Citizen Kane

Celebrating Jonathan Saul Kane, on the devastating news yesterday of his death at age 55. 

 

I'll aim to add some comments and notes in the days to come. For now, here's a selection of a dozen remixes from 1988 to 2004, mostly as Depth Charge, which is how I first discovered his music.

Rest easy, J.

Post Script / Sleeve notes, 20th November 2024

The first record I owned with a J. Saul Kane credit was by accident in 1990. I'd bought Nothing To Lose on 12" by S'Express in the reduced crate at a local record shop, with a pile of other records. When I got home, I found that although the sleeve was the standard issue, the vinyl inside was the remix 12". 

 

I loved the original version of Nothing To Lose, but J. Saul Kane and Yashiki Gōta's reworking transformed the song from a rousing club anthem to a melancholy imaginary film soundtrack. With beats. It was great and I held onto it. The version here is an edit featured on the 8th volume of the Deep Heat series, which I guess at the time was the 'dance' equivalent of Now That's What I Call Music. Sonique's vocal remain the anchoring point, but the remix takes it on a wildly different journey.

I became quickly familiar with Depth Charge in the early to mid-1990s, not a great surprise perhaps, given my love of Andrew Weatherall, Jack Dangers and Red Snapper and the many points of reference and crossover between these artists, musically speaking. Perhaps no surprise then to find that J. Saul Kane has remixed songs by all three during the 1990s.

The Depth Charge remix of Tow Truck by The Sabres Of Paradise originally appeared on a 12" double A-side with Chemical Brothers providing the other version. Various other reworkings of music from the album Haunted Dancehall were released on 7" and 10", but I held out for the Versus EP compilation on CD, with gathered them all together and threw in a second Depth Charge remix for good measure. All fantastic.

J also offered up two mixes of Acid Again for Meat Beat Manifesto's 1998 single. I've picked the second one mainly because it's shorter running time meant that the selection as a whole didn't push too far over the hour mark. Mix 1 is equally wonderful, believe me.

J has remixed Red Snapper twice too, though different songs, seven years apart. I was tempted to include 1996's Son Of Mook from the Son Of Mook EP, but ultimately went for Regrettable from 2003's Redone album, one of three early 21st century selections. No regrets here, it means business!

Planet Telex is a beloved Radiohead song in any version, but the Depth Charge remix seems to have appeared as a one-off on the 2CD compilation Altered States as I've never seen any reference to it being released as a promo or official single. A shame, as it deserves better than it's relative scarcity.

Midi Rain completely passed me by at the time in the early 1990s, but I subsequently traced them years later during a hunt for J. Saul Kane/Depth Charge remixes. I discovered that Midi Rain was a project/alias for John Rocca, better known to me in the 1980s as the main man with Freeez, who had a massive hit with I.O.U.

J was clearly a fan, as he provided mixes on all five Midi Rain singles and co-mixed the sole album One in 1994. Lots to choose from then, I've picked the Depth Charge remix of Eyes, Midi Rain's 2nd single in 1991.

I could go on, but it's all in the listening. And these are just a few remixes. There's plenty more to delve into and I've not even touched on J. Saul Kane's own catalogue, not least the phenomenal albums Nine Deadly Venoms (1994) and Lust (1999), the latter so huge that it had to be spread across two separate releases. 

Gone, but J's legacy will remain.

1) Dream On (Octagon Man Mix): Depeche Mode (2001)

2) Acid Again (Depth Charge Mix 2): Meat Beat Manifesto (1998)

3) Nothing To Lose (Remix By J. Saul Kane / Gota) (Edit): S'Express ft. Sonique (1990)

4) Woke Up This Morning (Depth Charge): Alabama 3 (1997)

5) Tow Truck (Depth Charge Mix): The Sabres Of Paradise (1995)

6) Beat Dat (Freestyle Scratch Mix By Tim Simenon & Jonathan Saul Kane): Bomb The Bass (1988)

7) Out-Side (Depth Charge Remix): The Beta Band (2004)

8) Eyes (Depth Charge Mix): Midi Rain (1991)

9) Planet Telex (Depthcharge Remix): Radiohead (1995)

10) Regrettable (Depth Charge Remix): Red Snapper (2003)

