Forums Music Hyper On Experience – Tunes, history & a good old reminisce Re: Hyper On Experience – Tunes, history & a good old reminisce

#1274033
BioTech
Participant

    6th track and influences.

    Track 6: Imajika
    [SOUNDCLOUD]https://soundcloud.com/hyper-on-experience/hyper-on-experience-imajica[/SOUNDCLOUD]

    My first love was Hip Hop.

    When I was 13 I lived above my parents shop in West Wickham high street. I remember lying on the lounge floor, watching Top of the Pops with the family, when a band called Tik And Tok performed Cool Running. They were dancing like robots to electro beats. It was 1981.

    It felt like the hand of life reached out and touched me and I knew from that moment what I wanted to do.

    I wanted to Breakdance/Rap/Beatbox/Graffiti and make music. For ever.

    I even made a rudimentary sequencer on my Commodore Vic 20! I knew nothing about quantising, but programmed the Vic 20 to record me triggering internal sounds played on the keyboard and loop them (badly). Casting my mind back I think there was a simple counting system that stored a value between keystrokes and played them back.

    I spent a few years rolling around the high street on bits of lyno. I considered this perfectly normal behaviour.

    Around 1986 I heard House music. They were using the electro beats, but in standard 4 by 4 formation. There were vocal samples played like drum beats, melodies and basslines.

    I liked it. So I started making it.

    But I also liked Hip Hop, so I combined the two.

    The problem was I kept the 4×4 beats, but put breaks over the top. It didn’t groove.

    I remember Danny getting really frustrated with me, and one day he just exclaimed: “WHY DO WE ALWAYS HAVE TO HAVE THAT FUCKING KICK DRUM RUNNING THROUGH EVERYTHING!!!”.

    He may have had a point.

    At that time there were hints of Jungle Techno in Rave, but no real definition.

    Until Rhythm Section made “Feel the Rhythm” (Coming on Strong) 1991
    Rhythm Section – Comin On Strong – YouTube

    Check this tune out – all the way through.

    Vocal loops and vocal fx. Synth stab melody. Sub bass and breaks. Piano breakdown.

    And the arrangement! 1 bar drop out at the ends of 8s and 16s where breaks are used as drum rolls.

    Sound familiar?

    Rhythm Section were Ellis Dee and Rennie Pilgrim (and someone else who I forget, I’m so sorry!).

    I bumped into Rennie Pilgrim a few years back. I turned into a proper Fan Boy and told him how his music had been such a big influence on what I was doing. It was apparent to me that he had heard this before and with grace he explained how it had happened:

    “Alex, I said to the guys in the band: why don’t we speed the breaks up and add these house riffs?”

    He then smiled like a Cheshire Cat.

    Track 6: Imajika

    Sampled pad intro with Korg M1 presets. Outrageously cheesy Jazzy vibe playing.

    Juno 6 sub, of course.

    Breakdown to rave stab played in a joyful pattern. Drum rolls.

    There is a sample that says: “Well you’d better hurry up Sir!”. Dj Peshay loved this and said: “No one uses samples like that!”.

    Lots of Norman Cook – Skip to my Loops samples

    2nd breakdown has a more Rave/Happy Hardcore feel to it.

    3rd switch seems a little dubby.

    4th switch with vibe sound is a little intense! I guess you’d call it a bridge nowadays, but we extend it before returning to the original riff.

    The title came from a Clive Barker book – Imajica. I just couldn’t remember how to spell it!

    I told you that we used to work standing up? We danced all the way through making this tune. Danny has a big smile.

    The Smiley Rock Remix.