Alex Gifford is in the USA helping produce the next album by
the Jungle
Brothers, which is set for release in May 1999.
There has still been no official word on the health of
Propellerheads
member Will White. Speculation has included depression or mental
illness, although there has been no confirmation.
My latest article on the Props!
Who'd have thought that a duo named after the
Californian term for computer nerds, playing an
instrumental mishmash of breakbeats, hip hop, acid
and house music would be one of the hottest things
in new music in 1997?
But in the past 12 months, UK music has undergone
some profound changes and, after the recent
success of The Chemical Brothers, Underworld
and The Prodigy, the Propellerheads have every
right to expect that big things are just around the
corner. The duo - Will White and ex-Grid
engineer Alex Gifford - have only released three
singles, Bring Us Together on Pussyfoot, the
full-on juggernaut that was the Dive EP and its
equally forceful follow up Take California, both on
Wall Of Sound.
These three releases have been enough to mark
them out as rising stars of the alternative dance
scene, but it is their live shows that have given them
an added edge, particularly as part of Wall Of
Sound's Stud Farm tour. Keyboards, massed
percussion, four-deck mixing and a little human beat
boxing has meant that, in the flesh, the Props (as
they are more commonly known) provide an all
encompassing, energetic breakbeat fiesta. "People
have been going to the gigs then buying the
records," says Wall Of Sound's label manager
Jemma Kennedy.
Despite a wealth of A&R offers, the
Propellerheads have stayed loyal to Wall Of Sound.
"They know we understand them, that it's not
just about money, and they understand us,"
says Kennedy. "They're very clear about what
they want to do and they know we're
supportive of their ethos." Dive was re-released in the UK in
March 1997. The single broke into the Top 75 on its
release last year, but a deal to use the music in a
worldwide Adidas TV campaign will undoubtedly
explode the track into the upper reaches of the
charts.
Propellerheads is Alex Gifford, Will White, four decks, a drum-kit and
a Hammond organ. Alex has been riffing and bleeping it up all around
the
world for the last few years with technoid nobbers The Grid amongst
others.
The first Propellerheads record sampled a pedestrian crossing Alex
found
in Sydney, and another one features what must be the oldest woman ever
to
appear on a Hip Hop record, she's about 90 ... all completely ludicrous
but
it works.
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE?
Pigeon hole at your own risk. Put it this way, they planted a four
track sentex package that Wall of
Sound UXB
team had to deliver. Their debut "Dive" EP was released on WOS the
1st of April 1996. It was a
monster
moving, freeform bassbleepspinesnapping beats extravaganza - four tracks
that covered every
extreme and
just about every BPM.
IS THAT IT?
Far from it. More warnings followed with "Bring Us Together" on the
Wall of Pussy longplayer, and now
they are
raising the pressure with a demand to "Take California" on the latest
installment of the "Give ‘em
Enough
Dope" compilation series. No one dares get in the way of their bazooka
beats.
CAN THEY PLAY LIVE?
Damn right. The sets veer unpredictably between four deck work (both
Alex and Will on the turntables)
to live
organ (Alex) and drums (Will). Frantic and energetic, the Propellerheads
are shooting all prisoners and
blowing
away the competition. They're not loitering behind the mixing desk,
they're out front, on the gear, doing
everything a live set should be. Get the picture?
WHERE CAN I FIND THEM?
All over the shop. Part of the WOS strike force, they have spent the
summer invading European air
space and
kicking up some serious dust with their four deck shenanigans. At all
times sticking to their slogan:
"You've got
to party for your right to fight." They're set to be the house band
at Wall of Sound's "Back To Mono"
residency at
the Blue Note from October 17, 1997. More danger for Metropolis.
ANY INTEREST?
You bet! Everyone wants a bit of the action and can you blame 'em?
Adidas have called on their sonic
dexterity
for their new worldwide advertising campaign. Tangy has been busting
them out on Radio 1 at every
opportunity, and the boys have recently joined forces with Dreamworks
in the US.
WHAT ELSE THEY GOT GOING ON?
Remixing and gigging. Knob twiddling for the next 808 State single
with James Brodfield on guest
vocals.
Recent mixes under the belt for Luscious Jackson and Soul Coughing.
