So welcome to Part II of my look
back at some of the EDM tracks that for me went on to become some of the game
changers in the history of dance music on this side of the Atlantic Ocean as
the UK carefully went about its business daily producing some of the best known
and well loved tracks of a generation whilst on the other side of the pond the
scene barely continued with a whimper on a national level. EDM to Americans
during the 1980s and 1990s was akin to where soccer ranks on the list of
national sports in terms of musical popularity of all the genres. Whilst
Skrillex may now play across the country to sell out stadia no EDM artist had
ever really threatened the top of the bill board charts although this all
changed when international superstar and rnb sensation Rihanna teamed up with a
UK DJ originally from the Scottish market town of Dumfries – Mr Calvin Harris.
Their collaboration on ‘We Found Love’ topped the Billboard charts for 10 weeks
and was the longest running number one single in 2011. 6.3 million copies sold
worldwide and topping the charts in 25 countries the single would go onto mark
a real change in the American markets attitude towards EDM.
Some of my first ten selections
touched on the use of samples in tracks released and their use has throughout
the decades continued to be an important in all genres of music not just EDM
based. Back in the late 1980s though one record was to really power home the
use of samples when my number 11 choice hit the top of the UK charts in 1987.
The track was an international success and is considered to be the first UK
number one to have included samples. Despite the success of the track it is
oddly now in the brackets of what we like to call ‘The One Hit Wonder.’
11. Marrs – Pump Up The Volume
Whilst early artists may not have
reached longevity in their careers the sounds that they help create still live
on long after the original tracks were released into the mainstream and today’s
artists will use samples from any period in time. There is no discrimination
through the decades and in September of 2009 the grime artist Dizzie Rascal
sampled a 1989 track on his top ten hit Dirtee Cash. Dizzie Rascal is an anomaly
in the music world having gained huge commercial success in the UK charts and
beyond whilst still producing music true to his grime roots alongside the big
money spinners. Dizzie Rascal topped the UK charts with; Dirtee Disco, Holiday,
Bonkers and Dance With Me yet his collaboration with D Double E on the track Bluku Bluku will have escaped the
attention of the masses totally. The next track in question peaked at number
two in the UK charts and reached number one in the US dance charts.
12. The Adventures of Stevie V –
Dirty Cash (Money Talks)
In the last blog I mentioned the
influence of areas of the UK on the music scene citing the likes of Bristol,
London and Manchester as prime examples of how different sounds can originate
from the same country. Whilst the UK can quite rightly claim to have many of
the original pioneers in every genre of EDM going our cousins right of the
waves in mainland Europe have also helped shape the landscape of EDM as we know
it. In the present Holland is producing an ever increasing large pool of DJ
talent; Tiesto, Laidback Luke, Afrojack, Ferry Corsten, Noisia, Chuckie, Armin
van Buuren, Nicky Romero, Sidney Sampson, Joris Voorn, Jochen Miller,
Wildstylez, Headhunterz, Hardwell, Sander van Doorn, Fedde Le Grand – Do I need
to go on to prove a point? Holland have always been long term musical
influencer’s on EDM and alongside Germany were pioneers of the original more
electronic techno age. But in 1989 a group from Belgium scored a number 2 hit
in the UK chart and scored the first ever big chart success for a house record
at that time.
13. Technotronic – Pump Up The
Jam
A year later in 1990 which
already featured heavily in some of my first ten choices, an American house
group from New York would reach number 2 in UK singles chart on a track which featured
Q Tip from A Tribe Called Quest and the flamboyant bass guitarist Bootsy
Collins. Oh and who could forget the psychedelic video featuring Lady Miss
Kier? This track is a great reminder that EDM doesn’t always take itself too
seriously and music should be first and foremost – great fun and include a beat
you can dance to.
14. Dee Lite – Groove Is In The
Heart
One of the things that strikes me
most about compiling this list of tracks has been how old some of them actually
are yet how their sounds still hold up even to this day years later. Whilst it’s
nothing new that music of any genre stands the test of time I am left wondering
where the years have gone in between today as I write and when they were
originally released and ear marked a print on my soul and very DNA.
