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Believe it or not, once upon a time techno was a new thing. Long before it became a soundtrack for car commercials and cheese-filled action films, techno was a gleaming alternative to the alternative, a bright spot in a field crowded by characters such as Morrissey and Robert Smith. No offense to these gloom-and-doom brothers, but techno was a breath of fresh air. It was happy music for happy people. And 808 State were the bearers of good news, pied pipers for the first generation of rave culture. Nowadays, we take this culture, its music and style for granted. It's incorporated itself quite nicely into our popular culture, but I recall a time when I first saw a group of candy-ravers walking down a street in the East Village and thought, "Now what the heck is this business?" 808 State were five guys from England who were actually the first hybrid of alternative music and techno, bridging the gap between the two genres and causing a lot of new-wave kids who had grown tired of the scene to jump ship, or at the very least open their ears to something new. They were named after a Roland TR-808 drum machine owned by member Gerald Simpson (you know him as A Guy Called Gerald), and they were clever enough to realize that the key to success was not in turning their back on the alternative scene, but in incorporating the best elements of that scene with their vision of the future of music. They were right. Ex:El features guest appearances from New Order's Bernard Sumner on the sublime "Spanish Heart" as well as Bjork -- who's always been ahead of her time -- on the brilliant and loopy "Ooops". In addition to these collaborations, there are other killer tracks as well -- the opener "San Francisco", which might just be one of the best driving-in-your-car tunes ever, the infectious and assaultively percussive "Leo, Leo", and, of course, another permutation of their signature song "Cubik", which had first appeared on their previous album, Utd: State 90. "Cubik" was remarkable in that it took five notes of music and twisted them over and over, upon themselves, until they produced absolute mayhem on the dancfeloor. Just hum those five notes to anyone who was around for those early days of techno and you'll produce a wistful smile, inevitably followed by the statement, "Now THAT song was insane". 808 are far from dead; in fact, they still come out with music occasionally. Their first album, Newbuild, was re-released last year to welcoming arms. But although Ex:El wasn't their first moment in the sun, it was their finest. To me, it conjures up images of some of the best nights I've ever had, sweating gallons in a sea of exuberant, smiling people. It still sounds fresh to me, a reminder of one of the last times I had heard music that made me stop, think and realize I was listening to the future. |
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