Lo Fidelity Allstars
"Look what I've found/On a brand new journey into
sound" Lo Fidelity Allstars "Vision Incision"
This doesn't happen very often. Dozens of bands come
and go every year but great ones are as regular as a
passing comet. Truly original outfits are rarer
still. Which makes the arrival of the Lo Fidelity
Allstars one of those special musical moments.
Perhaps the planets have shifted into some seismic
alignment, because they seem so significant; destined
for an impact that matches Primal Scream or The Stone
Roses. The shock waves have started already.
Eighteen months and two singles into their life span,
the press and music business have frothed so
hysterically over their potential that you'd think
they'd swallowed their washing powder. All kinds of
lucrative financial carrots and treats have been
hurled their way, including trips to New York, strip
clubs and offers of their own personal dragsters.
They also won Best New Band at this years NME Brat
Awards on the basis of those two stupendous singles,
released last year on Brightons acclaimed Skint
records. The swaggering "Kool Rok Bass" and frenzied
'Disco Machine Gun" weren't rock , they weren't dance
and it's not even fair to say they were a bit of
both. We're not dealing with some retarded hybrid
here: berks with Chili Peppers funk bass, turntables
and a mealy mouthed MC. The Lo-Fidelity Allstars are
a fresh virulent stain all of their own.
House guru Terry Farley went mad for a white label of
their own remix of "Disco Machine Gun", thinking they
were some brand new pure dance outfit. "Search it
out" he said in a review. "This could build into a
monster". Meanwhile the band's treatments of Cast's
"History" and Pigeonhead's "Battleflag" re-equipped
two rock bands with more power than they'd ever
possesed before. On top of which the Lo Fi's live
shows are equal parts gig, rave and call to arms. If
seeing them doesn't convince you of their stature
then check yourselves for signs of life.
The Allstars drew inspiration for their barrage of
words and music from lifes more elegant desperados.
Honorary Allstars include Christopher Walken, the Wu
Tang Clan, hard living former Bolton Wanderers centre
forward Frank Worthington, P-funk bass genius Bootsy
Collins and Spiritualized, who they supported in
Ireland this February. However there are no prima
donnas within the Allstars themselves, just budding
superheroes with a common purpose. There's singer,
lyricist and artwork overlord Dave, a.k.a. The
Wrekked Train, song-writing engineroom Phil alias The
Albino Priest and engineer and keyboard mastermind
Martin otherwise known as The Many Tentacles. They're
joined by bass playing Andy alias A One Man Crowd
Called Gentile, drummer Johnny aka The Slammer and
keyboard boy Matt, who also answers to Sheriff Jon
Stone. They have personality and more importantly
they have taste. The first gigs Dave and Phil ever
went to were on the same Def Jam tour of the UK in
1987. The first rock bands to impress them were the
Roses, the Happy Mondays and Jason Pierce's old
outfit Spacemen 3, all because they knew how to
deploy bass. None of them saw any point in moping
about to Indie Rock when there was fun to be had
during acid house. Their music is the perfect end
product of the post hip-hop, post-house and post-rock
world but their attitude is timeless. "We're a rock
n' roll band," insists Dave. "At the end of the day
it's all rock n' roll".
Like all the best rock n' roll bands, the Lo Fidelity
AllStars were born of suburban frustration. Dave was
born in Horsham, the Brighton satellite town almost
famous for being home to DJ''s like Dave Clarke. He
spent his youth spraying graffiti on the side of
factories and listening to Mike Allen and Tim
Westwood's hip hop radio shows. After an abortive
year at art school he moved to London, working on
building sites to make ends meet. He'd been writing
lyrics since he was a teenager, inspired by watching
films or the things that happened around him in
everyday life, but always kept them to himself. Like
the art he designs for the Lo Fi's, his words are
more about imagery than anything specific. His friend
Matt, also a Horsham ex-pat knew he'd been writing
and put him together with Phil, who'd moved to London
from Leeds to pursue a DJing a career in 1996. Matt
and Phil had already been DJing together, putting
together no holds barred sets under the name Lo
Fidelity Allstars.
The first recording session they embarked on in
Phil's bedsit in Highgate produced "One Man's Fear"
(the B side of "Kool Rok Bass") and went so well that
a proper band was soon put together. In the meantime
their demo tape had found its way to Skint Records
Damian Harris and the rest- blowing John Squire's
Seahorses off-stage on their UK tour, seeing in '98
at the Alexandra Palace New Years Eve bash - will
soon be history.
Their anthemic new single "Vision Incision" will see
to that, as will its astonishing successor "How To
Operate With A Blown Mind". It sounds like Massive
Attack on severe sleep deprivation and Dave's vocals
were barked into a dictaphone on a rain lashed
Holloway Road last winter. It will make you very
moist at the prospect of their debut album, currently
being finished in Brighton this summer.
