10. DubTribe – Mother Earth (Oringinal / Remix / Sunshine Mix) (1993)
yeah, some say we don’t deserve this earth we walk upon
some say we don’t deserve to breathe the air we pull into our lungs, yeah
carbon monoxide, acid rain, hate, greed, and selfishness destroy our precious skies of our mother earth
you people better rise up together and join hands with one heart and one mind
good people better rise up soon
cuz this planet is mine
this planet is ours and we have got to live together
i want my planet back
DubTribe (aka DubTribe Sound System) usually do tribal house stuff, but this is their masterpiece – a spaced out trance tune with a heartfelt message. I’m no environmentalist but this song is enough to make you join Greenpeace. It’s great hypnotic stuff. The remixes are really good also, with the Sunshine Mix throwing in nice piano riffs, a groovy bassline, and a reggae-sounding “My land/mother earth/my land…”.
9. Flipped Out – Everybody is Somebody (Just Beliv Mix) (1993)
Another classic that brings back a lot of memories. Piano riffs, hypnotic stabs, danceable breakbeat, atmospheric trance, and a damn helicopter sample in the middle! (Most people know this song as the “helicopter song”). Like the DubTribe track, this one still holds up after all these years.
8. Lords of Acid – I Sit On Acid (1988)
Darling, come here… fuck me up the…
Ok, I’m cheating here a little bit. This song was technically released in 1988 on a 12″ under Kaos Dance Records. But honestly, I never heard the tune until 1991 when they released it on the full length CD entitled “Lust”. This was pretty much my first real exposure to alternative dance music – before this time I was listening to Miami bass music (2 Live Crew, Magic Mike, A.D.E, etc), Miami freestyle (Stevie B, Trinere, Debbie Deb, etc), and whatever pop the radio was giving us (probably Madonna or something). When I first heard Lust I was completely intrigued. This is why 1991 was a great year in music for me – not only was there a rock revolution with the likes of Nirvana, and an industrial revolution with Ministry and Nine Inch Nails, but I was being exposed to all of this great electronic music like Moby, Eon, and LOA in clubs and on college radio.
Anyway, I’m getting off track – I Sit On Acid not only assaults you right away with it’s political incorrectness (singer Nikkie Van Lierop (Jade 4 U) not being shy about her sexual fetishes – giving screams of orgasms throughout the song, with exclamations of “I want to sit on your face”) but it’s a perfect example of early acid house and what they used to call the New Beat. The song (and the album) was unique in that it crossed boundaries when it came to fans – rock lovers were just as likely to like it as club-goers. The New Beat style didn’t last, but this song does. LOA later went the industrial route, and the results were not as satisfying.
7. The Prodigy – Everybody in the Place
(Fairground Remix) / Charly
/ Fire / Out of Space
(1991-1992)
I’ll take your brain to another dimension
Pay close attention
What can be said about The Prodigy other than the fact that they are probably one of the most popular techno/rave groups ever. Before they came out with Firestarter (‘twisted firestarter’) and even before Poison (‘i got the poison/i got the remedy’), they were releasing incredible records. “Everybody in the Place” is one of their earliest and a classic in its own right. I’m talking about the so-called Fairground Remix, because it sounds like you’re at an actual fair. The only things missing are the roller coasters and the cotton candy. It says “Fairground Remix” but I’ll be damned if they even released any other mixes of this song (I have yet to find any). No matter – it’s a wonderful early dance tune and the use of the fairground music is really clever. Charly is a cool breakbeat item with some really weird stuff in it. First there’s this sample of this cartoon cat named Charley from some kids safety advertisement back in the early 70s (England). (Heh – It sounds like Charley is sick) and the kid says “Charly says always tell your mummy before you go somewhere”. I like how the cat’s strang meow is used as a springboard into this crazy drawn-out 303 squelch. Fire continues the breakbeat phenomenon with a sample “I Am the God of Hellfire, and I bring you…”
Then they dropped “Out of Space” which is really crazy. Of all things, it samples “Chase the Devil” from Max Romeo and the Upsetters (I’m gonna send him to outer space/ To find another race) and even Kool Keith (I’ll take your brain to another dimension/ Pay close attention). What these songs all have in common is that they are extremely catchy and are good examples of what you can do with breakbeat music.