11) Knowledge 'n' Numbers (Depth Charge Mix): Screaming Target (1991)

12) Fear (Original Mix With Bats) (Remix By Eon & J. Saul Kane): Eon (1991)

 

1988: Into The Dragon: 6

1990: Deep Heat 8: The Hand Of Fate: 3

1991: Eyes EP: 8 

1991: Fear: The Mindkiller EP: 12

1991: Knowledge 'n' Numbers EP: 11

1995: Versus EP: 5 

1996: Altered States: Distorted Dance & Remix Rock: 9

1997: Woke Up This Morning EP: 4

1998: Acid Again EP: 2

2001: Dream On EP: 1 

2003: Red Snapper Redone: 10

2004: Out-Side EP: 7

 

Citizen Kane (1:02:45) (KF) (Mega)

How Are You Feeling? It's A Beautiful Morning!

Keeping with yesterday's uplifting vibes, today's selection is a clutch of songs (mostly) from the early 1990s, packed into an open top car and taken on a remix road trip. Feel the sunshine.

Any such compilation and Andrew Weatherall is almost certain to be found. Here he, Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns pop up twice as Sabres Of Paradise. First up is their masterful collaboration with One Dove on Transient Truth, seven minutes of sonic sweetness underpinning Dot Allison's voice. 

Secondly, all double bass funk and squelchy synths, is Red Snapper's classic Hot Flush from 1995. The music couldn't be more different from One Dove, yet Andrew, Jagz and Gary lend both an emotional heft that just can't be described in words. Well, not be me, anyway. This track originally featured on the EP of the same name, collected the same year on the Reeled And Skinned compilation which is an essential introduction to Red Snapper.

Either side of these tracks are a couple of groovy numbers. In reverse order, Fortran 5 are rinsed good and proper by Alex Paterson and Kris 'Thrash' Weston of The Orb. I loved the original album version but The Herbal Supper Mix is a feast of heavy bass, SFX and samples ("one spliff a day keeps the evil away") with Shola Phillips' sweet vocals weaving through. 

Fluke serve up Groovy Feeling, the 1993 single offering half a dozen remixes all named after ice cream varieties. The version here retains the vocal licks and bubbling beats that characterise the Fluke sound.

They pop up again later in the selection with a sublime remix of Beautiful Morning by Sensation, one of my favourites of theirs. The original song was a lovely indie-pop number but Fluke transform it into an energising, irresistible uptempo anthem that has me involuntarily shouting "yeah!" along with singer Johnny Male pretty much every time. Which can be embarrassing if I'm wearing headphones in a public space.

Also feeling the groove are Finitribe, who were so impressed with Justin Robertson's remix of their single Ace Love Deuce that it was the definitive version used on 1992 album An Unexpected Groovy Treat. The additional treat is that the album version is a minute or so longer than the one found on the 12" and CD single. If you're a fan of Justin Robertson's work from the early 1990s, you will not be disappointed.

Underworld come in towards the end of this mix and in such style. I can't remember which came first but their remixes of Water From A Vine Leaf (included here) and Human Behaviour by Björk just blew me away when I first heard them. Twelve minutes of beautifully structured electronic music that was built for the dancefloor yet for me has always worked as songs in their own right, away from the club environment. In both cases, the addition of a unique female vocal is that little push over the edge. In this case, it's Beth Orton (though I think I can hear Karl Hyde in there somewhere too, deep in the mix) joining William Orbit on an epic journey.

Sticking with William Orbit and taking a slight step back into the last year of the 1980s with a mix that pointed to the future. Balearic beats before I had a clue what that even was. Les Negresses Vertes were a Parisian band that I'd seen pop up on TV (the last gasps of The Tube, I guess) but I didn't know much about. I got this remix of 1989 single Zobi La Mouche on a secondhand copy of Beat This! a compilation of dance label Rhythm King originally given away as a cover-mounted CD with Sky Magazine in 1990. William Orbit is joined by fellow Torch Song collaborator Rico Conning, all acoustic strums and rousing calls that scream 'party!' I feel like I've glugged a bottle of red wine and jumped up on the table to dance just listening to it...

