

3) 5 Dog Race (1983)

4) Love Forever (1981) 

Side Two

1) Abderhamane's Demise (Album Version) (1981)

2) The Worst Of Me (ft. Denise Sherwood) (2012)

3) Wide World Version (Dub By Adrian Sherwood) (Cover of 'My Whole World' by Bim Sherman) (1981)

4) Vice Of My Enemies (ft. Bim Sherman) (1983)

5) My Love (Album Version) (Cover of The Gaylads) (ft. Neneh Cherry & Bim Sherman) (1981)

 

1981: The New Age Steppers: A1, A4, B1

1981: Action Battlefield: B5

1983: Foundation Steppers: A3, B4

2004: Action Battlefield (Japan-only bonus tracks): B3

2012: Love Forever: B2

2021: Avant Gardening: A2, B3

Side One (21:15)

Side Two (22:01)

I Shall Not Want

Swiss Adam at Bagging Area has been sharing lots of new mixes from David Holmes, including this brilliant Andrew Weatherall tribute, a megamix of Smokebelch by Sabres Of Paradise and Come Together by Primal Scream.

 

David Holmes continues to release music and mixes that excite, inspire and take the listener on a joyous and emotional journey. And he's been doing it for decades, as this promo mix from a London Xpress/NME giveaway in 2000 attests.

 

As Adam commented in relation to David Holmes' recent Desert Island Disco mix, this is another (nearly) "half hour of uplifting and emotional songs perfectly sequenced to lift the spirits". It's hard to believe that Holmes can fit so much brilliance into less than 30 minutes. A true master. 

 

1) Family Of God: Family Of God (Adam Peters & Chris Brick) (1996)
2) Check Out My New Jesus: Joy Zipper (1999)
3) Commercial Break: David Holmes (2000)
4) Hey Lisa: David Holmes (2000)
5) Morning Broadway: Keith Mansfield (1969)
6) Cat Casanova: Gian Piero Reverberi (1976)
7) Getting Off: Hot Butter (1975)
8) Sunshine Of Your Love (Cover of Cream): Ella Fitzgerald (1968)

London Xpress: David Holmes (26:15) (KF) (Mega)

Joyeux Anniversaire

There will be a lot of media buzz around the fact that today is composer John Williams' 90th birthday. There may also be a slight internet hum that it's also Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil's 61st birthday. 

Instead, my birthday shout out is Guillaume Emmanuel "Guy-Manuel" De Homem-Christo, born 8th February 1974. Best known (aurally, at least) as one half of Daft Punk, in typically contrary fashion, I'm opting instead for his collaboration with Eric Chedeville as Le Knight Club. After all, Tuesday's a great day for filtered French house, right?

These two tracks were released as a double A-side 12" in June 2001 and one of the few releases by Le Knight Club (as far as I can tell) to have accompanying promo videos.

I didn't mark Thomas Bangalter's birthday on 3rd January but we're coming up to one year since Daft Punk decided to call it a day, so I'll possibly make amends then.

 

Gator: Le Knight Club (2001) 

Chérie D'Amoure: Le Knight Club (2001)

Live Your Life Filled With Joy And Thunder

Last Friday, The Anchoress aka Catherine Anne Davies released a cover of Sweetness Follows by R.E.M. I missed the first Bandcamp Friday of 2022 but my inbox as usual was chock full of emails informing me of the slew of releases and reissues to coincide. 

 

I gave it a miss this month as I have recently resumed digitising my CD collection. I have boxes and boxes and boxes of CD albums, singles and compilations, many of which haven't been played for years. In the hope of another house move in the near future, I can't face the prospect of moving lots of stuff from one attic to another, only to promise that I'll sort it out "soon".

The Anchoress has been issuing a new cover version every Bandcamp Friday for a while now, having previously released Reprise: The Covers Collection in 2012. I've become a big fan of Catherine Anne Davies' music since jumping in slightly belatedly with In Memory Of My Feelings, her collaboration with Bernard Butler in 2020, then buying the two albums as The Anchoress. However, I've tended to skip the recent covers, partly because of the higher price tag (£2.40 including VAT for a single song) and partly because I'm waiting in the hope that a dozen or so will be collected as a follow up to the Reprise album.

However, I couldn't ignore this one. R.E.M. debuted the song on 1992's Automatic For The People and it's a beautifully delivered song ending Side 1, Michael Stipe's vocal underpinned by Knox Chandler's cello. Davies opts for an even more pared back version, with shimmering organ notes and multi-tracked vocals. It's a moving take ond worth every penny.

Hurry up, though: these cover versions tend to only be up for a week before disappearing. 

 

Catherine Anne Davies is (hopefully) back on stage in the UK as The Anchoress from next month and it would be great to hear this performed live. By way of contrast, I've added a typically great live rendition by R.E.M., this one performed in Montreux, Switzerland on 6th July 1999.

 

Sweetness Follows (Cover of R.E.M.): The Anchoress (2022)

Sweetness Follows (Live @ Stravinski Auditorium, Montreux, Switzerland): R.E.M. (1999)

Flying In The Face Of Fashion

A very special mix for a very special friend on a very special day. Happy birthday, Claire!