Also on the mixing desk for
Mekon and
The Cure. And watch for a redo of John Barry's On Her Majesty's Secret
Service. Basically they're
having a right
old laugh. I think you get the picture.
Everyone lost the bidding war: Interscope, Island, etc.
The Propellerheads will stay with Wall of Sound until
the label finds a deal for the whole company to be bought
out. The props are neutral about remaining "indie" and would
like the exposure that a big label could get them. There is a deal
with US label Dreamworks for the release of the single "Bang On"
**************PROPELLERHEADS DISCOGRAPHY************************
COVER ART:
Dive EP
History Repeating single
Bang On EP
Propellerheads Super Bon Bon re-mix
Decksandrumsandrockandroll
THE GOODS:
Cat No: WALLT/D 016
Format: 12"/CDS
Title: Dive EP
Tracks: A1 Dive! A2 Ron's Theory B1 Lethal Cut B2 Go Faster
The song used in the Adidas commercial. Lethal Cut is also available
on Altered State, a compilation
from Solid State Records SoildCD4.
Cat No: WALLT/D 024
Format: 12"/CDS
Title: Take California
Tracks: A1 Take California B1 Big Dog B2 Props Got Skills
Cat No: WALLT/D 029
Format: 12"/CDS
Title: Spybreak!
Tracks: Spybreak (short one), Clang, Velvet Pants, Spybreak (long ong)
Other: see WALLT 029X. Spybreak also found on the Playing God soundtrack.
Cat No: WALLT/D 029x
Format: 12"/CDS
Title: Spybreak! release 2
Tracks: Spybreak (short one), Props Got Mo' Skills (live), Take California
(live), Bring Us Together (live)
Cat No: WALLCD 010
Format: CD
Title: Give 'em Enough Dope 3
Track: Take California
Cat No: Nettwerk 0 6700 301112 9
Format: CD
Title: The Plastic Compilation
Track: Take California (long one)
Cat No: WALLPUSSLP/CD 1
Format: 12"/CD
Title: WALL OF PUSSY Compiliation
Track: Propellerheads - Bring Us Together
Cat No: Wall of Sound/Epic AGENT 3T 12", AGENT 3 SCD
Format: 12"/CDS
Title: Agent Dan (Propellerheads mix)
Artist: Agent Provocateur
Other: also found on their album "Where The Wild Things Are"
Cat. No: Wall Of Sound/East West 12": EW 136T [4.33]. CD: EW 136CD [4.33])
Unique/Warner Music
Format: 12"/CDS
Title: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry)
Artist: Propellerheads/David Arnold
Other: Also available on the James Bond Tribute "Shaken And Stirred"
US or UK
(WEA/Discovery/Trend/Musicraft 31011).
More: There is a rare compilation called "No Mr. Bond - I Expect You
To Dance" with this track also.
anyone?
Cat No: ZTT ZANG 87C
Format: 12"/CDS
Title: Lopez
Artist: 808 State (Hand On/A Direct Neural Mix by the Props)
Other: also available on the Japanese import Thermo Kings with other
808 State remixes (Cat
No:WPCR-942 Japan)
Cat No: SAM 1953 Warner Music
Format: 12" promo
Title: House On Fire
Artist: Arkarna (Propellerheads mix)
Cat No: 9 43878-2 Reprise
Format: CDS
Title: House on Fire
Artist: Arkarna (Propellerheads mix)
Cat No: WALLT/D 023
Format: 12"/CDS
Title: Welcome to Tackletown
Artist: Mekon
Tracks: B1 Propellerheads Remix
Cat No 1: LASHX 60 Slash/London promo w/o sleeve
Cat No 2: LASHX 60 Slash/London promo w/sleeve
Cat No 3: LA SCD 60 Slash/London CD
Format: 12"/CDS
Title: Super Bon Bon (Propellerheads Mezzanine Mix) and (Edit)
Artist: Soul Coughing
Cat No: Capitol/EMI 7423 8841112 2 6
Format: CD
Title: Naked Eye (Propellerheads mix)
Other: UK remix CD2, also available on UK "Under Your Skin"
Vinyl Cat No: SQUAT/LACERBA SQUCD 4, LACERBA/CERBAD 3
CD Cat No: Echo/Mercury 314 568 282-2
Format: 12"/CD
Title: Life In Mono (Propellerheads Alice Band remix), (Propellerheads
Sweat Band mix); tracks 2 and 3
on the CD single
Artist: Mono
Other: Alice Band remix avial. on TRIHOPCRISY IV and the Sweat Band
mix is avail. on BIG BEAT
ELITE
Cat No: Harthouse HH112
Format: 12"
Title: Chupacabra (Propellerheads Three Amigos remix)
Artist: Freddy Fresh
Cat No: WALLD 036
Format: 12", CD
Title: History Repeating
Artist: Propellerheads feat. Shirley Bassey
Tracks: 1 Ankle Length mix, 2 Hip Length mix, 3 Knee Length mix
Cat No: ?