6. Acen – Trip II The Moon / Close Your Eyes (Optokonfusion) (1992)
Close Your Eyes
Forget Your Name
Forget the world
Forget the people
Acen Razvi’s stuff is crazy. It’s rave music at it’s most bizarre, for sure. He loves using speed up vocal samples, so the end result sounds like rave anthems as sung by the Chipmunks! Strangely enough, it works. I can imagine that if you are rolling at a rave you’re probably already speeded up, so the vocals will sound normal to you. He released a few tunes of the Production Label, my favorites being Trip II The Moon and Close Your Eyes. Both songs come in different remixed flavors and all different versions have their advantages. Trip II The Moon actually came out in 3 parts, with Part 2 starting off with a classic piano riff accompanied by a chipmunk vocal “Take Me Higher”. Then the hardcore breakbeat comes in alongside a deep bass note sure to blow a few woofers. There’s even samples from a few James Bond films in it. Close Your Eyes has interesting lyrics (Just Close Your Eyes/Forget Your Name…Go Insane) which are sampled from Jim Morrison and the Optokonfusion mix of the song is some kind of huge rave breakbeat masterpiece.
Keep Reading – The top 5:
Entries 1 through 5
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5
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nice one top one get sorted……that’s a typical english type sayin
….nice one …well thanks mate….top one….sorta the same but also number 1….get sorted ….well sort of self explanatory…get wrecked, stoned, hammered, bolloxed, caned
great times and great sounds
Im so impress in the sound of the oldskool especially those sound that will surely catches your attention , Its amazing and make a big crowd of dancers going too hype………………………..Dj Academy Philippines…….
Bill, I also was at UCF in Orlando from 1991 – 1996! I know every song you posted in yr awesome article here. My good friends opened up the Abyss & that was our hang out for the time it was there. Just wanted to tell you thank you for the walk down memory lane!! With husband and kids now I sure needed it! Thanks again, Sam
Hi – thanks for the trip down memory lane…I do a bit of dj work on the side – and have the lord of acid one in my mix. I like the momentary ‘what the f***’ face the clubbers get and then they get it. But there is one song on my old mix-cds from that time that I also play that people love and I can’t for the life of me remember who did it – can anyone help? I know it will all come to me when I know, but for the moment it’s alluding me – should have been more clear-headed in those rave years…
The two main lyrics are:
I’m on a mission from God, listen all you suckas, and
WHFD start the panic.
Hi Lainie,
I think you are thinking of “Homeboy,Hippie & Funki Dredd – Start The Panic”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw5CHxYDffk
-Bill
Yessssss!!!!
Thanks Bill!, took me a while to come back and check on a response! You’ve saved me wracking my brain until the next conundrum!
These are some great tunes – I revisit the 90-94 techno stuff fairly often, but I totally forgot about Return of the Living Acid “Get Funky” – amazing! Does anyone remember a tune that started with the Roger Miller sample that would end up years later in that annoying Hampster Dance song? It was on a comp I had back in the day & would love to hear it again, even if it’s a cheesy novelty song!
Haystack – are you referring to “Bad Base” by B.T.B.?
http://youtu.be/AB9vIovWm2g
If that’s the one, you might be interested to know it’s on Best of Techno Vol 2 (from Profile records) which also has “Get Funky” on it.
- Bill
Yes! That’s it – thanks Bill!! I guess I must have faintly recalled those tunes were on the same comp. Nice to hear them again all these years later …
did i miss josh wink’s higher state of consciosness somewhere?
Yes! they played that all the time at The Edge. Also, Rage Against the Machine – Killing in the Name Of and Violent Femmes. There was another one that featured a lady singing “Taaaaaaaake meeeee awaaaaaay!” and it’s been stuck in my head for years!
Andrew,
You are probably thinking of Mix Factory “Take me Away”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzku-qAVZTQ
We would like to introduce you to a little thing called STEREO.. First the bass… Then the hihat and snare osv osv. Can someone remember some of this lyrics ?