Escape From The Reality Of Drab Decay

Teethgrinder by Therapy? popped up on my music shuffle, the first time I've heard the song in a while. 

 

Back in the early 1990s it was a staple of the alternative indie discos I used to go to, a guaranteed floor filler to the extent that none of their follow up singles seemed to displace Teethgrinder in the DJ's record box.

 

I have more songs than I thought in my collection but they;re pretty much limited to half a dozen or so EPs and a smattering of compilation appearances, the music mainly spanning 1992 to 1995, with a few later but no later than 1998.

 

To be honest, my favourites and most frequently played tend to be the remixes: Die Laughing by David Holmes, Nowhere by Andrew Weatherall/Sabres Of Paradise and Loose by Photek; Consolidated also remixed their cover of Isolation by Joy Division. And Teethgrinder, of course, remixed by engineer supreme Harvey Birrell, whose name appears far more in your record collection than you might expect.

 

In all that time, I've never listened to a single Therapy? album or paid much attention to what they were doing after those early singles. 

 

It was a surprise, then, when doing the minimal research for this post to find that Therapy? have carried on regardless for the last three decades and in May this year released Hard Cold Fire, their fifteenth album. There have been a few changes along the way, but the current three-piece has been stable since 2004 and still includes Andy Cairns (vocals/guitar) and Michael McKeegan (bass) from the original line up.

 

I've only heard one single from the album, the brilliantly titled Poundland Of Hope And Glory and aurally and visually (or in terms of editing, at least) it's not a million miles away from Teethgrinder.

 

Therapy? is about to embark on a European tour, with UK dates in late November and December. Dates and details are available on their official website. They're playing at The Fleece in Bristol. I'm intrigued but won't be there as it's a mid-week gig and I'm planning to see a living legend play a gig nearby a couple of nights later. Sadly these days, two trips to Bristol in a week is one logistical nightmare too far...

Joy Is The Ploy

The second of three David Holmes mix CDs that I compiled for my friend Dave on 13th March 2005. I previously posted volume three in December 2021 and according to the stats, it's proved to be a popular Dubhed selection, hopefully with human beings as well as blogbots.

 

This one spans David Holmes' career from his first solo single in 1994 to his full band excursions with The Free Association, taking in a slew of remixes along the way. Johnny Favourite, here in it's downtempo, ambient B-side version, is a prime contender for The Vinyl Villain's It Really Was A Cracking Debut Single series. I remember buying the 12" single at Way Ahead in Derby, getting it home and putting it on my turntable, placing the needle in the groove and...being transported. Both versions are essential listening, in my opinion.

There are a couple of rarer Holmes songs here. Jackson Johnson originally appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Bow Down To The Exit Sign in 2000. I picked it up in the UK the following year on the excellent London Xpress compilation. In 2010, it became more readily available on the 'best of' collection, The Dogs Are Parading.

A little harder to find is Grumpy Flutter Pt. 1 which (I think) is only available on 1996 compilation, The Science Behind The Circle, itself highly recommended as it features additional tracks from Andrew Weatherall, Carl Cox, Secret Knowledge, The Aloof and Ashley Beedle, to name a few. Both Grumpy Flutter Pt. 1 and Jackson Johnson are an indication of Holmes' prodigious output and the quality of his music that these didn't even make it onto official singles or albums. 

Delakota's version of Don't Die Just Yet takes the form of a short narrative about a toxic couple in the Australian wilderness and was a 'remix swap', Holmes repaying the favour with an excellent rework of their track I Thought I Caught, which appeared on volume three of my mix CDs. 

 

I can never quite decide if I like the Manic Street Preachers remix; I invariably decide that I do. The mix CD's title is taken from a second remix of You Stole The Sun From My Heart that Holmes did. It appeared on a promo 12" in the UK and a promo Remixes CD in the USA and I've never heard it.

The remix of Dawn Of The Replicants' Skullcrusher is a particular favourite, as is Gone featuring Sarah Cracknell, which came in a package of really strong remixes with Alter Ego's second take a standout. 

Closing track, the Children Re-Mix of Everbody Knows was the opener of The Free Association selection I posted in June 2021 and works well whether it starts or ends a selection.