Format: CD
Title: Backseat Driver
Other: "Tomorrow Never Dies" soundtrack
Cat No: UNI/DREAMWORKS DRMDM-58006
Format: 12"/CDS
Title: Bang On
Tracks: 1 Bang On, 2 Spybreak (long one), 3 Clang, 4 Props Got Mo'
Skills, 5 Bring Us Together
Review: Pure Propellerheads mayhem from start to finish, a well spoken
sample kicks off,
then into a muted frenzy, which lets you know that, however much you
might think
of it now, it's going to kick you in the head in 3 - 2 - wait for it
- bang on! Pausing only
to repeat this cry, its chemical induced madness it rocks until, inevitably
it starts to
fall apart, leaving you pushing harder, trying to keep the fragments
together as the
beats slip out of your grasp
Cat. No: WALLTO45-C and WALLD045-C
Format: 12"/CDS
Title: The Extended Play
The Propellerheads are back with more smooth lyrics laid over their
special blend of
jazzy & soulful beats. 4 excellent tracks including 1 bigbeat piece
that will go
over very well with the Norman Cook fans.
Format: CD
Title: Decksandrumsandrockandroll
Propellerheads Tour Information
Date City
State Venue
not touring the US as of now
Links
Wall of Sound--Their label.
Dreamworks--US distributor.
Props on Dreamworks
Props on WOS
The Propellerheads on Dotmusic
Alex Gifford's 1996 Top 10
SOUND 1Take California--An absolutely brilliant concoction.
SOUND 2Super Bon Bon re-mix
Alex Gifford
[Propellerheads]
All-time favourite 9
On April 30 Propellerheads put on a blistering show at
the Hof Ter Loo in Antwerpen (Belgium).
When they kicked off with their torpedo of a single - Dive -
the whole place went spastic (a genuine
tour de force when you're playing right after Gary Clail). With
the help of 4 turntables, a Hammond
organ and set of drums they took us on a relentless journey
through a jungle of phat hiphop beats,
balls-on-the-table techno and acid frenzy. They even outclassed
the legendary performance of the
Chemical Brothers at the Pukkelpop festival (Belgium)
last year, so be sure to check 'm out this
summer! Our shoes were still smoking when we asked Alex Gifford
for this list. His hands were too.
1. Wiseguys "Funk it up" (Wall Of Sound)
2. Les Rhythmes Digitales "Ormalite" (Wall Of Sound)
3. DJ Decent "Reflex speed" (Renaissance Infinity)
4. Dr. Rockit "D for Doctor" (Clear)
5. DJ Who "Plup friction" (Electric Soul)
6. Dragonfly "Angel dust" (Sweet mother)
7. Hustlers Of Culture "Original hustler" (Wall Of Sound)
8. Digital Underground "No nose job"
9. Max Greger & His Orchestra "Big train"
R E V I E W S
Spybreak (Music Week /
Record Mirror)
Spybreak (NME)
History Repeating (Record
Mirror)
History Repeating (Mixmag
Update)
Decksandrumsandrockandroll
(Muzik)
Decksandrumsandrockandroll
(Melody Maker)
Spybreak (Music Week /
Record Mirror)
The Props deliver three more
cuts of prime breakbeat
mayhem, the title track uses a
cheeky Mission Impossible -
esque sample, coupled with
some funky Seventies style
keyboarding. 'Velvet Pants'
over on the B keeps up the funk,
cool Jazzy chords sit neatly
upon the tight groove, while the
Flute riff weaves in and out with
the deranged 'Velvet Pants'
refrain. 'Clang' explores the
smoker's arena, a sanky bass
sets the mood with a dark
attitude and quirky sounds. Well
worth investigating.