This doesn't happen often. Cherish the Lo Fidelity
Allstars.
"Are you coming with us?" Lo-Fidelity Allstars "Kool
Rok Bass".
Rave Reviews
Stacy Meyn in XLR8R (February
2000): "Following their massive How
to Operate With a Blown Mind, they
put their lowdown spin on a plethora
of large rhythms
and hooky
grooves, such as Blackstreet's 'No
Diggity,' BDP's "You Must Learn,'
and the Allstars' own wicked vibes.
The pace is relentless
as the
Allstars tastily and seamlessly
sample a variety of
ultra-recognizable
old school
(Stakka's 'Humanoid' and Silver
Bullet's Robocop ode 'Twenty
Seconds to Comply') as well as new
classics in dance (Armand Van
Helden's 'Funk Phenomenon' and
fellow Skinters Space Raiders' '[I
Need the] Disko Doktor'). On the
Floor at the Boutique is a prime spot
for Lo Fi to take a hearty breather
before finishing their sophomore
album and completing their fourth
US tour. Don't let the name
fool
you--the Lo Fidelity Allstars are high
energy."
Kevin John in the Boston Phoenix
(February 11, 2000): "A good
mix CD
is only as good as its raw materials.
On The Floor At The Boutique
comes up strong in that department,
with everything from an obscure soul
singer (Felice Taylor) to classic
techno (Humanoid and Prodigy),
remixes of BDP and Jungle Brothers
tracks, and the faux French house of
Les Rhythmes Digitales.
This
stopgap from London's premier
big-beaters -- the Lo Fidelity Allstars
of 'Battle Flag' fame -- lets you taste
the rainbow, delivering so many
different musical colors that it puts
most other monochromatic mixes to
shame."
The Wyoming
Tribune-Eagle
(January 21, 2000):
"If the northern
England troupe Lo Fidelity Allstars'
debut album, 'How To Operate With
A Blown Mind,' captured the nervous
exhaustion and psychosis
that
marks the downside of rave culture,
then 'On The Floor At The Boutique'
documents the carefree hedonism
of the night before....a
heady,
hip-hop, funk and techno clubland
melee guaranteed to get that booty
shakin'."
Bob Remstein at
Wallofsound.com (early February
2000): "...most
of their choices are
involving at the very least, and a few
are fairly inspired. Following Trouble
Funk's early-'80s underground
classic 'Pump Me Up' with a live
version of Boogie Down
Productions' feverish 'You Must
Learn' kicks things into high gear
early on.... Silver Bullet returns the
disc to a bustling groove, capping
off the manic segment with
'20
Seconds to Comply.' The best part
of the CD comes near its end, as the
music turns soulful, highlighted by
Feelgood Factor's gospelish,
thoroughly winning 'The
Whole
Church Should Get Drunk,' which is
followed by Felice Taylor's late-'60s
lost chestnut, 'I Can Feel Your Love,'
and The Tams' breezy 'Be Young
Be Foolish Be Happy.'....don't forget
to thank those real non-American
heroes: the Lo Fidelity Allstars."
Lydia Vanderloo reviews Lo Fidelity
Allstars' On The Floor
At The
Boutique and proclaims, "Wanna
get your party started but can't afford
a live DJ? Consider spinning this
73-minute mix disc from London big
beat kings Lo Fidelity Allstars. As
this set proves, the Allstars are as
adept behind the decks as they are
in the studio. They seamlessly
weave one track into
the next,
building and sustaining a
revelatory/celebratory vibe with the
hip-hop and funk of Black Street,
Trouble Funk, and Boogie Down
Productions, and winding down with
soulful cuts from Feelgood Factor,
Felice Taylor, and the Tams. The
result is a variety-filled hour-plus of
the kind of boulder-sized beats that
gave big
beat its name..."
In the January 21/28 double issue of
Entertainment Weekly,
David
Browne gives Lo Fidelity Allstars'
On
the Floor at the Boutique a "B" in a
shared lead review and writes, "...On
the Floor at
the Boutique, is
relatively straightforward:
a
ceaseless stream of more-or-less
unaltered
techno and R&B
obscurities that segue into each
other. Much like big beat itself, the
Lo Fis' parade of tunes is bustling
and unsubtle, lurching from
the
vintage hip-hop of Boogie Down
Production and the Jungle Brothers
to R&B jewels by the Tams
and
Felice Taylor. At its most
enlightening--the swoop from the
old-school robo-funk of Humanoid's
'Stakker Humanoid' to the manic rap
preaching of Silver Bullet's
'20
Seconds to Comply,' for one--the
album ebulliently links past, present,
and future."
