Shut Up And Dance! Posted by Junior

Shut Up & Dance: £20 To Get In [Shut Up & Dance Records, 1989] Shut Up & Dance: Derek Went Mad (Remix) [Shut Up & Dance Records, 1991] Nicolette: Single Minded People [Shut Up & Dance Records, 1990] Ragga Twinz: Hooligan 69 [Shut Up & Dance Records, 1990] Rum & Black: Slaves [Shut Up & Dance Records, 1991] Another one of my occasional journeys back into the long dormant music of my youth today with a visit to a label that helped set the benchmark for electronic music in the UK, Shut Up & Dance. Formed in 1989 by PJ and Smiley, the duo started off as a hip hop group but, whether by design or by chance, ended up turning the label into a true pioneer of the breakbeat sound, releasing a mixture of hip hop, ragga and hardcore tracks which were hugely influential on the bedroom producers who were crafting the sound of a British rave generation. In one of those all too common twists of fate, the group, who had always used well known samples, finally hit the big time with one of their worst releases: Raving I'm Raving. With it's blatant interpolation of the Rod Stewart song it brought massive legal action and all but shut the pair down for a number of years. Thankfully they got over this hump and are still producing new music to this day. You can follow their progress on their MySpace page. While many of the tracks featured will no doubt sound primitive to new ears, I think it's fair to say that the grimey, raw feel of the production still hits home today. £20 To Get In was my first introduction to Shut Up & Dance, hearing it back on London's Kiss FM way way back in the day. Less Vega heavy than the original £10 To Get In, it's little more than a drum break, a few synths and some chipmonk vocals but trust me when I tell you that this ripped things up when it came out in a massive massive way. Derek Went Mad (Remix) is one of those early nineties hardcore tracks that I used to love back in the day (think Mr Kirk's Nightmare), with full amen break, eerie synths and a grimey techno bassline. I'd probably still dance my tits off if this came on in a club today. It's worth mentioning that PJ & Smiley produced all releases on the label so it's no surprise that the label developed a trademark sound . Nicolette, probably most famous these days for her work with Massive Attack, had her first releases on the label. Single Minded People combines Nicolette's ethereal tones with, you guessed it, a breakbeat to great relentless effect. I featured The Ragga Twinz in my UK hip hop retrospective but couldn't really do a piece on Shut Up & Dance without mentioning them again. Posted here is the original version of Hooligan 69 which I prefer over the album version. Safe to say the Prince sample is still very much in place but the whole thing feels a bit more manic and unhinged which is half the appeal of the label for me. Killer bassline as well. You know how I mentioned about well known samples? Well Rum & Black's appropriation of Kate Bush's Wow for Slaves is one of the less subtle efforts but works great. I've been trying to pinpoint who the rambling, slightly incoherent, speech at the beginning is by, it sounds like KRS to me but any other info welcome. It has to be mentioned that the other side of this 12" manages to utilise samples from both Duran Duran and Tight Fit - you don't see that kind of shit these days. One other thing, the tracks featured today are pulled from my 12" collection, if anyone has a copy of their 1992 compilation album, the beautifully titled Fuck Off & Die, please drop me a line as there's a couple of tracks on there I would love to get my hands on again.......