Spybreak (NME)
More screaming breakbeats
from the Props, pulling off the
unenviable task of following
their steamrolling 'Take
California' single with unrivalled
panache. This one kicks off with
their trademark human beatbox,
moves into a 'Hey Jude' - like
groove before spinning into
Mission Impossible - type
espionage, leaving us feeling
as though we've been caught in
a rhino charge with only a
cagoule for protection. And
while flip tack 'Velvet Pants'
may be Corduroy - style cut that
lacks the Props' usual punch,
'Clang' soon picks the
momentum back up with its
old-skool electro samples and
eerie melodies.
History Repeating (Record
Mirror)
As if their collaboration with
David Arnold was just testing
the water, the Props are back
with more Bond - like themes.
The Welsh wonder delivers a
unique and commanding vocal
over a frenetic guitar riff, funky
keys and beats groove on the
thrilling A side. The other two
mixes are more Bassey than
Props, with the accent on
schmaltzy bossa vibes and
full-blown orchestral blasts that
are guaranteed to raise a smile.
Another landmark for the
Propellerheads.
History Repeating (Mixmag
Update)
Surely born out of some
powder-driven brainstorming
session or after-session party,
the collaboration between
Bath's heirs-apparent and the
Diva of Tiger Bay is now very
much a reality. While the frantic
car-chase percussion of the A
side will guarantee dancefloor
mayhem well into the
turkey'n'sprouts season, its on
the B side that the real
treasures are hiding. The
original Mix is a jazzy treat in the
Bond style, but the hip hop
based Knee Length Mix is the
real deal, allowing the space for
Ms Bassey to really be heard
and for the song itself to shine.
Remarkably enough this is a
real, proper grown up song with
real proper (and excellent)
lyrics and the combination of
Ms Bassey's gorgeous as ever
voice, jazzy rhodes and
hammond, and superlative
deckwork is enough to make
grown men weep. In a fair world,
this would go all the way and a
festive number one would be
theirs- I'll be off to Ladbrokes
just in case, White
Christmasses all round.
Decksandrumsandrockandroll
Muzik
One of them plays a pair of
Technics1200's and a
Hammond organ, often at the
same time. The other sits
behind a drumkit and hits it very
hard . They make big beat
records. They are the
Propellerheads, and since
dance music is the new rock 'n'
roll, they are the new
Motorhead. Rejoice!
Okay, stop right there. Put down
the pen. Tear up the letter which
began "Dear Muzik, please
stop boring us senseless about
rock music. We don't like it etc.
etc." Listen , Rock music as we
know it today is largely an
impotent, lame stallion with no
new tricks to pull and little clue
as to which way to turn, which is
why it constantly relives its past
glories at every turn. Eh, Noel?
Conversely, dance music is the
only thing left to scare parents
with, to work middle-brow
tabloids up into zealous froth
about the evils of drugs and
dancing mindlessly with cool
trainers on. Dance music does
all those important
youth-affirming things rock
music stopped doing a very
long tome ago. Your mum
loved "Wonderwall" but hated
"Firestarter". It's as simple that.
So, "Decks..." is what rock'n'roll
music in the late 20th century
ought to sound like. In a
nutshell, the sound of early
morning fun, of getting nutted,
dancing like a loon and blowing
rasberries at Radiohead fans.
The fact it also happens to be
the pinnacle of big beat's
achievements to date - the
ongoing rewiring of house's
structural base with high-tensile
hip hop dynamism - is
coincidental, really. The fact is
that "Decks..." rolls with a
self-assuredness and grandeur
that most of the big beat flock
simply can not muster. This is
probably to do with the fact that
Avon duo industry hands Alex
Gifford and Will White are adept
at second guessing the
movements of the dancefloor;
every build up, breakdown,
every sliver of 303, every drum
fill is perfectly nudged into
place for complete and utter
floor meltdown.
Thus, "comintagetcha" will beat
other breakbeat missives from
here to eternity in terms of nude,
unabashed athleticism. The
high-octane flame-throwing of
"Bang On!" is the best song
Motorhead never wrote and
"Take California" pounds along
like Elvis Presley's hips a full
year after its original release.
