Showing posts with label Midfield General. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Midfield General. Show all posts

Thursday, 19 March 2026

On Our Way To Somewhere In Particular

Echobelly was one of those bands that I had more of an interest in what they had to say, rather than what they had to sing, back in the days of Brtipop. And by "they" I mean Sonya Aurora Madan, who was the go-to for the music press when they wanted an interview or cover shot.

The only other band members I can name from memory are co-founder Glenn Johansson and Debbie Smith, who joined in 1994, due to her previous association with Curve.

Here Comes The Big Rush was a single from Echobelly's third album Lustra, which entered the UK chart on 2nd November 1997 at #56, dropped 30 places the following week, and disappeared altogether the week after.

I bought the CD single (part 2 of 2) secondhand in 1998, on the back of the inclusion of the remix by Midfield General aka Damian Harris on Block Bustin' Beats, a 2CD compilation released in December 1997. a "40 track full-on big beat mix" by Dave Turner.

The CD featured the album version, plus 2 remixes each from Midfield General (vocal & dub) and Dave Angel (vocal & instrumental). The latter obviously not to be confused with his namesake character on The Fast Show.

There is only one YT post featuring the Dave Angel vocal mix, which I'm guessing is ripped from a DJ mix, as it features about 4 mins of it, before switching to the Midfield General vocal, then cutting out as abruptly as it arrived. This will give you a flavour but, suffice to say, the instrumental is my pick of the two.

If you're familiar with Midfield General, then you'll know what to expect, i.e. heavy, dark beats, but works well in both the dub and vocal variations.

I hadn't realised that Sonya had been seriously ill following their second album and there was some doubt as to whether Echobelly's hiatus would become a permanent split, not least due to legal and band hassles also going on at the time.

As it happens, it was another four years before their fourth album and there have been a further two albums since, plus one compilation of B-sides and rarities in 2020.

Sonya and Glenn are still touring as Echobelly and you can catch them on 2nd July at Tunbridge Wells Forum, promising "plenty of 'great things' from their Britpop heyday, plus new material".



Save your point of view
For the manic charm that he puts you through
When he wears your pearls, your ruby dress
And he looks so good with his sunken chest
There's a certain charm 

To the pretty boy that is on my arm
He's my double friend, a boy and a girl
When he says,
Paint my face, lick your mouth
Fake a yawn and we'll go out and glow
We're on our way to somewhere in particular
I'll take you somewhere, where you haven't been
And I'll show you a good time, like you've never seen

Here comes the big rush
There's a special ring
To his Cuban heels and his six-pack swing
His mother's clothes are his new disguise
And his good advice when he says:
Vanity's a virtue, lets no one in to hurt you
I'll take you somewhere, where you haven't been
And I'll show you a good time, like you've never seen
Here comes the big rush
You're one of the boys
Pump that pipe dream, sell you something

New, new, new
We're on our way to somewhere in particular
I'll take you somewhere, where you haven't been
And I'll show you a good time, like you've never seen

Here comes the big rush
You're one of the boys
Pump that pipe dream, sell you something
Pump that pipe dream, sell you something
New new


Wednesday, 16 February 2022

Kinesthesia

Side 1 of a mixtape, compiled in 1998 for my brother and his wife, probably as a Christmas/New Year gift. 
 
The selection is essentially my 'favourites of 1998', with one or two in-year purchases thrown in for good measure. Two of the standout albums for 1998 were Like Weather and Solex vs. The Hitmeister, whilst UNKLE finally delivered their debut as an artist, Psyence Fiction, which had a impressive line-up of guests and almost - but didn't quite - live up to the hype. However, it delivered an outstanding video for Rabbit In Your Headlights and remix by 3D from Massive Attack.
 
Singles-wise, Cornershop's Sleep On The Left Side included a brace of great remixes from Ashley Beedle, plus the none-more-80s retrofit from Les Rythmes Digitales aka Stuart Price, back when he was masquerading as French DJ Jacques Lu Cont. 
 
Opening track To Ulrike M. appeared on a Select magazine promo CD; the single itself featured remixes by Zero 7 and Tosca (aka Richard Dorfmeister & Rupert Huber), which I've still yet to hear. Every time I hear this track I remind myself that I need to track down a copy, then promptly forget. This has been going on for over two decades now.
 
Likewise, the Jungle Brothers remix is another that popped up on a promo CD in 1998, this time Melody Maker, and may well have been the first music I'd heard by Midfield General aka Skint label head Damian Harris. The line-up of remixers for the single is a snapshot of 1998: Stereo MCs, Natural Born Chillers, Da Beatminerz, Hardknox, even The Fugees.
 
A couple of songs were criminally relegated to B-side/EP status, namely Barry Adamson's cinematic cover of Da Juice's 1991 club track Hear The Angels and another track tucked away on the multi-format release of Mansun's Being A Girl. I wasn't a particular fan of Mansun, although I liked the lead track, but I bought one of the two CD singles specifically for Railings, written by and featuring a guest vocal from Howard Devoto. You may not be surprised to read that, in my opinion, it's Mansun's finest song.
 
Today's photo was taken in St. John's Lane, a side street in Gloucester that leads from the main shopping area and in a roundabout way eventually connects to the cathedral and garden, where I'll often spend a lunch break, when I'm working in the city. The main grafitti quotes Martin Luther King from a speech he gave in St. Louis on 22nd March 1964. 
 
You'll have to zoom in to see it, but I was struck by the handwritten note stuck on the boarding to the left of it, which reads (sic) "If you are readin this, you and your vehicle? are being recorded on C.C.T.V." Judging by the hand prints and stains around the notice, this apparently was an irresistible invitation for some. I hope the C.C.T.V. captured their best side...
 
1) To Ulrike M. (Original Mix): Doris Days (1998)
2) Behind The Mask (The Orbital Remix): Yellow Magic Orchestra (1992)
3) Sleep On The Left Side (Paris) (Les Rythmes Digitales' Living By Numbers Mix By Stuart Price): Cornershop (1998)
4) Madam, Your Carriage Awaits: Bentley Rhythm Ace (1998)
5) Hear The Angels (Cover of Da Juice): Barry Adamson (1996)
6) Rabbit In Your Headlights (3D Mix-Reverse Light) (Remix By Robert Del Naja & Neil Davidge): UNKLE (1998)
7) Something: Leila ft. Luca Santucci (1998)
8) Brain (Midfield General Remix By Damian Harris): Jungle Brothers (1997)
9) There's A Solex On The Run: Solex (1998)
10) Railings: Mansun ft. Howard Devoto (1998)
 
1992: Hi-Tech / No Crime: 2
1997: Brain EP: 8 
1998: Being A Girl EP: 10
1998: Can't Get Loose EP: 5
1998: For Your Ears Only: 4 
1998: Like Weather: 7
1998: Rabbit In Your Headlights EP: 6
1998: Sleep On The Left Side EP: 3 
1998: Solex vs. The Hitmeister: 9
1998: To Ulrike M. EP: 1
 
 
Side One (46:14) (Box) (Mega)