In the January issue of Details, Jeff
Ousborne
reviews Lo Fidelity
Allstars' On the Floor at the Boutique
and raves, "If you want to take your
brain to another dimension, pick up
On the Floor at the Boutique,
a
21-track disc of dance-mad remixes
by British big-beat masters
Lo
Fidelity Allstars. These juicy prime
cuts run from old-school hip-hop
(Boogie Down Productions' 'You
Must Learn') and frantic, warp-speed
paranoia (Silver
Bullet's '20
Seconds to Comply'),
to the
robo-voiced, textbook techno of
Humanoid's 'Stakker Humanoid'
and the straight Motown of Felice
Taylor's 1968 lost gem 'I Can Feel
Your Love.' A CD guaranteed to
give you good ear."
On The Floor At The Boutique
The compilation album, mixed by Lo
Fidelity Allstars, is in stores NOW!
Lo Fidelity Allstars are ringing in the
new millennium with On The Floor At
The Boutique, a "mix"
album
showcasing the band's formidable
skills in the DJ arena. Phil Ward
(a.k.a. "The Albino Priest") spins
regularly
at Skint "Big Beat
Boutique" nights in the U.K. and often
DJs on off-nights and aftershow
parties when the Lo Fi's are on tour.
On The Floor At The Boutique is the
second volume in Skint's "Big Beat
Boutique" series of "mix" albums
(the first was mixed by Fatboy Slim).
Radio
Request Tools
www.webfeed.net
www.gebbieinc.com
Find out "How to Operate With
A Blown Mind"
LO FIDELITY ALLSTARS YOU'RE NEVER ALONE WITH A CLONE
BLACK STREET FEATURING DR.DRE NO
DIGGITY
INDIAN
ROPEMAN STAND CLEAR
TROUBLE FUNK
PUMP ME UP
BOOGIE
DOWN PRODUCTIONS YOU MUST LEARN
(Live From Caucus Mountain Remix)
RUNAWAYS LEVITATION
DIRT RAW ELEMENT
SUPER_COLLIDER DARN (COLD WAY O' LOVIN)
WILDSTYLE BOB NIMBLE WHAT IS IT?
JUNGLE
BROTHERS BLACK IS BLACK (Ultimatum Mix)
LES RYTHMES DIGITALES
(HEY YOU) WHAT'S THAT SOUND?
SPACE
RAIDERS (I NEED THE) DISKO DOKTOR
HUMANOID
STAKKER HUMANOID
SILVER
BULLET 20 SECONDS TO COMPLY
DANMASS DRUG
JACKSON AND HIS COMPUTER BAND MAKIN' IT HAPPEN
LO FIDELITY ALLSTARS MANY TENTACLES PIMPING ON THE
KEYS
FEELGOOD FACTOR THE WHOLE CHURCH SHOULD GET DRUNK
FELICE TAYLOR I CAN FEEL YOUR LOVE
THE TAMS BE YOUNG BE FOOLISH BE HAPPY
PRODIGY OUT OF SPACE
LO FIDELITY ALLSTARS BOOTSY CALL
2000
Интервью с ними:
AN EXCLUSIVE LO FIDELITY ALLSTARS INTERVIEW
By Sam Larrington-Lowe, November 1999 for www.skint.net
It's unusual
for British acts to conquer the USA before they achieve
recognition
this side of the water. We tend to export 'successes', those
that have
made it in the UK first and have the full weight of their
accomplishments
to convince America that they're worthy of notice. The Lo
Fidelity Allstars
have done things the other way round. Back in England
now and working
on their second album, they've overcome considerable odds,
including
the desertion of their singer Dave Randall, to take on the
mighty US
of A and come back victorious. Time to storm England? I went to
meet them
and find out.
"I think we
should do the interview in the pub. I've got to have beer", is
the first
Lo Fi words I hear when I turn up to meet the band. It's Phil
'The Albino
Priest' Ward talking, and he, Martin 'The Many Tentacles'
Whiteman and
Dale 'Pele' Maloney are holed up in a flat in Kemptown where
they've been
working on their new album. Well into the small hours, it
turns out.
There's an air of expectancy, I suspect they've been waiting
for me to
arrive and saying no is not an option. "Don't worry" says Phil,
"We'll find
a snug". Although Johnny 'The Slammer' Machin and Andy 'A One
Man Crowd
Called Gentile' are not around yet, we decide to go ahead and
wait for them
to join us. Martin won't come, so we say goodbye.