But wait! There's more! A whole
Ian Fleming's - deskful of spy
themed breakbeat monsters, in
fact all of which very much
temper these japes with
moments of studied themic
musicianship . While the
showbiz gloss of their Shirley
Bassey pairing "History
Repeating"is essentially
perfectly-formed through away
pop, the vast, twinkling
panorama of "On Her Majesty's
Secret Service" is possibly the
Props' finest achievement to
date, and consequently more
vital than 99% of the music you
will hear this year.
Such is the importance of this
album, then Decks, Drums,
Rock, Roll The vital
components of your best ever
night out. Ladies and
gentlemen, the Propellerheads
have just entered the building.
10 out of 10
Decksandrumsandrockandroll
Melody Maker
When a genre takes over the
airwaves, you just know it won't
be too long before the backlash
takes it out. With trip hop and
Britpop realms of recent
memory and drum'n'bass
hanging onto the underground
by the skin of its teeth, its clear
that once a sound files from the
Top 10 straight into a car ad,
then someone will soon take an
axe to it.
And of course the bigger the
beat, the more conspicuous it
is. Hence a few mutterings that
this big beat thing might have
shot its bolt rather too speedily,
become ubiquitous that it could
be given away in cornflake
packets without comment.
Propellerheads cut through
such jaded arguments like a
silver sabre, bringing a style
and imagination to the party that
makes the superbly named
"Decksandrumsandrockandroll"
a pure pleasure.
It's not just a matter of 200%
proof pure hedonism aimed at
the groin, heart and some of the
less useful brain lobes, either -
not that Will White and Alex
Gifford can't do that trick at the
drop of a DAT. You realise
early on - and not just because
of their to hell-and-back
reinvention of "On Her
Majesty's Secret Service" - that
they've never quite recovered
from being kids sneaking into
Saturday morning pictures,
sniffing the pop corn and feeling
the prickle of red velvet seats,
of darkness, of excitement. It's
not surprising that they work in
primary coloured plastic chunks
of big beat underneath it all lie
the obsession of little boys and
girls. Sex, spies and
videotapes, all those fantasies
formed in between the pixels of
the screen, in the glow of
comics read by torchlight,
through the crackle of static on
the needle. Add to that an
immaculate very grown-up
understanding of conversation
s and how to upend them, the
fierce adrenalin hit of hip hop
beats and some neat rock'n'roll
filth, and you've got a record as
playful and powerful as a
lioness on the pull.
Which would explain their
penchant for the leering double
entendres, the scattered
samples giving a nod and a
wink to an innocent time when
the Permissive Society didn't
even know what it was it was
meant to be permitting.
"Velvet Pants" swings straight
out from the Austin Powers'
songbook, doused in cheap
"Beat At Cinecitta" cool, as a
load of Haight Ashbury chicks
exclaim, " He's got a nice body
/ He's wearing velvet pants"
with fringe-flicking ennui. It's
saved from being a sniggering
samplers' in-joke by the
fabulous go-go dancing
bassline and an attractively
sleazy piano slithering up next
to you and calling you baby.
"Bigger?" is equally delicious,
two suave gentlemen having a
highly suspect conversation
over a low-down riff that sounds
like a vocoder vomiting Blue
Curaçao into a Soho gutter.
Meanwhile, "Bang On!" starts
with a standard scientist-type
yelping, "I've never seen so
many knobs!" , before the whole
things degenerates into the kind
of gibbering lunacy that would
have Keith Flint needing a nice
lie-down and some
slow-release Vitamin C. It's
fabulously scuzzy, Ministry's
"Jesus Built My Hotrod" coming
back for more aggro,
Motorhead seizing control of
those decks and drums leaving
Lemmy with a clutch of wires
dangling from his jaws. But of
course, One other thing little
boys love is metal.
But they also deeply crave
sophistication, and, of course
Propellerheads carry it off with
panache. "History Repeating"
is as divine as anything
featuring Miss Shirley Bassey
must be, no giggly kitsch-fest or
cheap credibility exchange, but
fiercely glamorous and
delectably witty. Likewise, the
high-drama version of "On Her
Majesty's Secret Service" and
the barreling "Spybreak!" both
done with a real love and a
secret desire to be able to tie a
bowtie and shoot an enemy
agent at the same time. Yet
even though the opening "Take
California", and "Echo and
Bounce", are as precise and
shiny as a row of microchips,
they're microchips doing the
lambada. For all the die-hard
electricism, the spangled jet-set
charisma, they can never
subdue that exuberance, or let
us forget the trainers poking
under their dinner suits.