 

1) Transient Truth (Album Version By One Dove & Sabres Of Paradise): One Dove (1993)

2) Groovy Feeling (Nutty Chip Cornet): Fluke (1993)

3) Hot Flush (Sabres Of Paradise Remix): Red Snapper (1995)

4) Groove (The Herbal Supper Mix By The Orb): Fortran 5 ft. Shola Phillips (1991)

5) Ace Love Deuce (Justin Robertson Mix) (Album Version): Finitribe (1992)

6) Beautiful Morning (Fluke's Magimix): Sensation (1993)

7) Water From A Vine Leaf (Underwater Mix Part 1) (Remix By Underworld): William Orbit ft. Beth Orton (1993)

8) Zobi La Mouche (The Fly) (Club Mix By William Orbit & Rico Conning): Les Negresses Vertes (1989)

 

1989: Zobi La Mouche EP: 8

1991: Groove EP: 4

1992: An Unexpected Groovy Treat: 5 

1993: Beautiful Morning EP / Welcome To The Future²: 6

1993: Groovy Feeling EP: 2

1993: Morning Dove White: 1 

1993: Water From A Vine Leaf EP: 7

1995: Hot Flush EP / Reeled And Skinned: 3

How Are You Feeling? It's A Beautiful Morning! (57:27) (KF) (Mega)

Hep Hop Excursion (Day Return)

Side 1 of a one stop tip top trip hop mixtape, compiled circa July to September 1996. Try saying that with a mouthful of muesli. 63 Sundays ago, I posted Side 2; now you can belatedly complete the set!

 

As with the previous side, this selection is skewed towards acts from or based in my birthplace Bristol; the final third features remixes by Massive Attack, Tricky and Portishead.  

Red Snapper open up with a track from their second release, The Swank EP, although like many I first heard this on the Warp Records compilation of their first three EPs, Reeled And Skinned. Red Snapper were originally active between 1993 and 2002 and cane together again in 2007. The band released the rather excellent Live At The Moth Club album a couple of days ago.

In 1995, Saint Etienne teamed up with Étienne Daho to record and release the Reserection EP, featuring several previous singles and B-sides, reworked and translated into French. Jungle Pulse is a version of 1991 single Filthy, Daho replacing Q-Tee's original rap over a Hendrix sample and some appropriately dirty beats.

The Charlatans were no strangers to the art of the remix, with several collaborations with The Dust Brothers/The Chemical Brothers under their belt. Van Basten provide a rather fine remix of Feel Flows. Named after Marco van Basten, up there in the lists of the greatest footballers of all time* and who had retired at the age of 28 the year before this remix appeared. Whilst van Basten was born in Utrecht in The Netherlands, Van Basten the trio - Gary Everatt, Gary Webster and Martin Reilly - hailed from Milton Keynes.

As before, several of my favourite chanteuses, appear here with standout tracks: Plavka, Neneh Cherry and Beth Gibbons.

When I posted Side 2 in August 2022, the UK was experiencing an unprecedented heatwave, with temperatures of 33°C; no chance of that in October 2023, as the island recovers from the passing of Storm Babet. 

 

1) One Legged Low Frequency Guy: Red Snapper (1994)

2) Jungle Pulse (Remix of Filthy): Saint Etienne ft. Étienne Daho (1995)

3) Move Ya (Bedouin Ascent Funky Fix): Rising High Collective (1995)

4) Feel Flows (Van Basten Mix): The Charlatans (1994)

5) Blow The Whole Joint Up (Decks 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Mix By DJ Mek): Monkey Mafia (1995)

6) Manchild (Massive Attack Remix): Neneh Cherry (1989)

7) Boundaries (Tricky Mix): Leena Conquest & Hip Hop Finger (1994)

8) Sour Sour Times (Remix): Portishead (1994)

 

1989: Manchild EP: 6

1994: Boundaries EP: 7

1994: Jesus Hairdo EP: 4 

1994: Sour Times EP: 8

1994: The Swank EP: 1

1995: Blow The Whole Joint Up EP: 5

1995: Feel The Fire/Wanna Move Ya EP: 3

1995: Reserection EP: 2

Side One (45:06) (KF) (Mega)

Side Two here

* as I was writing this post, the news came in of Bobby Charlton's passing. Another of the greatest footballers of all time. RIP Bobby.