For a band
who have received such critical acclaim for their first album,
'How to Operate
with a Blown Mind', whose DJing gigs sell out, whose music
has been described
as a 'fresh, virulent strain all of their own', and
who've even
won a Best New Band award at the 1998 NME Brat awards, the Lo
Fidelity Allstars
have yet to make the impact they fully deserve in their
own country.
The recent line up changes have meant that they have elected
to share the
vocals originally sung by Dave, and the further, less
controversial
loss of Matt 'Sheriff Jon Stone' meant their new keyboard
player, Dale
'Pele' Maloney cut his teeth on a huge tour of America.
Dale's very
first gig was in Chicago, in front of over five hundred
people. "I'd
been a shepherd in a school play before then" he says
helpfully.
The pub's fairly
quiet and we plot up on a table with pints and JDs. Phil
looks knackered
and talk for a while is of samples and guitar loops, the
sounds he'd
discovered last night, the ideas he's got. It's clear from the
outset that
he does the talking, although he stresses later on that the Lo
Fi's are a
balanced collective. "We'll never have a frontman again" he
says. "We're
just the Lo Fidelity Allstars, everyone's equal" He's
earnest, very
into the music and slightly intense. Dale on the other hand,
is having
a laugh, despite not having slept "much" last night, and his
slightly quirky
jokes effectively side-track this intensity. They're just
normal, blokey
sorts and it's hard to imagine them being such huge stars
stateside.
I wondered how it felt.
"It's surprising
that the USA got into it more, because they're not so
into dance
music" says Phil, "although that is changing." Dale grins. "We
were constantly
surprised really. You have to keep pinching yourself", he
says "it's
weird, the American thing. That American thing is hilarious,
you know,
big swanky hotels, doing the Howard Stern show".
Howard Stern
is partly responsible for the Lo Fi's USA fame, giving
'Battleflag'
live airplay and introducing the band by saying "Everyone
says the best
music is from the 60's and 70's. That's a load of rubbish,
listen to
this."
"He was really
nice," enthuses Phil. "We were absolutely shitting
ourselves,
but if he likes you, you're alright." Dales shakes his head.
"He's huge
as well. 20 ft tall. Absolutely massive." he sighs.
The Lo Fi's
music is unusual in its diversity. As part of the Skint/Big
Beat Boutique
stable they've found themselves with a big beat label which
is something
they are keen to shrug off. Their music is a blend of
different
styles, drawing from a variety of influences which include
P-Funk, the
Wu-Tang Clan and Spiritualized, and they're proud to be
defined as
unique. "We're the only band that do what we do with a live
band and mixture
of sequencers and that" says Phil. "Bands like the
Chemical Brothers
and Underworld and the Prodigy we owe a debt to for
opening up
the scene for us. But we get labelled big beat all the time. We
don't really
want to be." "No, more acid skiffle" offers Dale.
Listening to
the first album 'How to Operate With a Blown Mind', you're
taken on a
real rolling camel ride of musical attitudes, from the moody
dub-hop of
'Vision Incision' to the lunatic disco of 'Blisters on My
Brain'. There's
a dark feel to some of the tracks, a real driving energy
in others,
but a common thread of enervating originality. The US magazine
Spin called
it the "most suggestive and provocative Brit-dance debut since
(Portishead's)
Dummy or (Tricky's) Maxinquaye." Although Dave Randall's
vocals are
an integral part of the album, the Lo Fi's are unfazed by the
prospect of
continuing without him, trusting ultimately in the greater
importance
of their music. They display a general feeling of optimism
about the
next album and as the NME put it, "Who needs a frontman when you
have something
as powerful as 'Blisters On My Brain'?". With this in mind,
they've been
working hard on their second album, aiming to get it finished
by February
next year.
"It's just
as all over the place," says Phil, when I ask him about the
material that
they've written. "Slow songs, fast songs, soul songs, house
songs...".
"Happier songs." chips in Dale. "Yeah, a few happy songs," he
nods. "And
dark songs," Dale adds helpfully. Even I nod this time. Songs
of all types
appear to be on the agenda.
Talk turns
to vocals. Without a full time singer the Lo Fidelity Allstars
have the freedom
to vary their vocalists. On the new album Phil does some,
Andy does
some, and they have plans for guest vocalists, including
SuperCollider's
Jamie Lidell.
"Super_Collider
are unbelievable and Jamie's an amazing soul singer.
They're the
only band at the moment who're doing something totally new."
says Phil.
"He's a mad bloke as well and the track we've got for him to
sing is mad."
I mentally add 'mad songs' to the list above. "Also, we're
actually going
for someone big but we can't tell you who 'cause we haven't
even asked
him yet. He's a soul singer, he's really good, he's modern
soul." I wait,
but Phil is not to be drawn. "No, we can't say, 'cause we
haven't even
asked him yet, and he'll probably say no and then we'll look
stupid."
