It’s true. I couldn’t resist adding another column in hopes of turning you cats and kittens on to more music. This is going to focus on discs primarily from the 80s (and early 90s) that have long been hard to find or sort of fell through the cracks of the collective consciousness. They will also be true records in that you should own the whole thing and not download just a few songs. To make life easy, I will focus on spending some of your eMusic credits. The service is still spotty with new releases but an amazing array of back catalogues have come on-line and digging through ebay or gemm has now been simplified to single clicks at a fraction of the cost. Sit back and enjoy!
Meat Beat Manifesto “99%”
Behind the Meat Beat Manifesto name is Jack Dangers as the primary mover. Dangers has long since given in the cult of the studio and club DJ where his experiments end up being released and have watered down his discography. However, when he started out as a duo with Jonny Stephens, it was quite a different tale. The pair compiled intricate sound collages using analog tapes and live musicians. A fire would conspire to destroy a large part of the work for their debut album and they would need to cobble together “Storm the Studio” following the tragedy. With the disc that followed however, they hit on all cylinders in producing a record, equal parts experimental and dance-floor ready. Melodies intermingled with vocals and samples over jazzy bursts and harsh beats to create a post punk cocktail that served to kick-off a number of dance trends in the years that followed.
When it was released in 1990, there was an underground dance culture in DC that had grown out of the goth nights and embraced industrial music. Still, one had to be able to shake some ass on the floor so an artist that could kick it like Meat Beat Manifesto was quickly embraced by the DJs. The Roxy or Tracks would be pulsing with the sinister beats and hold off rave culture’s oncoming takeover for just one more song. The trip hop culture that would follow in its sonic footsteps would prove to be even more influential.
A lot of dance music suffers greatly when looked upon decades later – especially after all of the studio innovations that were so invigorating after its release have long since been filtered through hundreds of artists that followed. Not so with “99%” due to the crucial ingredient – songs.
Dangers may not be a wizard behind the mic but he more than makes up for it in style and timing. His cadence certainly borders on rapping but he then breaks out in defiant bursts and nails the breaks like few Englishmen can. And what breaks they are! “Now” kicks it off with a dry clattering backbeat that doubles as a cymbal’s hiss sets the undertone. Vocal samples, synth horns screaming for mercy team with warm versions of the real thing and little guitar funk licks come and go while never losing focus on the beat. When Dangers menacing whisper fills up the close it is the call of a dealer trying to lure you from the dancefloor but you won’t have any of that (well – not while it’s thumping like this you won’t.) Trip-hoppers and jazzheads would crib a lot of what is going on here but often lose sight of the essential beats and the personality necessary to carry the music to another audience that wants to put down the drugs for a second and dance damn it! Not until The Prodigy would put “Firestarter” on the floor would another artist hit on all cylinders quite like this.
“Psyche-Out” serves as Dangers calling to the heavens to make sense of his manic dancing and gritty groove. Chopping noise as if a cello was being run through a distortion pedal meets a synth bass line that is oh so dirty as the whole thing swirls around. “All The Things You Are” sends in the sinister vibe via samples and “Hello Teenage America” dances in a tasty piano lick around a 60s jaded jolt, courtesy of the Mothers of Invention sample. “10x Faster Than The Speed of Love” brings more jazz and tribal backing and “Dogstar Man/Helter Skelter” piles on the beats.
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“Think Fast” brings manic beats almost tripping over themselves with a fat upright bass trying to keep up before breaking out and back in. Dangers has a message behind his word-bending and the sense of dread mixes intoxicatingly with the creepy background bleeps and washes but you can’t give in… must dance… until he gives you no other option with a trance-like comedown into “Hallucination Generation” and then the pulsing finish of “Deviate” and it’s growling call to “degrade yourself” merging into the push to “improve yourself.” A more apt message might have been “move yourself” given the power of the skittering beats. |
RIYL: The Prodigy, Renegade Soundwave, Tricky, The Shamen or you are a hard line post-punker who just wants to dance sometimes.
Always love your reviews, JF. You’re a real asset to BYT.
September 23, 2008 at 5:01 pm