9 of the best – sounds of 1990

Looking beyond the pervasive sounds of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, ‘Ice Ice Baby’ and ‘World In Motion’, 1990 had so much more to offer. For the weekend, I give you my favourite sounds that year, in no particular order…

Primal Scream – Loaded

Beltram – Energy Flash

Happy Mondays – Kinky Afro

Depeche Mode – Enjoy The Silence

Cocteau Twins – Cherry Coloured Funk

Smallage – Together

The Orb – Little Fluffy Clouds

Pet Shop Boys – Being Boring

Adamski feat. Seal – Killer

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Honourable mentions also go to: Enigma for ‘Callas Went Away‘; Happy Mondays for ‘Step On‘; A Tribe Called Quest for ‘Can I Kick It?‘; Faith No More for ‘Falling To Pieces‘; The KLF for ‘Wichita Lineman Was A Song I Once Heard‘; Lush for ‘De-Luxe‘; The Charlatans ‎for ‘The Only One I Know‘; and LFO for ‘LFO‘

Adamski feat. Seal ‎- Killer (1990)

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A bonus post this morning… 10 years after Japan’s ‘Quiet Life’, British electronic music had changed dramatically. After the success of his acid house album Liveanddirect, producer/DJ Adam Tinley’s (aka Adamski) ambitions had grown. He had recorded the instrumental track ‘Killer’, but wanted to add vocals. Rather than use a sample, Adamski hired Samuel Adeola (aka Seal) whom he’d met in a club. Seal wrote his own lyrics and recorded the vocals in one take – the resulting house/pop crossover became one of the biggest tunes of 1990 worldwide.

Laurent Garnier ‎- The Man With The Red Face (2000)

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I end the week with a seminal slice of progressive house music. French DJ and producer, Laurent Garnier released ‘The Man With The Red Face’ on the Parisian label F Communications. It was techno, but a very busy crossover version, full of blissful horns and jazzy hooks. This was the sound of hedonism in 2000. Have a great weekend.

High Tide ‎- Time Unlimited (1990)

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Released in 1990, High Tide’s ‘Time Unlimited’ is a standout italo house track. What sets it part today is the fact that, unlike may of its contemporary releases, it still sounds fresh. Forsaking the typical italo piano chords in favour of a harp sample and acoustic guitar, it has a real Balearic beach vibe. We need a serene sun dance this week. Have a great weekend, peeps.

The KLF – 3 A.M. Eternal (Pure Trance 2) (1989)

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After the success of their underground dancefloor hit ‘What Time Is Love?’, Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty continued to explore acid house with the second single in their Pure Trance series. ‘3 A.M. Eternal’ would subsequently be remixed and updated to play to the stadium crowds that the Kopyright Liberation Front (aka The KLF) could draw by 1990/91. This is the 1989 original. Have a great week.

9 of the best – sounds of 1991

A compilation for my hangover. Also a compilation for what looks like its going to be one of the last sunny days in September. I was immersed in dance music in 1991, but R.E.M., Nirvana, Mercury Rev and Lenny Kravitz were able to break into a best-of list otherwise dominated by the sound of house music.

Orbital – Belfast

Mercury Rev – Frittering

Massive Attack – Unfinished Sympathy

Moby – Go (Woodtick Mix)

Future Sound of London – Papua New Guinea

R.E.M. – Losing My Religion

George Michael – Cowboys and Angels

Lenny Kravitz ‎- It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over

Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit

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Honourable mentions also go to: Saint Etienne for ‘Nothing Can Stop Us Now‘; My Bloody Valentine for ‘Only Shallow‘; De La Soul for ‘A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays‘; Photon Inc. for ‘Generate Power (Wild Pitch Mix)‘; Crystal Waters for ‘Gypsy Woman‘; Altern 8 for ‘Infiltrate 202‘; Björk for ‘Hyperballad’; A Tribe Called Quest feat Leaders Of The New School for ‘Scenario‘; Slam for ‘Eterna‘; Frankie Knuckles for ‘The Whistle Song‘ and Last Rhythm and Silvie Carter for ‘Last Rhythm‘.

