In The Beginning There Was Rhythm

In The Beginning There Was Rhythm

Soul Jazz Records

Tracklisting

Information

This record features the groups that grew out of Punk and embraced dance music. These groups reflected the changing face of a British multi-cultural society in the aftermath of Punk, taking on new musical influences such as Black American dance music, Reggae and Electronic music. A Certain Ratio were one of the first groups to be signed to Factory Records in Manchester. Whilst New Order and later The Happy Mondays came to be the most successful Manchester bands associated with bringing dance music into their sound, it is their original label-mates, A Certain Ratio, who were in fact the first band to make the connection between punk and US Black dance music. It was A Certain Ratio who went to New York to record their first album that managed to mix a sparse Manchester bleakness in their sound along with US funk/dance elements. Finishing their album early they decided to offer their remaining studio time to a band who had recently opened for them in New York called ESG. This became the first ESG album for 99 Records in New York. A Certain Ratio¹s early cover of the US group Banbarra's "Shack Up" features the amazing funk drumming of new recruit Donald Johnson. The Banbarra track had been popular on the Northern Soul circuit and whilst ACR made music that expressed the depressed, decaying Sound of an industrial city in decline they were also true to their other Nothern roots which in Manchester, Leeds, Wigan and other Northern towns had been for many years US Soul, Funk and R¹n¹B. ACR would carry these two sensibilities throughout their career going on to embrace many other styles of dance music along the way including Disco, Reggae, Jazz and Brazilian music. "Knife Slits Water" is a classic extended disco mix that managed to bring the punk 7" into the world of the dance 12". Sheffield became a focal point for DIY- electronic groups at the end of the 70s. The two most successful were Cabaret Voltaire and The Human League. Whilst Cabaret Voltaire stuck to their roots, signing to, and staying on, a fledgling new label, Rough Trade Records, The Human League would go on to international stardom as their experimental late-70s electronic music turned into 80s synth-pop. At the beginning, both these groups were interested in electronic music and how this music could be created within a punk ethos. Consequently, the all-electronic "Being Boiled" was created on a two-track tape recorder in mono! The Pop Group were the forerunners of what came to be known as The Bristol Sound. Other groups that have come out of this chain include Rip, Rig and Panic, Maximum Joy, Massive Attack and Portishead. The Pop Group mixed Punk, Funk, Disco and Reggae influences into a sound that many future bands would emulate. The group was produced by Denis Bovell, founding member of Matumbi, and one of punks favourite producers- He would also produce The Slits as well as continuing to work with people such as Linton Kwesi Johnson. When the Pop Group split up, two groups were formed ­ Mark Stewart and The Mafia, and Rip,Rig and Panic which also featured a young Neneh Cherry. Out of Leeds came The Gang of Four. Again mixing Punk with dance and a large dose of Marxist philosophy, The Gang of Four were initially released on the Edinburgh based independent label, Fast (as were The Human League). As we can see, Punk music affected every city in England. Other scenes that emerged from this could be found in Liverpool (Teardrop Explodes, Wah! Heat, Echo and The Bunnymen) and of course Coventry where The Specials and Two-Tone began mixing up Ska and Punk to enormous success. London had got off to an early start with experimental-sound artists, This Heat. An early inspiration to many of the groups here, Camberwell¹s finest "24 Track Loop" is an incredible pre-curser to electronic, industrial music which sounds like an early version of Jungle. The concept of Industrial music would be taken a stage further by Throbbing Gristle who released music on their own Industrial Music label with the intent of pushing the boundary between music and noise. 23 Skidoo¹s interests stretched as far as Kung Fu, Gamelan Music, Language and Semiotics. Apart from this, they also managed to combine their musical influences like no-one else. On their classic album, "Seven Songs", Dance music, Experimental noise and Gamelan music combine in equal measures! "Vegas El Bandito" is taken from this record. "Coup" is one of the definitive dance records from this period. The line-up of the group features bass-player Sketch (who was also playing with Lynx) and original Jamaican Reggae hornsman Vin Gordon. Finally, The Slits were possibly the closest of these groups to The Sex Pistols. Although they did not record until 1978 they were actually part of the first wave of Punk groups (and were part of the inner circle of friends ofThe Sex Pistols). "In The Beginning, There Was Rhythm" (produced by Dennis Bovell) was indeed a prophesy of the music to follow Punk, where Punk would meet Funk, Reggae and Disco. The CD/record comes with many original photos and booklet talking about the time.