NUMBERS: 18 WHEELER

18 Wheeler was a Scottish indie band who went big on the remixes and so get to feature here. Dour looking bunch aren't they? Nevertheless, the featured tracks have more warmth and are remixed singles from 1994's "Year Zero" LP. William Orbit's is probably the best.

18 Wheeler consisted of Sean Jackson (vocals, guitar), David Keenan (guitar, vocals), Alan Hake (bass), and Neil Halliday (drums). Original bassist Chris “Pint Glass” Stewart left before any recordings were made, and was replaced by original drummer Hake.

They met with very mixed reviews from the British press - many critics felt they were too similar to their influences, but some others saw the range of these influences as potentially a good thing. Keenan left in 1994 to start his own group, the Telstar Ponies and was replaced by guitarist Steven Haddow. In the same year, the band released their first album Twin Action on Creation Records and in 1995 they released their second album, Formanka.

Their third album Year Zero, which saw them take a more experimental sample based approach, was released in early 1997. They were subsequently dropped by Creation following the recording of what was to be their fourth studio release. Although Alan Hake has stated that Creation Records did allow the band to keep the master tapes to this album, no plans to officially release it have materialised. Hake went on to co-found the Must Destroy record label. The band were once introduced by Tony Blair at the 1996 Labour Party Conference. The future Prime Minister managed to wrongly introduce them as “Wheeler 18”. Last FM

18 Wheeler - The Ballad of Paul Verlaine (Bentley Rhythm Ace Bra Mix) mediafire

18 Wheeler - Stay (Stereo Odessy Mix) William Orbit mediafire

18 Wheeler - The Hours And The Times (Greg Hunter Dub Mix) mediafire

18 Wheeler - Grease (M.C. Arr Grass In Piccadilly Mix) mediafire

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NUMBERS: 25TH OF MAY (1)

Time for some shouty dance with an avowed political edge. Calling your group after a date with special significance for the Russian Revolution and your debut album "Lenin & McCarthy" leaves no doubt where your sympathy lies.

Like The Redskins a decade earlier, they never had the success that their live performance deserved. And I've not seen their work on the internet or blogs, so I'm going to indulge myself in a few posts of stuff from their singles.

"Go Wild" from 1992:

25th of May - Go Wild (The Alpha Disco Levy Mix) mediafire

25th of May - Go Wild (The Oscar Mix) mediafire

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WHATEVER: REAL LIFE / COLDCUT

Something from Coldcut's NTone ambient label, found during a ramdom rummage. The Coldcut mix is the one to go for - more trip hop than proper ambient.

Real Life were Paul Castle, Matt Hazelden, Lee Rosemore; although this 12" is also credited as being written by More and Black from Coldcut. Real Life produced a few 12"s; with this one being from 1996. It's a piece of gentle trip hop. The Coldcut mix is an instrumental, whilst the Full Circle mix has a psychadelic vocal that reminds me of nothing so much as early Shamen.

Real Life - Shark Dance (Coldcut Mix) mediafire

Real Life - Shark Dance (Full Circle Mix) mediafire

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NUMBERS: 808 STATE (1)

Manchester's 808 State have a long and illustrious career. And in "Pacific State" lay claim to one of dance's classic tracks. We'll have a few posts of non-album mixes.

808 State was formed back in 1988 in Eastern Bloc, a DJ record shop in Manchester England run by Martin Price. Customers Graham Massey of Biting Tongues fame and Gerald Simpson got talking with Martin and soon realised how much they had in common. After recording a Hip-Hop flavoured EP as the ‘Hit Squad Manchester’ together with MC Tunes, they decided to call themselves 808 State. They got the name from the Roland drum machine TR 808 and the state-of-mind that they shared.

Their first album ‘Newbuild’ on Price's Creed Records, a raw Acid House album, was released during the Summer of ’88 and has since become a very collectible item. During the making of the second album ‘Quadrastate’, Gerald Simpson departed to continue with his solo project ‘A Guy Called Gerald’. DJ’s Andrew Barker and Darren Partington, a.k.a. the Spinmasters, got recruited on a permanent basis to fill up the gap left by Gerald.