 

51 minutes of pure '80s, picked from the vinyl and mixtapes we used to listen to at yours on Sundays and after school, particularly Talk Talk 12" singles, and not forgetting two memorable gigs, seeing The Damned and The Psychedelic Furs live in concert. 

From those days as 15 year old dreamers to today, whether we've been in or out of contact, the world is a brighter place for having you on it. Have a wonderful day, my beautiful friend.

 

xx

1) Messages (10" Version): O.M.D. (1980)

2) Fade To Grey (Dance Mix): Visage (1981)

3) Love My Way (U.S Remix): The Psychedelic Furs (1982)

4) Blind Vision (Edited Version): Blancmange (1983)

5) A Question Of Lust (Album Version): Depeche Mode (1986)

6) Give It Up (Album Version): Talk Talk (1986)

7) World Shut Your Mouth (Julian Cope vs. Trouble Funk) (12" Mix): Julian Cope (1986)

8) Anything (Yet Another Mix): The Damned (1986)

9) Desire (Come And Get It) (Extended Version): Gene Loves Jezebel (1986)

10) Nightporter (Remixed By Steve Nye) (12"): Japan (1982)

1980: Messages (10"): 1

1981: Visage (USA 12"): 2

1982: Nightporter (12"): 10

1983: Blind Vision (USA 12"): 4 

1986: Anything (Limited Edition Yellow Vinyl Remix 10"): 8

1986: Desire (Come And Get It) (12"): 9

1986: Give It Up (12"): 6

1986: Pretty In Pink (12"): 3

1986: A Question Of Lust (12"): 5

1986: World Shut Your Mouth (Limited Edition Remix 12"): 7

 

Flying In The Face Of Fashion (51:06) (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)

Humble Yourself, My Children

As highlighted by Ernie Goggins at the always entertaining 27 Leggies blog on 1st February, Jamaica is currently celebrating Reggae Month. Ernie marked the occasion with music from a personal favourite, on what would have been the legendary Dennis Brown's 65th birthday. In typical fashion, I'd celebrated Dennis Brown here two weeks early.

By way of compensation and further celebration, here's more Dennis, accompanied by several other reggae legends, on a selection of cuts from 1972 to 1977. Most of the songs feature the vocal A-side paired with the version B-side, predominantly featuring The Aggrovators, for an extended rhythm. Is there a better way to roll into the weekend? Possibly, but this is pretty much guaranteed to shake you from a slumber to a slink in less than an hour.

 

1) Can You Feel It (Sufferation Every Day) (12" Version By Niney The Observer): Junior Byles (1977)

2) Skylarking / A Better Version (12" Version By Bunny Lee / King Tubby): Horace Andy ft. The Aggrovators (1976)

3) Declaration Of Rights / Dub Of Rights (12" Version By Bunny Lee) (Cover of The Abyssinians): Johnny Clarke ft. The Aggrovators (1975)

4) Jah Jah Is The Conqueror / Conqueror Dub (12" Version By Bunny Lee): Linval Thompson ft. The Aggrovators (1975)

5) Invasion (Wa Da Da) / Invasion Version (12" Version By Bunny Lee) (Cover of Burning Spear): Jackie Edwards ft. The Aggrovators (1976)

6) Wolf And Leopards (12" Version By Niney The Observer): Dennis Brown (1976)

7) Stir It Up (Album Version By Bob Marley & Chris Blackwell): Bob Marley & The Wailers (1972)

Humble Yourself, My Children (43:12)

Ultra Stereo Field Dub Mixes

Side 2 of a mixtape, compiled 23rd January 2002, and showcasing the remixing and production talents of Leftfield aka Neil Barnes and Paul Daley. 

 

Side 1 of Ultra Stereo Field Mixes was labelled 'Vocalfield', this side 'Dubfield' so you'll have a good idea what to expect from today's selection. Drawing heavily on debut album Leftism and their prolific remix period in the early 1990s when record label entanglements prevented Leftfield from releasing their own music, this is as good a snapshot as any of why the duo were at the forefront of electonic/dance music and remain hugely influential to this day.

The selection opens with the Leftism version of Release The Pressure, led by Earl Sixteen and one of the best opening album tracks ever. The remixes of Sunscreem and If? are (I think) ones that pop up infrequently, compilers opting for the longer main mixes with more vocals, but I have a great love for these variations. And the two remixes of Unforgiven compelled me to buy a D:Ream single against my better judgement at the time, and I wasn't disappointed. Add two other Leftism classics and a brilliant remix of React 2 Rhythm's Intoxication and how can you wrong? If your body isn't moved by these rolling beats in the next three quarters of an hour, you may need to check your pulse and seek urgent medical attention.