"It's D'Angelo."
says Dale. There's a small silence and Phil looks at his
beer. "Yeah,
well. None of your cheesy ones," he nods.
The track 'Blisters
on My Brain' is due for release in the US soon, and
the finishing
touches are currently being put to the accompanying video.
Although the
video is for USA consumption, you'll probably be able to
catch it on
MTV sometime, but it's unclear when that might happen.
"America's
a year behind our music, so they're just releasing it there.
You'll be
able to see it here though somehow because it's turned out
really good."
says Phil. Although the track has already been released in
the UK earlier,
the video is completely new and features an aggressively
combative,
sexy dance-off between rival cheerleader teams the Skint
Sapphires
and the Lo Fidelity Allstars. It's not as corny as it sounds -
very much
like the hyperbolic preamble and challenge of a big boxing match
- and the
energetic dancing fits the driving beats well. However, it
originally
featured shots of the girls bending over in very short,
revealing
skirts, something the Lo Fi's weren't happy with.
"They've cut
out the knicker shots now. We asked them to" says Phil.
"Yeah. No
gusset shots." agrees Dale. "It was a bit Carry On really," Phil
continued.
"I just thought these girls looked amazing, really hardcore,
then there's
a couple of knicker shots. I thought, what must that girl
think if she
watches the video? She'll be really chuffed, and then there's
flashes of
her arse showing and then it's like, fuck no, I can't show it
to me mum
any more. So no."
Johnny and
Andy turn up at this point, and there's a general round of
insults happily
exchanged as they sit down. Phil performs the
introductions
and I try to explain what I've been asking about. Perhaps
inevitably,
we end up talking about America again; about the time the band
were made
to sign posters for some guy in the FBI and the stories about
their drivers,
one of whom was "quite into guns. He used to take them out
and stroke
them." Phil recalled what it was like when they first arrived,
before they
were well known. "I had to do an interview live on air, at two
in the morning,
in the middle of a nightclub on a podium with this DJ and
all the crowd
having absolutely no idea who I was. And all I can remember
is swearing,
like, You fucks, we've come all the way from fucking England
so you better
fucking have it, you bastards. Because of the noise, all you
could hear
was "you fucking bastards", and the DJ grabbed the mike off me
saying, You
can't swear on air." "They don't like that." says Johnny. "But
it's two o'clock
in the morning in a nightclub. What does he expect?" says
Phil, reasonably.
Since this
inauspicious start, however, the band have achieved a respected
status in
the States, and have recently been nominated for the Billboard
Best Breakthrough
Artist award. The other nominees are Lenny Kravitz,
Ricky Martin
and Tupac, and the Lo Fi's generally agree that Ricky Martin
will win.
It's based on the videos, and their entry is for 'Battleflag'.
"The results
are from votes, though, fans' votes," explains Phil, "so we
don't really
stand a chance." I privately wonder if this is the case.
Johnny and
Andy are muttering to each other, Johnny takes a fiver out of
Andy's hand.
"Right. This is all I've got, I borrowed it, does anyone want
anything?"
he says, waving it around. It seems like none of the band have
a great deal
of money, and I can't help wondering how this can be,
considering
their public success. "We're waiting for royalties to come
through."
explains Dale. "Yeah, we don't really have any money at the
moment," says
Phil, "although we'd be rich if we did all the remixes we
were offered,
but we just haven't got time." They've turned down offers to
remix a number
of tunes by artists including Thunderbugs, Robbie Williams
(which they
"couldn't be arsed with"), and even a track for the Sugarhill
project, which
they regretted but just didn't have time for, explaining
that their
own stuff comes first. They will however be applying the Lo Fi
touch to a
Moby track, 'Honey', which also gets the treatment from the Mad
Professor.
The band call
being an Allstar "the best job in the world," because "you
get free records
and stuff," but they seem totally unselfconscious and
refreshingly
down-to-earth about their success. As we're sitting about in
the pub, just
hanging about and drinking beer, I can't help thinking that
they seem
unlikely blokes for the industry they've found themselves in.
"There's loads
of tossers in the music industry," agrees Phil, "but you
just steer
clear of them. We're shit at meet and greets and stuff." They
recall their
recent strip to the States again, where Dale found himself
unknowingly
cornered by the Vice President of a very large record label.
"This guy
was saying to me, You're the greatest keyboard player in the
world. You
know, me mates had just said, come and have a go, I couldn't
play (he waves
his two first fingers around). And I'm just starting to get
it and then
there's this. I'm like, fuck off."