First up, from 1993, a personal favourite:

808 State - Plan 9 (Guitars On Fire Mix) mediafire

808 State - Olympic 93 mediafire

808 State - Nbambi (April Showers Mix) mediafire

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Z IS FOR ZOOT WOMAN

It's that man again. Stuart Price. Not content with being Les Rythmes Digitales, he also had an eighties-influenced synth group called Zoot Woman.

Zoot Woman are a British electronic music group made up of Adam Blake, Johnny Blake and Stuart Price. Known for their live shows, the group has gained a worldwide following. The live line-up includes Jasmin O’Meara (bass, vocals, synthesizers). They are credited as early members of the electroclash scene, but have continued to evolve and release increasingly popular music after that trend ended.

Price and Blake also work under the alias Paper Faces for remixes and have reworked tracks for Zoot Woman songs as well as other established recording artists such as Madonna, Scissor Sisters and producers such as Felix Da Housecat and Pete Tong. The band is currently in the process of writing and producing a new album.

Zoot Woman established themselves with debut album Living in a Magazine. Zoot Woman’s eponymous second album dwells on love and dismay, heartbreak and hope, but with all the style and danceability of their debut. The result is a pop album you can lose yourself in, a record for euphoric nights and lonely days equally.Jonny : “As a band we’ll look for change and progress so by combining the two we’ll change direction, and the direction of the album will probably be known with the first few songs”Stuart : “sometimes an idea you have for a remix may not work in that track but you can apply the idea to a seemingly opposite project and it will work. it generates more ideas. things that work on house dancefloors can influence a rock record in surprising ways. plus my heart has always been working with zoot woman, so at the moment even though our schedule puts us in different cities, adam and jonny can work together making the songs, then the three of us come together to work“Adam : “‘Living In A Magazine’ was based upon the way everyday media influences people. ‘Zoot Woman’ (the album) is more a reflection of ourselves. Each new album is a reaction to the last…. We want the look to reflect the music. Sometimes it helps you to understand what a band is about. Sometimes it gets in the way”

Adam and Stuart remix their own and other people’s tracks under the name “Paper Faces” and Stuart has also been working with Madonna since 2000. He also works (to much critical acclaim) under the pseudonyms Thin White Duke, Jacques Lu Cont, Man with Guitar, and of course Les Rythmes Digitales. Last fm

Zoot Woman - It's Automatic

Zoot Woman - Live In My Head

Zoot Woman - We Wont Break

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Z IS FOR ZUVUYA

Something from under-rated Nation Records - home of Transglobal Underground. If you liked TGU's more Eastern/tribal work, try this for size.

Press release: ZUVUYA is an off-shoot from one time Nation artists, Tribal Drift, who released their debute twelve inch single, "Like This" in May 1992.

Since then, and with further development, Phil Pickering, JuJu Midget and Paul Chousmer have collaborated to produce a tribal-dance-beat digeridoo based track entitled "GRABBING NANDI BY THE HORN", which is currently being promoted throughout some of the more underground and progressive clubs in the UK.

A track which, in itself, is quite difficult to categorise - perfectly suited to Nation who find most of their tracks difficult to categorise!!

Taking the psychadelia associated with Webcore - of which Phil and Paul were active members - with a pinch of ambience, of the kind that is becoming synonymous with Another Green World (a project created by Paul) all fusing into a hard-edged tribal rhythm, ZUVUYA have created an earth-moving groove which is bound to cause shock-waves throughout clubland.