 

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

2) Unforgiven (Leftfield Hands Mix): D:Ream (1993)

3) Melt (Album Version): Leftfield (1995)

4) Perfect Motion (One Down Mix By Leftfield): Sunscreem (1992)

5) Everything And More (Leftfield Dub Ranch): If? (1992)

6) Song Of Life (Album Version): Leftfield (1995)

7) Intoxication (Dubfield Mix By Leftfield): React 2 Rhythm (1992)

Side Two (45:55) 

You can find Side One here

There's 70 Billion People In There

Side 1 of a Cabaret Voltaire mixtape, compiled by my brother in September 1990 as a going away gift just before I went off to Australia for a year, 19 years old, naive and fearless... well, that last bit wasn't quite true. If I thought too long about it, I was bricking it at the prospect of going to the other side of the world solo and essentially making it up as I went along. But I also sensed it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity and I didn't want to pass it up. One of the best decisions I ever made...even more incredible, given some of the poor choices I'd made in the previous couple of years...!

I digress. My brother is a huge Cabaret Voltaire fan, so I listened to a lot of their music blasting from the bedroom next door when we both lived at home and subsequently in his bedsit in Bristol's Stokes Croft area in the latter part of the 1980s. To be honest, I liked Cabaret Voltaire but I'd always gravitated towards their more poppy (if that's the right word for it) or dancefloor oriented material. This is probably reflected in the choice of tracks on this mixtape.

I was blown away by the Yashar 12" (my brother had the original Factory release, of course), both of the John Robie mixes cropping up on mixtapes of my own around that time. I remember getting the coach driver to stick a couple of my cassettes on during a Biology field trip to the Forest of Dean, which will have included Yashar, largely to the indifference of my schoolmates. 

I've tweaked today's selection slightly. Side 1 originally closed with Landslide from 1981's Red Mecca. As with many mixtapes I made or received, there'd often be a 2 minute 'filler' track to pad out a side of a cassette. Good though the track is, I suspect this was the case with Landslide, so I've dropped it and closed with Sensoria instead. To balance the running time, I've also swapped the album version of I Want You for the 12" Mix. 

The mixtape title, as I learned relatively recently, is a mishearing of the vocal sample used on Yashar. The correct wording is, "There's 70 billion people of Earth, where are they hiding?", taken from a 1964 episode of American TV series, The Outer Limits. The episode in question is Demon With A Glass Hand, episode 5 of season 2, written by Harlan Ellison and with the sampled phrase voiced by Robert Culp. Cabaret Voltaire revisited this episode for samples on other tracks on the albums The Voice Of America (1980) and Plasticity (1992).

1) Automotivation (1985)

2) Hypnotised (D.M.D.O.R. Mix By Daniel Miller) (ft. Ten City) (1989)

3) I Want You (12" Mix) (1985)

4) No Escape (Cover of The Seeds) (1979)

5) Yashar (John Robie Mix 2) (1982)

6) White Car (Album Version By Cabaret Voltaire & Adrian Sherwood) (1987)

7) Just Fascination (12" Remix By Cabaret Voltaire & John Luongo) (1982)

8) Sensoria (Album Version By Cabaret Voltaire & Flood) (1984)

 

1979: Mix-Up: 4 

1983: Crackdown/Just Fascination EP: 7

1982: Yashar EP: 5

1984: Micro-Phonies: 8

1985: Gasoline In Your Eye (VHS): 1

1985: I Want You EP: 3 

1987: Code: 6

1989: Hypnotised EP: 2

 

Side One (45:15) (KF) (Mega)

A Boris You Can Actually Like

I started the draft of today's post several times on the back of the news following the publication of Sue's Gray's report on the government's "lockdown socialising". This version is only 12 pages - we're promised it in full when the police investigations into 12 of the 16 events covered in the report have concluded - but it's a damning indictment of the currently incumbent PM and his cronies. The sheer contempt and complete lack of remorse that he continues to display is galling. His (surely inevitable) political downfall is tempered only by the thought of how much money he stands to make from the consultancy/non-exec director/public speaking racket that awaits former politicians, no matter how incompetent they are. Shame on you and those politicians like you, who smirk whilst being confronted with your lies and obfuscations. Shame on you.

In an attempt to offer some balance, musically if not politically, here's a Boris that doesn't make my hackles rise every time I hear them. Boris Dlugosch has been releasing music for over 25 years now (!) but for me his peaks will always be his collaborations with the ever-incredible Róisín Murphy. In reverse chronological order, with titles that seem spookily apt for the aforementioned Bozo, we have Never Enough from 2013 and Look Around You from 2001. Both pumping, exuberant club tunes but with videos featuring far too little of Ms. Murphy, to be honest.

This is easily remedied by going back to their first collaboration in 1999, Boris' remix of Moloko's Sing It Back which transformed a modestly-successful single into a ubiquitous global smash when re-released. And a video with Róisín Murphy being, well, brilliantly Róisín Murphy.

 

Look Around You (Radio Edit): Boris Dlugosch ft. Róisín Murphy (2013)

Never Enough (Radio Version): Boris Dlugosch ft. Róisín Murphy (2001)

Sing It Back (Boris Musical Mix By Boris Dlugosch & Michael Lange): Moloko (1999)