 

1) Johnny Favourite (Exploding Plastic Ambience Mix By David Holmes, Jagz Kooner & Gary Burns): David Holmes (1994)

2) Sugarman (VV Featuring Chilly Gonzales Remix): The Free Association (2003)

3) 69 Police (Skylab Remix By Matt Ducasse & Duncan Forbes): David Holmes ft. Sean Gullette (2000)

4) Jackson Johnson: David Holmes (2000)

5) Die Laughing (David Holmes Mix 2 By David Holmes, Jagz Kooner & Gary Burns): Therapy? (1994)

6) Swastika Eyes (David Holmes Mix) (Full Length): Primal Scream (1999)

7) Don't Die Just Yet (Delakota Mix By Cass Browne & Morgan Nicholls): David Holmes (1997)

8) Skullcrusher (David Holmes & Tim Goldsworthy Remix): Dawn Of The Replicants (1998)

9) Gone (Alter Ego Decoding Gone, Pt. 2) (Remix By Jörn Elling Wuttke & Roman Flügel): David Holmes ft. Sarah Cracknell (1995)

10) You Stole The Sun From My Heart (David Holmes' A Joyful Racket Remix): Manic Street Preachers (1998)

11) Grumpy Flutter Pt. 1: David Holmes (1996)

12) Everybody Knows (Children Re-Mix By Stephen Hilton & Pati Yang): The Free Association (2003)

Joy Is The Ploy (1:19:10)

Audrey Is A Little Bit Partial

Side 2 of a mixtape, compiled 8th December 1996, featuring the remixing genius of Andrew Weatherall. Because every day is a good day to listen to Andrew Weatherall, but particularly today.

 

Andrew James Weatherall, 6th April 1963 to 17th February 2020.

 

1) Jam J (Phase 1: Arena Dub) (Remix By Andrew Weatherall, Jagz Kooner & Gary Burns): James vs. The Sabres Of Paradise (1994)

2) 11 Years (Sabres Main Mix 2 By The Sabres Of Paradise): The Wolfgang Press (1995) 

3) Weekender (Audrey Is A Little Bit Partial Mix By The Sabres Of Paradise): Flowered Up (1992)

4) The Chrono Psionic Interface (The Godiva Mix By Andrew Weatherall): A Man Called Adam (1991)

5) Nowhere (Sabres Of Paradise Mix): Therapy? (1994)

 

1991: The Chrono Psionic Interface EP: 4

1992: Weatheralls Weekender EP: 3

1994: Jam J EP: 1

1994: Nowhere EP: 5

1995: Going South EP: 2 

 

Side Two (46:06)

Been Tryin' Hard Not To Get Into Trouble

Listening to 4 Hero's remix of Nuyorican Soul sidestepped me into Photek's remix of 4 Hero and so to today's selection. Rupert Parkes began releasing music under numerous aliases in the early 1990s, Photek emerging in 1994 and being the most enduring of these, still in use today. Part of the hideously named genre, intelligent drum and bass, like his contemporaries Roni Size, LTJ Bukem and Goldie, what really appealed to me was the complex rhythms and jazz inflections. As a nod to the latter, a track on Photek's debut album, KJZ, was an acronym for Kirk's Jazz. By the start of the 21st Century, Photek's sound had taken a turn into house and techno, though as this selection highlights, there is an identity and character linking all of Photek's music. I've lost track in the last few years, and I have read that Parkes has subsequently produced music for films, TV and games, his last album release being the soundtrack to EA Games' Need For Speed in 2016.

 

For this selection, I've focused solely on Photek's remixes for other artists. It's great to listen to these in one go, personal favourites being Loose by Therapy?, Destiny by Zero 7, I Miss You by Björk and the one that started this all, Star Chasers by 4 Hero. The remix of Paul Simon was a welcome return in 2018 and one of the few redeeming tracks on the otherwise questionable Graceland: The Remixes album. I hadn't heard Photek's remix of The Faint in 5 years and it struck how well it would sit in a mixtape next to songs from John Grant's latest album, Boy From Michigan, particularly The Rusty Bull or Your Portfolio. And how else to end but with Single by Everything But The Girl? The original version is sublime; Photek's remix provides a similar shiver down the spine. Twenty five years old and still sounding like it could be out right now.

1) The Lonely Night (Photek Remix): Moby ft. Mark Lanegan & Mindy Jones (2013)

2) Destiny (Photek Remix): Zero 7 ft. Sia & Sophie Barker (2001)

3) Alien (Photek Remix): Lamb (1999)

4) Total Job (Remixed By Photek): The Faint (2003)

5) Loose (Photek Remix): Therapy? (1995)

6) Ride (Photek B21 Edit): Lana Del Rey (2012)

7) Lie Down In Darkness (Photek Remix): Moby (2011)

8) All Around The World Or The Myth Of Fingerprints (Photek Remix): Paul Simon (2018)

9) I Miss You (Photek Mix): Björk (1996)

10) Star Chasers (Photek Remix): 4 Hero (1998)

11) Single (Photek Remix): Everything But The Girl (1996)

Been Tryin' Hard Not To Get Into Trouble (57:51)