From 1993:

Zuvuya - Grabbing Nandi By The Horn (End of The Rainbow Mix) mediafire

Zuvuya - Grabbing Nandi By The Horn (This Ain't Kansas Mix) mediafire

Zuvuya - Grabbing Nandi By The Horn (Pans Pineal / Our Journey Ambient Mix) mediafire

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INDIE DANCE: TORI AMOS / CARL CRAIG / THE JOY

Second post on Tori Amos, albeit the first was back in November. This Sunday, it's back to 1993 and the single "God", which was remixed by Detroit legend Carl Craig and the UK's The Joy.

Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos) was one of several female singer/songwriters who combined the stark lyrical attack of alternative rock with a distinctly '70s musical approach, creating music that fell between the orchestrated meditations of Kate Bush and the stripped-down poetics of Joni Mitchell. In addition, she revived the singer/songwriter traditions of the '70s while reestablishing the piano as a rock & roll instrument. With her 1992 album Little Earthquakes, Amos built a dedicated following that expanded with her second album, Under the Pink, before giving way to a decade-spanning legacy.

The daughter of a Methodist preacher, Amos was born in North Carolina but raised in Maryland. She began singing and playing piano in the church choir at the age of four, and songwriting followed shortly afterward. Amos proved to be a quick learner, and her instrumental prowess earned her a scholarship to the preparatory school at Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory. While studying at Peabody, she became infatuated with rock & roll, particularly the music of Led Zeppelin. She lost her scholarship at the age of 11 -- quite possibly due to her interest in popular music -- but continuing writing songs nevertheless, eventually moving to Los Angeles in her late teens to become a pop singer. Atlantic Records signed her in 1987, and Amos recorded an uninspired pop-metal album called Y Kant Tori Read the following year. The record was a complete failure, attracting no attention from radio or press and selling very few copies; nevertheless, she didn't lose her record contract. By 1990, Amos had adopted a new approach, singing spare, haunting, semiconfessional piano ballads that were arranged like Kate Bush but had the melodies and lyrical approach of Joni Mitchell. Atlantic sponsored a trip to England in 1991, where she played a series of concerts in support of an EP, Me and a Gun.

The harrowing "Me and a Gun" was an autobiographical song, telling the tale of Amos' own experience with rape. It gained positive reviews throughout the media, and both the EP and the supporting concerts sold well. Little Earthquakes, Amos' first album as a singer/songwriter, was released in 1992 and fared well in both the U.S. and the U.K. The same year, she released the Crucify EP, which featured cover songs like Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Led Zeppelin's "Thank You." Delivered in early 1994, Under the Pink, the proper follow-up to Little Earthquakes, was an even bigger hit, selling over a million copies and launching the minor hit singles "God" and "Cornflake Girl." Two years later, Amos delivered her third album, Boys for Pele, her most ambitious and difficult record to date. The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum.

As she toured in support of the album American Doll Posse, Amos released live digital recordings of each concert as part of the Legs and Boots concert series, which grew to encompass 27 albums. Although each release was made available via /iTunes and other online vendors, Amos also released a "best-of" Legs and Boots compilation in March 2009, having created its track list from various recordings during the tour. Meanwhile, she also focused on new material that had been written during the tour, which she soon compiled into her tenth studio album. Entitled Abnormally Attracted to Sin, the album was released in May 2009 by Universal Republic, Amos' new record label. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tori Amos - God (The Rainforest Resort Mix) Carl Craig mediafire

Tori Amos - God (The Dharma Kayã Mix) The Joy mediafire

Tori Amos - God (The Thinking Mix 2) Carl Craig mediafire

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Z IS FOR ZOE

It may be February but we can dream of summer with Zoe. And her classic chillout pop "Sunshine on a Rainy Day" (1990).

