Empirion - Narcotic Influence (Remixes)

A couple of mixes here courtesy of Dave Clarke and Secret Knowledge.

Dave Clarke comes on a bit 'Purpose Maker'-era Jeff Mills with some big synth riff over it, which is OK if you're into that sort of thing.

The Secret Knowledge mix sees Needs start off in slowed down breakbeat mood with some vocal samples, before kicking in after about a minute or so with what is actually one of his better mixes. Uses the samples from the original track to make a fairly pounding techno stomper.

The sleeve 'art' leaves a lot be desired - why do they bother when it must be much cheaper to do a nice label in a plain white slip-case?? With the exception of the God Within 12" I posted earlier, most dance 12 sleeves are pure pish...



Empirion - Narcotic Influence (Remixes)
A - Narcotic Influence (Dave Clarke Mix)
B - Narcotic Influence (Secret Knowledge Mix)

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Nan Vernon - Elvis Waits... (Secret Knowledge Remixes)

Who the fuck is Nan Vernon, I hear you ask? A quick google reveals that she was in Dave Stewart's band, The Spiritual Cowboys. That was enough for me, but if anyone feels the need a wee click here should quench your thirst for Nan...

The Secret Knowledge mixes? Actually really good. The Aaron-side moves along very nicely, thank you very much. A wee nod to Elvis' middle name, we see what you did there Kris. The Fry Hard Mix(!) is a more dubby affair. Needs-by-numbers? Hmmm - better than a lot of the other stuff he was putting out at this point.

Maybe if I don't big-it-up too much, the Chemical Beats blog won't nick my rip and stuck it up as his own. Other bloggers beware - this chancer is re-posting stuff that I've carefully ripped, tagged and uploaded, having checked his ID3 tags (petty, I know). I notice that lots of the other stuff he's put up has been previously posted on other blogs too. I say avoid the cunt...



Nan Vernon - Elvis Waits... (Secret Knowledge Remixes)
A - Secret Knowledge Aaron Mix
B - Secret Knowledge Fry Hard Mix

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Secret Knowledge - Afterworld

Hmmm - this is a one-sided 12" white label jobby, dunno whether it actually got a proper release. Doesn't look like it from Discogs. Think I picked it up round about the time I saw SK supporting Saint Etienne at the Garage (back when it was the Mayfair) in Glasgow. Remember thinking what a wee chap Needs was - I always expected him to be a big tall cunt. I cornered him to ask when he would be playing at Pure, but it never happened (probably no bad thing)...

Similar kinda structure to Sugar Daddy, if not in the same league, it's well worth a punt. In fact, having just listened to it right through it's way better than I remember.



Secret Knowledge - Afterworld

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One Dove - Breakdown (The Secret Knowledge Remixes)

One Dove never really lived up to the hype that came with them - their debut album was talked up to be "the next Screamadelica", but was more of a damp squib sales-wise. Shame, as they were a great band. There were always a few dodgy rumours going round about them as well, quite an aptly named band if the truth be told.

Good to see that Dot Allison's put her mad druggy days behind her - the last time I saw her was onstage with Pete Doherty a few weeks ago. Oh...



A - Breakdown (Secret Knowledge Light Mix)
B - Breakdown (Secret Knowledge Dark Mix)

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Secret Knowledge - Sugar Daddy Remixes

It's not often that a remix is as good as the original, but I reckon that at least one of these remixes comes close. Check out the remixers: Sabres Of Paradise, Disco Evangelists and pre-cheese Paul Van Dyk (with Johnny Klimek - odd combo or what)!! I had to get the MFS import rather than the UK Sabres release to get the 'exclusive' PVD mix, but it ruined my 'collect all the Sabres releases' pattern.

The first time I heard the Sabres mix, I couldn't believe what I was hearing after having been so used to the original mix. That final 'oooooohhhh' build up gets me every time. It's the pick o'the bunch for me but the other two are well worth checking out. Must be the only occasion that Paul Van Dyk crossed paths with the Weatherall/Holmes/Needs gang, surely to fuck...?



Secret Knowledge - Sugar Daddy Remixes
A - Sugar Caned (Sabres Of Paradise)
B1 - Out Of Our Brains On The 5:15 (Disco Evangelists)
B2 - Trip Across The Moon Remix (Paul Van Dyk & Jimmy Klimek)

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Kris Needs & Morgan Fisher - Humtone #4

Bit of an oddity this, Morgan Fisher from Mott The Hoople along with Kris Needs (who ran their fan club in the 70s!). It came out in 1993, his sound seemed to have moved on a bit since 'Roll Away The Stone'...

Picked it up in Rub-A-Dub when I was after anything Kris Needs-related. Never saw or heard of its existence again. Despite the sleeve billing things as "Kris Needs/Morgan Fisher", the label only refers to Needs as remixer for side A. Bear this in mind when (if?) you listen to the Original Mix - didgeridoo alert!!



Kris Needs & Morgan Fisher - Humtone #4 <-- New Links (individual tracks)
Kris Needs & Morgan Fisher - Humtone #4 (Sea Diver Mix)
Morgan Fisher - Humtone #4 (Original Mix)


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Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart - Becoming More Like God (Secret Knowledge To Hell And Back Mix)

Possibly the longest post title on the blog, this sees Mr Needs in fine form. Starts off all dubby then goes nuts - a true 'journey' track (14 mins long as well). At this period I held Needs up there with Weatherall in the remix stakes. Fuckin top notch, and that reminds me - plenty of Needs stuff to come up. Aye.

A couple of mainstream uploads today that always reminded me of summer. It feels a bit summery today so I'm off to the pub for an alfresco drinky or two. Toodle-pip!



Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart - Becoming More Like God (Secret Knowledge To Hell And Back Mix)

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LMNO / Bob And Ian - Silcock Express / Purpuss (Sabres Of Paradise / Kris Needs Mixes)

The great thing about doing this blog has been stumbling across tracks that I'd completely forgotten about. Brought another couple of boxes up to the current flat and pulled this one out just there. Fuck me, it's a belter of a Sabres mix that I recognised straight away. Happy days!

The other side's got a Kris Needs mix which is a winner as well. Both the aliases are the same guy (Colin James - me neither) - fuck knows how he got these guys to remix him when they were both on top of their game but there you go...



LMNO - Silcock Express (Sabres Of Paradise)
Bob And Ian - Purpuss (A Cat In The Litter) (Kris Needs)

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Four Boy One Girl Action - The Hawaiian Death Stomp

Bit of an all-star cast here: David Holmes, Kris Needs, Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns. Shove that up yer Travelling Wilburys for a supergroup and a half... I think the 'one girl' was Mr Weatherall's then girlfriend Nina but I could be wrong.

I remember being mega-excited when this first came out then being mildly disappointed by the end product. Dunno though, sounds pretty good to me right now. Dug this one out of the tip of the iceberg last night: balanced on a pair of step ladders, torch in one hand, trying to avoid getting skelfed tae fuck. Managed to get enough to keep going for a good while, but will need to rethink strategy for the next voyage into the unknown.

Came out on the Exploding Plastic Inevitable label in 1993. Couldn't find a pic of the label and tried to take a photo but looks shit, so here's a suitable graphic for it:



New links:
The Hawaiian Death Stomp
Hawaiian Death Dub

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