- LP
Two The Hardway
Who Said?
Betonska
- Cat No: BETONSKA002
- 2023-03-18
リプレス！Floating Points, Ben UFO, Mr Scruffもサポートの90sラガ・マフィン、ダンスホールと、レイヴに繋がる最高な曲が発掘されました！SIDE-1にはGRAHAM MASSEYが参加してます。大興奮の一枚。レコメンド。
Track List
Playlisted and supported by Floating Points, Ben UFO, Esa, Mr Scruff, John Gomez & Elena Colombi.
Label Text
"Previously unreleased, Manchester, 1991. Betonska hits hard with their second release travelling back to an essential period of dance music history. A record blending rave, downtempo, ragga, dancehall, and early hardcore/breakbeat; a crossover which continues to shape and define some of the most innovative sounds of contemporary club culture.
Produced by Philip Kirby, with vocals/rap by Martin Merchant (together Two The Hardway). On the A side Graham Massey (808 State) accompanied them on the synths, and Howard Walmsley played the saxophone on the B1 and B2. All tracks were recorded in ’91 in Phil’s house, where “funnily enough Massey co-wrote ‘Army of Me’ with Björk!”. Find more info about it in the text below.
The whole release consists of solely ’91 originals: a deliberate choice to not take it out of context. The A side serves two versions of ‘Who Said?’, a mysterious midtempo jam with a jumpy acid line, organic yet punchy drums and a mesmerizing lead synth, played by none other than Graham Massey. The instrumental version has a more elusive feel to it, while the Vocal version tops it off with toasting by Manchester’s very own Martin ‘Sugar’ Merchant. Both tracks were pressed on the earlier test pressing from ’91, but have never been released officially before.
The flipside boasts two mesmerizing versions of ‘Hot Number’. Driving proto-jungle rhythms and Sugar Merchant’s ragga vocals, are fused with secondary vocals by Phil and a saxophone solo by Howard Walmsley to form a seamless and smokey sonic concoction that will get bodies moving. Whilst the B1 surfs on a slick breakbeat rhythm with a deep bassline, the B2 bounces on a 4/4 beat with a pulsing hardcore bassline.
To top it off, the B3 and final track in the running order is a deep and dub track. Originally produced in the 90s, but recently finished by Phil, ‘Blossom Street Dub’ has an added synth line and an iconic King Tubby filter which help to enhance a time-warping, headrush effect. This track, alongside the ‘Hot Number (Alternative Version)’ B1 tune, will both be pressed for the very first time on vinyl, having been absent from the original ’91 test pressing. "
Label Text
"Previously unreleased, Manchester, 1991. Betonska hits hard with their second release travelling back to an essential period of dance music history. A record blending rave, downtempo, ragga, dancehall, and early hardcore/breakbeat; a crossover which continues to shape and define some of the most innovative sounds of contemporary club culture.
Produced by Philip Kirby, with vocals/rap by Martin Merchant (together Two The Hardway). On the A side Graham Massey (808 State) accompanied them on the synths, and Howard Walmsley played the saxophone on the B1 and B2. All tracks were recorded in ’91 in Phil’s house, where “funnily enough Massey co-wrote ‘Army of Me’ with Björk!”. Find more info about it in the text below.
The whole release consists of solely ’91 originals: a deliberate choice to not take it out of context. The A side serves two versions of ‘Who Said?’, a mysterious midtempo jam with a jumpy acid line, organic yet punchy drums and a mesmerizing lead synth, played by none other than Graham Massey. The instrumental version has a more elusive feel to it, while the Vocal version tops it off with toasting by Manchester’s very own Martin ‘Sugar’ Merchant. Both tracks were pressed on the earlier test pressing from ’91, but have never been released officially before.
The flipside boasts two mesmerizing versions of ‘Hot Number’. Driving proto-jungle rhythms and Sugar Merchant’s ragga vocals, are fused with secondary vocals by Phil and a saxophone solo by Howard Walmsley to form a seamless and smokey sonic concoction that will get bodies moving. Whilst the B1 surfs on a slick breakbeat rhythm with a deep bassline, the B2 bounces on a 4/4 beat with a pulsing hardcore bassline.
To top it off, the B3 and final track in the running order is a deep and dub track. Originally produced in the 90s, but recently finished by Phil, ‘Blossom Street Dub’ has an added synth line and an iconic King Tubby filter which help to enhance a time-warping, headrush effect. This track, alongside the ‘Hot Number (Alternative Version)’ B1 tune, will both be pressed for the very first time on vinyl, having been absent from the original ’91 test pressing. "
マンチェスター、'91。FactoryからもリリースしているBiting TonguesやSuns Of Arqa、808 State人脈のPhil Kirby、Howard walmsley、AudiowebのMC、シンガーMartin Merchant。彼らによるアセテート、スタンプラベルのみだったレアリリースが復刻。A-SIDEの「Who Said?」は、インストがA1に収録されてますが、テンション上がるVocal バージョンも収録でどちらも最高。当時アセテートのみでオフィシャルリリースのなかった一曲。B-SIDEはOmen Recordings からスタンプラベルのみの12インチでリリースされた「Hot Number」、個人的にはベストなオリジナルのテストプレスバージョン(sample2)と未発表のバージョン。B-SIDEの「Blossom Street Dub」も初のアナログ化。ダブワイズ、プロト・ジャングル、ブレイクビート、キラーな曲。是非。 (サイトウ)