From discogs: b. Zoe Pollock, Peckham, London, England. Zoe made a huge impact in 1991 with the release of her debut single, "Sunshine On A Rainy Day", a perfect Europop cover version that went to number 4 in the UK charts. It had originally been released a year earlier when it reached the Top 60. However, subsequent efforts "Lightning" and "Holy Days" fared poorly. When her solo debut also flopped, she found herself in conflict with her label bosses over the extensive personal appearances she was required to perform at tawdry discos throughout Europe, and the relationship almost collapsed. Pollock had joined her first band, the soul outfit Cacique, after leaving stage school aged 16. She eventually regrouped in 1995 and began working on new tracks with her partner Youth, whom she first met while auditioning for Brilliant at his Butterfly Studios in Brixton. When she presented these to her record company M&G Records, new A&R director Jack Steven was impressed, and arranged for a concurrent US release of the album by RCA Records. Most of the instruments on Hammer were played by Youth, though the duo's emotional relationship had sundered during the sessions - leaving Youth doubtlessly wondering at whom some of the more pointed lyrics were aimed. Rather than the slightly sickly pop of her debut, Hammer comprised a number of bittersweet lyrics and harsh vignettes, typified by "Love Is The Beast" and the title track. Zoe's interest in the ethnic music of Ireland and India was also well represented in the Buddhist mantra "R.A.M" and "Down The Mountain". "The Lion Roars", meanwhile, was written in tandem with Anthony Thistlewaite, formerly of the Waterboys, and co-produced by revered Irish producer Donal Lunny in Dublin with Davy Spillane contributing uilleann pipes.

Meanwhile Zoë had embarked on a world of new opportunity, living in India, Sicily, Ibiza, Brazil and the USA, becoming a talented sculptor and potter and studying herbal medicine and yoga – all the while continuing to write music and collaborating with other artists. Under the alias Hephzibah Broom, she released an EP on the Manchester underground folk label Red Deer Records.

The original free spirit, Zoë is now back in the UK, happily rooted near Land’s End in wild west Cornwall in a windswept cottage by the sea.

In 2008, Zoë finally reclaimed her landmark song. Recorded in the Chyglidden studio of Irish sculptor Tim Shaw near the small Cornish village of Mabe, the single features the same four-piece lineup as the ensuing album – Zoë, Sarah, Tiffany and Jarvis, all of whom also appear on the video version of the song, which was filmed by Stephen Jarvis in and around Falmouth, on the Cornish coast.

Zoe - Sunshine on a Rainy Day (Extended 12" Mix) mediafire

Zoe - Sunshine on a Rainy Day (Instrumental) mediafire

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Paradise Circus feat. Hope Sandoval (Gui Boratto rmx)

You've probably seen it elsewhere, but just in case the blog frenzy has passed you by, a new remix from Massive Attack's new album Heligoland

Just over a week ago Massive Attack's first official remix from the new album dropped to the world - 'Girl I Love You' crafted by She Is Danger (download). Today i have the pleasure of sending my favourite of all the remixes; Gui Boratto's take on 'Paradise Circus'.

A new video for Splitting The Atom is also now online here. You can now view 4 of the eventual 7 films online via Twitter at heligoland-films.massiveattack.com. All of the remixes from the album are streaming on Massive Attack's Facebook

DOWNLOAD:
Massive Attack - Paradise Circus feat. Hope Sandova (Gui Boratto rmx).mp3

Z IS FOR ZERO 7 (4)

And so to the last Zero 7 post. This time, a track beloved of gardening programmes everywhere, "In The Waiting Line". With remixes by Richard Dorfmeister, Diaspora and Aquanote. Sadly, not the strongest set of remixes on which to end.

From The Milk Factory:

With bands such as Air, Blue States or Bent, do you feel you are part of a particular scene?
I don't really feel part of a 'scene' like there was a jazz scene or a house scene, where people hung out together and shared ideas. Obviously there are comparisons to be made in our music and style, which I suppose could be loosely classed as a 'genre' or something. I don't think any of us know what 'chill-out' is though.

Zero 7 - In The Waiting Line Dorfmeister Con Madrid De Los Austrias Dub mediafire

Zero 7 - In The Waiting Line (Diaspora Mix Instrumental) mediafire

Zero 7 - In The Waiting Line (Aquanote's Naked Adaptation) mediafire

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