Maceo Plex & Gabriel Ananda – Solitary Daze (2014)

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To end the week on a dark but euphoric note…. one of the deepest techno tunes of all time was brought about when Cologne-based Gabriel Ananda got together with American producer Eric Estornel (aka Maceo Plex) to create ‘Solitary Daze’. Have a great weekend,

Rampa, Adam Port, &Me – Muyè (2017)

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The German label Keinemusik has established itself on the electronic music scene over the last decade. In 2017, a group of the label’s founders and house acts released the label’s first album You Are Safe. Rampa, Adam Port, &Me strike a balance between deep house and techno. The track ‘Muyè’ stands out for its Afro house vibe.

Ed Wizard & Disco Double Dee – Straight Up (2012)

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Dave Allison (aka Ed Wizard & Disco Double Dee) has been a prolific producer of funky, disco cuts for the last decade or so. ‘Straight Up’ is an edit of Benjamin Latimore’s classic ‘Let’s Straighten It Out’. The piano disco refresh and vocal makeover gives it a beach vibe for a sunny weekend.

Four Tet – Locked (2012)

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Mixer, producer and DJ Kieran Hebden has been making music as Four Tet since 1997. 15 years in, he released a collection of dance singles as Pink, his sixth studio album. Continuing to draw from his Indian roots and his love of jazz, techno and hip hop, he opens the album with ‘Locked’. Cosmic dissonance abounf for a chill Saturday. Have a great weekend.

Tevo Howard feat. Tracey Thorn – Without Me (Marcus Worgull Dixon Vocal Edit) (2011)

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The Chicago house producer Tevo Howard originally released ‘Without Me’ in 2008. But then in 2011, Marcus Worgull and Dixon’s vocal remix came about, putting Tracey Thorn’s magic vocals at the heart of the track.

9 of the best – sounds of 1992

A compilation for sunny day in June. 1992 could have been a creative wasteland between what had been (Madchester, shoegazing, grunge) and what was to come (the Wu-Tang, trip hop, Britpop). But no, far from it. For starters, this was the year that Slanted and Enchanted and Selected Ambient Works 85-92 reached our ears.

Aphex Twin – Xtal

Pavement – Summer Babe

Flowered Up – Weekender

Pulp – Babies

R.E.M. – Nightswimming

The Black Crowes – Remedy

Crowded House – Four Seasons In One Day

Souls Of Mischief – Step To My Girl

Pavement – In The Mouth A Desert

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Honourable mentions also go to: Sade for ‘No Ordinary Love‘; Derrick May for his Illusion First Mix of ‘Sueño Latino‘; Mel’isa Morgan for ‘Still In Love‘; Coco Steel & Lovebom for ‘Feel It‘, My Bloody Valentine for ‘Only Shallow‘, Sergio Mendes for ‘Fanfarra (Cabua Le-Le)‘, Spiritualized for ‘Shine A Light‘, Kevin Saunderson for his Tunnel Mix of Inner City’s ‘Pennies From Heaven‘, X-Press 2 for ‘Muzik Xpress‘; and The Pharcyde for ‘Passing Me By‘.

Kasper Marott – Drømmen om Ø (Forever Mix) (2019)

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Yikes, I’ve missed a day. Thankfully, today’s track will give you your money’s worth. The Forever Mix of Kasper Marott’s ‘Drømmen om Ø’ (The Dream of the Island) comes in at 14 minutes long. During this time, the Danish DJ indulges himself and his listeners in a sound that would not have felt out of place 25 years ago. Enjoy the journey with its nods to Chicago and ambient house music.

Photon Inc. (feat. Paula Brion) – Generate Power (Wild Pitch Mix) (1991)

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When I think DJ Pierre, I think Phuture and the pivotal role that he and his Roland TB-303 had to play in the birth of acid house. But he had a second life. At the start of the 1990s, he had moved from Chicago to New York and developed his own mashed-up Wild Pitch sound. That sound really took shape on the Wild Pitch remix of ‘Generate Power’ (Strictly Rhythm, 1991). The influence of those looping stabs would make their way across the pond and would be be felt on X-Press 2‘s early releases on Junior Boys Own.

Moby – Go (Woodtick Mix) (1991)

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Moby’s ‘Go’ was originally released as the B-side to his debut single ‘Mobility. A year later, he would channel his passion for Twin Peaks and make his mark with his Woodtick Mix, a reference to the David Lynch series. The track opens with a strings sample from Angelo Badalamenti’s ‘Laura Palmer’s Theme’ and ends with a locomotive groove that would humble every dance floor in 1991/92. Richard Melville Hall had arrived. Have a great weekend.