The band are
singularly unimpressed by the whole music schmooze, and
despite originally
being offered large sums of money to sign to other
major labels,
they decided to go with a company whose integrity
outstripped
these bids. "That's why we like Skint," says Phil, "because
they signed
us 'cause they love the music. I don't think they can have
envisaged
'Battleflag' doing so well."
On tour, their
'rock and roll lifestyle' tends to extend mostly to
drinking a
lot, and they try to steer clear of the usual trappings. They
don't trash
hotel rooms, for instance because "somebody's mum has got to
clear up after
you." Phil helpfully goes on to explain, "our fundamental
basis is in
drink. We're very hard drinking. It's not so good when you're
at home, but
when you're on tour, it's very good to keep that level of
drunkenness."
Dale agrees, "As I always say, it's a marathon, not a
sprint." he
nods. "Yeah," says Phil, "well, you've got two, haven't you. A
bit of Dutch
courage before you go on stage. You have to time your
drinking right
though, cos it's not right to go on stage too pissed.
Talking about
drink seems to remind them they're in the pub at this point,
and there's
a quick flurry of purchasing from the bar. Jack Daniel's all
round.
So what next
for the Allstars? Apart from the new album, which they plan
to have finished
by February, there's to be a single released in January,
and the album
will be out some time later in the year. They are briefly
going back
to the States soon for the Billboard awards and some DJing
gigs, which
Phil and Johnny do, "We share the money though, it's for all
of us." says
Johnny. But if you want to catch them in the UK, it's most
likely to
be towards the end of the year. "We're probably doing New Year's
Eve at the
Concorde. We're doing the opening of Fabric as well, Big Beat
Boutique meets
Bugged Out on November 5th." decides Phil. "DJing at the
Boutique is
the best crack though 'cause the crowd's amazing. They go mad
for owt."
For a taste
of what to expect from a Lo Fi DJ set, check the 'On the Floor
at The Boutique'
release mixed live there by the Lo Fidelity Allstars,
featuring
diverse acts such as Trouble Funk, Super_Collider, The Tams and
The Prodigy
- a mixture typical of their performances. They have yet to
plan any new
live dates, but when they do, it's always worth checking
who's in the
line up. The band are understandably slightly cagey about
discussing
the losses of Dave and Matt - Dave pulled out of the Lo Fi's
the day they
were due to leave to go on a UK tour - but Phil is keen to
cite as invaluable
the support of one particular musician.
"If ever there's
an honorary Allstar it's Sanj from Indian Ropeman. Sanj
has always
saved us. He's helped us out, like when Andy went to the World
Cup, Sanj
stepped in on bass. When Matt left we just phoned up Sanj and
said, Right
Sanj, we're about to go on tour, our biggest tour to date,
Matt's just
left us, do you wanna come and play keyboards for us?, and he
was fucking
brilliant, he came on tour with us."
It's clear
the Lo Fi's have plenty to look forward to, and the plan seems
to be to focus
now on the UK. "I really want to get some stuff out over
here." says
Phil. "I wanna do a tour of England. It's tempting to stay in
the USA, they
didn't want us to come back to the UK yet, but, well, we
live here."
'Here', incidentally is now Brighton, where the Lo Fi's have
chosen to
settle together in the same town for the first time ever,
normally being
scattered around various parts of the UK. Despite this,
their next
big gig will be in New York, DJing with Fatboy Slim at the
Hammerstein
Ballroom, for two nights in a row, in front of two thousand
people. They've
come a long way, baby.
The Lo Fi's
are bored now with talking. They drift off the subject of
themselves,
start talking about other stuff, mostly about what's on TV
that night.
Phil plans to get home in time to tape the Royle Family, then
watch the
last instalment of the Hip Hop Years. They decide to all go
together,
then they can work on their music afterwards. I can see another
long night
ahead for them, but before we all clear off, I ask them to give
an 'in-their-own-words'
description of their music if it were a food.
"It's a jacket
potato," says Phil, without even thinking. "You don't
always know
what you're going to get with it."
"It could be
prawn Marie Rose," suggests Dale, "or anything. Yeah. A
jacket potato
with your choice of filling."
I can't help wondering what D'Angelo would think of that.
Дискография:
Skint Singles:
SKINT 24 Kool
Roc Bass
SKINT 30 Disco
Machine Gun
SKINT 33 Vision
Incision
SKINT 38 Battleflag
Skint Albums:
BRASSIC 8 How
To Operate With A Blown Mind
BRASSIC 16
On The Floor At The Boutique 2 (Mix Album)
SKINT 24
Lo Fidelity
Allstars
Kool Roc Bass
12" Skint 24
CD Skint 24
CD
12"
Kool Roc Bass
One Man's
Fear Another Man's High
Taking Fear
From Behind
CD
Kool Roc Bass
(Radio Edit)
Kool Roc Bass
One
Man's Fear
Another Man's High
Taking Fear
From Behind
The 'How we
got to sign the Lo Fidelity Allstars story' goes a little
something
like this: We were sent a tape with 'One Man's Fear' and a remix
of 'Diamonds
Are Forever' on it, which we didn't get round to listening to
for quite
a while - until their manager hassled us and we finally got to
playing it.