As a testament to two man and
their passionate affair with pop
culture,
"Decksandrumsandrockandroll"
is bang on the money, bang up
to date. May they bang on, And
on.
Propellerheads: Drums Gone To Iceland
In Reykjavik, the kids believe in elves, sell paintings to British pop
stars and enjoy wandering the
streets all night, pissed out of their skulls. Guess what? They lurve
The Propellerheads...
Writer: Dom Phillips
Photographer: Dean Chalkley
WE rattle into Reykjavik in a battered BMW, having spent half an hour
on a freezing hard shoulder
tying down its rusty bonnet with a bootlace. We breeze out two days
later in a gnarly old taxi, the
overloaded boot now held down with string. Inbetween we're stopped
by police, quizzed about elves,
abducted by mothers to see 'the real Iceland', fed fish soup and unfeasible
amounts of alcohol, and
driven at insane speeds in unsuitable vehicles along roughneck black
dirt tracks to a space age lake
where you can swim outdoors in the middle of Winter. Oh, and we also
get to meet The
Propellerheads, grinning all the while. They're at Number Three in
the Icelandic charts and this is
their second visit. They love it here. Two days later, despite a hangover
from hell, I can see why.
Crikey, I'm thinking of moving myself.
THE Props - tousle-haired Alex, 33 and suede-headed Will,
24 - are here for a short holiday, with a couple of DJing
spots thrown in. We meet them at the wonderful little
record shop that Kiddi, the promoter, owns on Reykjavik's
minuscule main street. Kitted out in immaculate baggy
jeans, big coats and trainers, they're buying records and
laughing - about the police stopping our lift for driving with
an unsuitable bonnet, the 70s porn film soundtracks and
Prodigy bootlegs Kiddi has in his racks. Laughing at pretty
much everything until they fall asleep on the plane home. The bastards
have a lot to be cheerful
about. 'History Repeating', their Shirley Bassey collaboration, is
all over the place. Their version of
the James Bond theme 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' soundtracks
a crucial chase sequence in
the film 'Tomorrow Never Dies'. Their debut album, 'Decksandrumsandrockandroll'
is ready for
release and despite intense pursuit by assorted major labels, they've
remained part of the
independent Wall Of Sound family of "underdog nutters" they clearly
love so well. "It sounds really
cheesy but it is a family thing," Alex says later. "Everyone on Wall
Of Sound is working together to
push this thing."
This thing being the dance music phenomenon known as 'big beat', but
more about that later. But
first, Kiddi buys us all a huge, lovely Icelandic meal of fish soup
and lamb and beef, washed down
with plenty of Viking lager. He takes the Props off to sort their records
and points photographer
Dean and I towards the Caf? Au Lait, which will close down tonight
after local Beastie Boys
soundalikes Quarashi have finished their set and trashed the place.
Now we can understand why
Reykjavik likes the Propellerheads so much. It's like London's Blue
Note in here. Boys in hooded
fleeces and kitsch 70s gear nod their heads to cool trip hop while
pretty pixie chicks roll their eyes at
each other. At least one is the spit of Bjork (she's in town, apparently).
Both this, and Caf? Barrin
(part-owned by Damon Albarn), are painfully trendy in that combat-trousered
bohemian way,
soundtracked by DJs who demonstrate superbly eclectic taste, flipping
through Kraftwerk to Les
Rhythmes Digitales and Joy Division. "It tends to be the case here
that people don't give a shit
about music unless it's good," says Will, later. And competition between
DJs is fierce. We meet a
tattooed young artist called Harpa who says she's sold pictures to
Keith Prodigy and Skunk
Anansie's Skin, and a Jarvis Cocker lookalike who says he stayed with
the nylon bombshell for three
weeks in London.