The power and influence of the DJ
rose and rose during the 1990s and as the decade finished they were seen as the
new pop stars of their generation by many – a label which has only risen in
stock ever since. This was the birth of the Superstar DJ and where would any
self respecting Superstar DJ ply their trade? In a super club of course. London
had the Ministry of Sound, Fabric and Turnmills; There was The Republic in
Sheffield; Air in Birmingham; The Emporium in Coleville and Nation in Liverpool
and as previously mentioned The Hacienda in Manchester. The now closed
Turnmills was the first UK club to gain a 24 hour licence and one of its
Saturday night resident DJs Tony De Vit is widely viewed as one of the original
game changers of the DJs rise to power. The Ministry of Sound wasn’t just a
super club it became a super brand as well and now in its 21st year
it continues to go from strength to strength. The club cum recording label was
one of the first to release mixes on CD making clubbing more accessible by the
masses away from an actual dance floor. The original releases featuring sets
from Pete Tong and Boy George would go onto sell hundreds of thousands of
copies and EDM became mainstream off the back of their success. In 1993 DJ and
Perfecto records owner Paul Oakenfold showed the world just how far the DJ had
risen to power when his sets opened the U2 Zoo TV world tour shows.
My next choice comes from the
early 1990s and reached number four in the UK chart in 1991. Like Bass-O-Matic's
Fascinating Rhythm it has one of my favourite ingredients to any house track I’ve
loved; namely a great female vocal and the use of synths alongside a strong
bass line and break beat-esque cuts. Throw in some piano and chances are I will
be hooked on a track but don’t tell anyone.
15. Bizarre Inc – Playing With
Knives
I don’t know why exactly but some
tracks have a tendency to keep popping their heads up more than once in our lifetime.
I say I don’t know why, the underlying reason will no doubt be financial of
course and my next two choices have both charted on more than one occasion. The
first choice entered the UK charts in 1995 at number 8 and again the following
year at number 7. Over a decade later and a remix by Australian DJ Dirty South saw
the track chart at a disappointing 70 in the singles chart but storm to the top
of the UK dance chart in 2007. The second choice was covered to huge success by
Florence and the Machine with Dizzie Rascal reaching number two in the charts
although they renamed the track title ever so slightly so the purist might say
it doesn’t exactly count as a cover single. The track first surfaced in 1986
reaching only 95 in the charts. In 1991 it reached number 4; 1997 number 3;
2005 number 60 and again once more in 2006 reaching number 7. I’m not sure if there’s an algebraic equation
to how the release dates work and the gaps between them but it wouldn’t surprise
me if the track resurfaces again in the next few years the way these things
seem to work.
16. Josh Wink – Higher State of
Consciousness
17. Candy Staton and The Source -
You’ve Got The Love
As I mentioned previously global
brands now use EDM tracks to great effect to help sell their goods to a worldwide
audience and the first real company to make use of music in marketing campaigns
to any real great deal of success as far as I’m concerned were the Levi Jeans
Company. Off the back of their campaigns seven different artists went on to
secure UK number ones and a further four registered top five hits. The ball was
started in 1987 with Ben E King’s – Stand by me; 1990 Steve Miller Band – The Joker;
1991 The Clash – Should I stay or should I go; 1994 Stiltskin – Inside; 1995
Shaggy – Boombastic; 1996 Babylon Zoo – Spaceman and in 1999 a track which took
just two hours to make on a Korg MS-20 became a hit all over Europe and made a
star of someone they called Flat Eric.
18. Mr Ozio – Flat Beat
Where do you go after Flat Eric? Tough
choice and probably one of those choices that leave people scratching their
heads to its inclusion but when you consider the EP the track was taken from
sold over 3 million copies it becomes one of those tracks that brought EDM to
the attention of the masses. My next choice samples the Chicago track ‘Street
Player’ and demonstrates how important the original Disco sounds of the 1970s
have remained in music even much later on. They took a classic 4/4 sound and
sticking close to the original using just a hook achieved a UK chart position
of 5 in the summer of 1995.
19. Kenny Dope presents The
Bucketheads – The Bomb (These sounds fall into my mind)
So one more choice from the list
running from 11 to 20. I guess I should end with another track taken from just
before the DJ really went on to become nearly untouchable and command eye
boggling and mouth watering fee’s for a couple of hours work. Whilst they might
not be in the same stratosphere as a Premiership footballers annual wages it’s
safe to suggest that those spinners on top of their game are earning a crust
that you and me won’t get anywhere near in a decade of working or more. My last
choice goes to a track that I have never seen fail to see people reach their
hands in the air for and amazingly the first release of the track was now
twenty years ago. Do you ever wonder where time goes? Featuring the vocals of
Dorothy Fearon the track originated from the early rave scene and only managed
to chart at number 87 after its first release. Its re-release two years later
in November 1994 saw it enter the charts at number 3 before staying at number
one for two weeks. The last choice for this round is for me one of those
records that upon it entering your ears your mouth utters the one word and one
word only out loud “Choon!”
20. Baby D – Let Me Be Your
Fantasy
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