It had a certain something and we were invited to their first
gig at The
Dublin Castle. Choc full of A&R men the gig was chaotic but
memorable,
as with most of their gigs since it looked like it was held
together by
sellotape. Legend has it that we signed them on the strength
of Dave Wrekked
Train's jacket... this isn't entirely true, it was a good
jacket so
it helped I suppose. Anyway, we said we liked them and would
love to put
out some of their records. We recorded 'Kool Roc Bass' at the
Skint studios
a month or so later and 2 months after seeing them we had
the single
of the week in the NME. Piece of piss.
You can still buy this single from the Skint Shop
SKINT 30
Lo Fidelity
Allstars
Disco Machine
Gun
12" Skint 30
CD Skint 30CD
12"
Disco Machine
Gun
Disco Machine
Gun Part II
Puppy Phat
Number One
CD
Disco Machine
Gun (Edit)
Disco Machine
Gun
Disco Machine
Gun Part II
Puppy Phat
Number
One
This was the
second single from the Lo Fis and notorius for a bit of a
sample problem,
which meant that the single had to be deleted a few days
after release
and the track renamed 'Blisters On My Brain'. This is the
part in the
film where they are now offically 'hot' and every A&R man that
had previously
passed them by wants to be their mates - you see we only
had them signed
for 2 singles and they were wooed with promises of
dragsters
and obscene amounts of cash, thankfully the boys didn't stray to
the dark side
and stayed with us... otherwise this would have been a very
nasty and
bitter little piece of writing. Haha. The release also contained
the bands
own housey remix of the track which was praised and played by
many top house
heads, Carl Cox, Deep Dish, Elliot Eastwick & Terry Farley
to name just
four. And 'Puppy Phat' a winner of a tune, since you're
asking.
SKINT 33
Lo Fidelity
Allstars
Vision Incision
12" Skint 33
12"2 Skint
33X
CD Skint 33CD
12"
Vision Incision
(12" Mix)
Vision Incision
(Radio Edit)
Gringo's Return
To Punk Paste
12"2
Vision Incision
(Incision In The Midfield Mix)
Many Tentacles
Pimping On the Keys
CD
Vision Incision
(Radio Edit)
Vision Incision
(12" Mix)
Vision Incision
(Midfield General Shorter Mix)
Gringo's Return
To Punk Paste
Released just
before the ground breaking LP 'How To Operate With A Blown
Mind', Vision
Incision is a nine minute epic of a track... a quite
beautiful
musical journey through the hearts and minds of disaffected
urban youth...
On a more superfical level it was the first time that the
Lo-Fi's got
into the Big Top 40... It didn't change them though, they
still smelt.
The B-side was 'Gringo's Return To Punk Paste' a new version
of a track
that had appeared on 'Donuts' a compilation on Bolshi Records.
Even though
it had quite a nasty electro break this could probably be
described
as the closest LFA have got to a lighter moment.
SKINT 38
Lo Fidelity
Allstars
Battleflag
12" Skint 38
CD1 Skint
38CD
CD2 Skint
38XCD
12"
Battleflag
Pony Pressure
Bonus Beats
CD1
Battleflag
(Full Version)
Pony Pressure
Bonus Beats
CD2
Battleflag
(Radio Edit)
Battleflag
(Space raiders Remix)
Battleflag
Live (Big Beat Boutique)
Having been
mightily impressed with our boys, a very nice man called Jason
at Sub Pop
Records asked if the Lo Fi's would remix a track by one of
there bands
called Pigeonhed. As is their want on remixes the Lo Fi's like
to stamp their
own character on the mix which, back then, included putting
The Wrekked
Train vocals on as well. So this combined with the brilliant
original vocals
and an incredible bassline made for an all round winning
track. When
the track didn't get the attention it rightly deserved we
asked if we
could put it on the LP as a Lo Fi's track featuring Pigeonhed,
they said
OK, we said thank you. The track went in the charts over here in
England, but
it was in America were this track 'broke' and led to the
Lo-Fi's conquering
America.... We said Hallelujah.