We get drunk and head for the Moon Club to hear the Props play a DJ
set. At 1am it is empty. At
2.30 it's rammed and the entire club seems to be standing on the speakers
screaming their tits off to
'Take California' and 'History Repeating' and other choice floorfillers
from the Propellerheads back
catalogue. At 4.30am a small blonde in a red plastic dress and Santa
hat gives us a lift back to our
hotel while local radio DJ Johnny Five points out the hundreds of drunk
Icelanders who like to flood
the main streets at this time. NEXT to the Chemical Brothers, who convincingly
rule the roost, The
Propellerheads are the sexiest band in the world of big beat. Deservedly.
Their live shows - Alex
DJing and playing keyboards, Will drumming out live breaks - generally
blow the joint up. Singles like
'Take California' and 'Dive' are breakbeat classics: all minimal little
squelches and crisp, rolling
rhythms, skirting the brink of chaos with a charmingly funky feel.
(They say they'd like to be the
Parliament of big beat.) Then there's the Shirley Bassey collaboration
which won't have harmed
anyone's career, especially as Alex got to write the lyrics. Their
remix of 808 State's 'Lopez', a rolling
indie-breakbeat soundclash that starred Manic Street Preacher James
Dean Bradfield on vocals,
was astonishing and powerful. And if their debut album seems to be
more of a collection of grooves
and hits than an accomplished whole in its own right, it's still a
whole lot of fun. Indeed, there is a very
silly side to the Propellerheads, sniggering away in the kitsch vocal
samples on 'Velvet Pants' (about
a taut pair of male buttocks) and the Hendrix-style powerchord guitar
of 'Bang On 1'. "Our tunes are
very much party tunes," notes Alex. "It does seem to connect with happy
people, rather than people
who are anal about stuff." You mean the kind of people who stroke their
chins while mumbling stuff
like "interesting use of the bassline"? "Yeah. Senseless use of the
bassline, that's more what we're
about. Inadvisable use of the bassline."
The only problem facing the happy-go-lucky Propellerheads is that, like
many bands under the big
beat umbrella, they sound a little bit like an early Chemical Brothers
track, say something off the
'14th Century Sky' EP. Though 'History Repeating' and 'Winning Style',
the album's 'Green
Onions'-style 60s jam, hint at other potential directions. Alex readily
admits to the "huge effect" the
Chemical Brothers had on the Props first forming. Especially - yep
- 1994's '14th Century Sky' ("such
a groundbreaking record") and a party the Chems DJed at for Deconstruction
Records during
Manchester's In The City music conference that same year. Alex was
playing with The Grid at the
time, who'd just performed at The Academy. It was a great party. People
were bouncing off the
ceiling. I was there. So were Kylie Minogue, Boy George, and our fashion
editor Kirsty, who was
enjoying herself so much she forgot the editor of Los Angeles dance
mag Urb was still locked in the
boot of her car. "There's always amazing moments going on," says Alex,
"and you don't really
notice." Another pivotal moment for him was last year's Essential Festival
in Brighton - dominated by
the Skint/Wall Of Sound tent. "All these nutter underdogs who basically
play at being really madcap
and stuff," he grins, "in this little tent at the top of the hill.
Of all the festival, it just had a neon sign on
the top of it that just said 'FUN'."
THERE are two great myths in big beat. One is that the DJs will play
anything. When actually, they'll
play anything as long as it sounds like an early Chemical Brothers
record. During two excellent DJ
sets I hear the Propellerheads drop just two records that don't include
a breakbeat and a dirty acid
noise: Mot?rheads 'Ace Of Spades' and Beastie Boys 'Fight For Your
Right To Party'. Big beat
offers a refreshing, energetic alternative to house and techno, but
surely its formulas are as rigid in
their own way? Alex disagrees. "It's all loosely held together with
a breakbeat. I think that's the only
link," he says. "Musically it's very broad. Obviously the difference
between us and The Prodigy is
huge." Well maybe. Myth number two is that the Chemical Brothers started
big beat because they
were jaded with the metronome beat-fascism and do-anything-for-the-cash
attitudes of the bloated
house mainstream. This is easily proved: most major players on the
big beat scene started out raving
and clubbing, Chemicals and Propellerheads included. "I don't think
there was any escaping it,"
recalls Will, who grew up in Frome in Somerset, surrounded by countless
free parties and travellers'
raves and who, like Alex, is clearly bitterly disillusioned with the
superclubbing state of house today. "I
don't wanna sound purist but experiencing the really early acid house
parties," he adds, "and seeing
just a lot of money moving in and completely raping what was..." His
voice tails off in remembered
disappointment. "If you're gonna do dance music then it should connect
your hip bone and your
knee bone to your ankle bone and all that shit," says Alex. "And not
necessarily require some
chemical link from your head to your hands so that you can make cardboard
boxes. Because there's
machines that do that [make cardboard boxes] really well." He also
says something else about
house music today. He says: "If you want music that sounds good on
pills, you've got to have some
decent pills..."