BRASSIC 8
Lo Fidelity
Allstars
How To Operate
With A Blown Mind
LP Brassic
8LP
CD Brassic
8CD
MC Brassic
8MC
Warming Up
The Brain Farm
Kool Roc Bass
Kasparov's
Revenge
Blisters On
My Brain
How To Operate
With A Blown Mind
I Used To
Fall In Love
Battleflag
(feat. Pigeonhed)
Lazer Sheep
Dip Funk
Will I Get
Out Of Jail
Vision Incision
Nightime Story
On The Floor At The Boutique
Lo-Fidelity Allstars
Format: Audio CD
Release Date: 02/08/2000
Label: Columbia
User Rating: (5.0 out
of 5)
*
See User Ratings (2)
*
Rate/review this album
*
Tracks
Listen to Audio Samples: To hear a song, click the song title below.
RealPlayer is required.
1.
You're Never Alone With A Clone -
Lo Fidelity Allstars
2.
No Diggity - BlackStreet/Dr. Dre
3.
Stand Clear - Indian Ropeman
4.
Pump Me Up - Trouble Funk
5.
You Must Learn - Boogie Down
Productions (Live From Caucus
Mountain remix)
6.
Levitation - Runaways
7.
Raw Element - Dirt
8.
Darn (Cold Way Of Lovin')
9.
What Is It? - Wildstyle Bob Nimble
10.
Black Is Black - Jungle Brothers
(Ultimatum mix)
11.
What That Sound?, (Hey You)
12.
Disko Doktor, (I Need That)
13.
Stakker Humanoid - Humanoid
14.
20 Seconds To Comply - Silver
Bullet
15.
Funk Phenomena, The - Armand
Van Helden (JohnNickennyDope
mastermix)
16.
Makin' It Happen - Jackson And
His Computer Band
17.
Many Tentacles Pimping On The
Keys - Lo Fidelity Allstars
18.
Whole Church Should Get Drunk,
The - Feelgood Factor
19.
I Can Feel Your Love - Felice
Taylor
20.
Be Young Be Foolish Be Happy -
The Tams
21.
Out Of Space - Prodigy
22.
Bootsy Call - Lo Fidelity Allstars
Listen to ALL samples
Other Formats & Full Tracks
Editorial Reviews
Wall of Sound, 2-7-00
If listening to a regular album is subjective, consider how difficult it
is to rate a mix
tape - essentially a loose compilation of other people's music. Full Review
LAUNCH, 2-3-00
Though Lo-Fidelity Allstars's 1998 debut album was a certified dud, this
remix CD
finds the Brighton-based DJ troupe on their home turf doing what they do
best.
Full Review
More Editorial Reviews
Quick Quotes
Spin (2/00, pp.109-10) - 6 out of 10
...forwards their vision of the apocalypse as univeral throw-down - they
even open
with Blackstreet's 'No Diggity' whose candy hoodoo seems weirdly eerie..."
CMJ (2/00, p.61) - "...mixes and matches hip-hop, funk, soul and house,
all driven
by block-rocking beats....a variety filled hour-plus of the kind of boulder-sized
beats that gave big beat its name..."
Entertainment Weekly (1/28/00, pp.102-3) - "...a ceaseless stream of...unaltered
techno and R&B obscurities that segue intop each other....bustling
and
unsubtle....the album ebulliently links past, present, and future..." -
Rating: B
Recent User Ratings
07/26/2000
Check this out!!!
mixmastercb
02/04/2000
2pac (you were,you are & you will)
fatel_shamal
More User Ratings
Rate this Album
Album Notes
This is a continuous in-the-mix CD compiled and mixed by Lo Fidelity Allstars.
Producers include: Lo Fidelity Allstars, Indian Ropeman, KRS-One, Joe 2
Grand,
Cristian Vogel. One of the U.K.'s hottest acts, the Lo Fidelity Allstars,
have made
quite a name for themselves in America with the release of their debut
album,
HOW TO OPERATE WITH A BLOWN MIND, which featured the
modern-rock-radio smash "Battle Flag." The group's second U.S. release,
ON
THE FLOOR AT THE BOUTIQUE, is a hot mix album, showing the band's
prodigious skills on the wheels of steel. Operating as big-beat mixmasters,
the Lo
Fi Allstars combine everything one could imagine within their music--rock,
funk,
house, hip-hop, disco; you name it, it's in there. The same can be said
for ON
THE FLOOR AT THE BOUTIQUE, where the guys mix everything from
Blackstreet's "No Diggity" and Trouble Funk's "Pump Me Up" to Jungle Brothers
"Black Is Black" and Prodigy's "Out of Space." Old is new as the crew steadily
mixes hits from numerous decades and various genres. Watch for more to
come
from this exciting act!
General Info
Genre: n/a
Catalog Number: 63951
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution
Spars Code: n/a
Mono/Stereo: Stereo
Studio/Live: Studio