Propellerheads: Drums Gone To Iceland
SATURDAY lunchtime and we climb into two cars to go and hunt for elves,
find mountains, and
take photographs. Spessy, a local photographer who is driving one car,
believes, like most
Icelanders, that the countryside is dotted by the homes of thousands
of elves, who come in all sorts
of different, er, breeds. Roads have apparently been re-routed so as
not to disturb the elves'
domestic bliss. The Props raise an eyebrow, but are prepared to go
with this. Alex and I climb into the
other car, driven by the Santa hat girl from last night. "I make films,"
she announces, "short, intense,
surrealistic films." She could make one about our journey, as we bounce
along black dirt tracks
through bleak, deserted, yet strangely beautiful, mountain vistas,
to take photos and visit a geyser
(Alex and Will whip out the portable DAT player here to grab some samples).
We bounce recklessly
along rocky tracks like this is a rally video game, driver giggling
every time a boulder clangs her axle,
Stan Getz blowing gentle, incongruous sax out the car stereo. By 4pm
it's dark and we hire
costumes to swim in the Blue Lagoon, a lake-sized hot spring next to
a space age power station, a
truly surreal experience when it's close to zero and you're surrounded
by black, black mountains. And
in a place where no birds sing.
I MET Alex once before, when he was playing keyboards for The Grid and
they were rehearsing in London's Kings Cross. I can remember he seemed
to
have too much presence for a hired keyboard player, rather than one of
the
band. He originally moved to Bath from the Southampton area to study
electronics, dropping out of the course because it was "spod central".
He
became a session man playing sax for The Stranglers (who lived locally)
and
keyboards for jazz/blues legend Van Morrison. Playing for Van The Man he
describes as close to a "spiritual experience". Van gave few instructions,
though he once barked: "No sevenths! Sevenths are an abomination!"
Despite The Stranglers link, he denies his youth went any more punk than
"a
bit of a fashion crisis in that direction", which he wisely declines to
elaborate
on. Will's dad was a jazz drummer, so there was always a kit lying around
the
house. "He says you've got to have been through at least two divorce
settlements and have a beard
before you can play jazz," grins Will. "Has he had two divorce settlements?"
asks Alex. "Almost. He's
had one. And he's got a beard." Will used to drum for West Country-based
festival trip hop outfit
Junkwaffle and met Alex on Bath's tiny music scene. Both are at great
pains to point out that hip
hop kid Will drums out breaks and grooves like a drum machine, not
like a jazz drummer. "When we
first got together Alex came to me with a lump of tunes," he recalls,
which sets them off giggling
again. "A lump of tunes?" echoes Alex, incredulously. "A lump of tunes.
A gaggle of tunes. A herd..."
"A herd!" "A herd of tunes and basically just gave me this rocking
tape." You can't help liking the
Propellerheads. Neither can the Icelanders, who keep coming up and
shaking their hands.
'Decksandrumsandrock androll' is not a great album, but neither was
the Chemical Brothers' first,
'Exit Planet Dust'. Alex and Will are smart and talented enough to
easily surpass 'Take California'
and that 'Lopez' remix, they just haven't committed it to long player
yet. They will.
MANY hours later - via a mad drinking session with two lovely
Icelandic mothers who take us to Reykjavik's Queen Vic to hear
one of their husbands sing Oasis songs, and later, a strange soiree
where a DJ for the band Gus Gus, who is wearing a marijuana tie,
insists we all whisper - we end up outside a block of flats. Inside,
we can see a handful of people leaping around a large living room
to Ed Rush-style horror jungle. After much banging, a small,
dark-haired girl ushers us into her party. It's Bjork. I guess she was
in town after all. And The Propellerheads? They're still laughing...
'Decksanddrumsandrockandroll' is out now on Wall Of Sound