Tune #118: MLO - Wimborne

One of my favorite Youtube channels is undoubtedly Abstructure, featuring original and custom-made video clips of the 90's electronic music cosmos, focused mostly on techno & ambient genres. I often return to the channel for an audiovisual experience of Electrotete - I Love You. In search of hidden gems of that era, I came across the official video clip of track MLO - Wimborne:

MLO - WIMBORNE

MLO was a music partnership between British musicians Pete Smith & Jon Tye, who had first met in Exeter during the late 70's through rival punk bands. Following their wandering in several bands and the acid house explosion in late 80's, they composed track New Generation, adopting the use of breakbeats instead of the four-on-the-floor rhythm formula. The demo was sent to Renaat Vandepapeliere, the head honcho of Belgian techno label R&S Records, and the first release was materialized in 1993; fascinated by the outer space and coming across the Manua Loa Observatory, MLO was deemed as suitable choice referring to the spatial aspect of music and as shorthand for word Mellow.

One year later, the duo was employed to create their debut album Io, which served as a soundtrack for a film of the same name, shown as live accompaniment to Pink Floyd gigs of that period. The film & album name originates from the seventh moon of Jupiter (Ιώ), which is the most volcanically active entity of our solar system.

Smith & Tye had to deliver the album in a short period of two weeks inside one of the world's most advanced multi-media studios. In return for their involvement in some tracks of Icelandic singer Ragga, they had unlimited access to the studio equipment, toying with Korg PS 3300 and an Emulator 2.

Despite the tight timeline, the result was excellent, providing a dreamlike ambient experience in space.

Io was released in 1994 by Rising High Records of the late Caspar Pound, with whom Pete Smith had worked extensively in various projects, such as The Hypnotist, Temple of Acid and Rising High Collective. Due to disputes regarding track royalties, the collaboration with the label ended abruptly and a lot of tracks, which were intended as the continuation of the debut album, remained unreleased. An additional album was released in the same year under the catering of the now defunct UK label i.t.p. Recordings. The final works of MLO were published in 1996, before its dissolution.

Fortunately, Music From Memory label curated in 2021 the compilation Oumuamua, which features a collection of previously unreleased material for the project. For more details, you may the refer to the interview of Jon Tye regarding the compilation.

In order to experience the journey, you can listen Io in full below:

MLO - IO

Tune #117: Latitude - Es La Rosa

At the start of the 90's UK club scene was already experiencing the explosion of acid house, which was emerged at the Second Summer of Love in '88. Meanwhile, the first generation of progressive house tracks has begun to surface with the support of legendary labels such as Guerilla & Limbo Records, championed by producers William Orbit & Leftfield and played in clubs by Sasha & John Digweed, prior to their stardom. Tunes of the genre that have been also presented in the blog are the following:

• Leftfield - Space Shanty
• Quivver - Saxy Lady
• Evolution - Jaywalkin'

Early progressive house tracks had the mixture of elements for a chugging dancefloor filler; dubby / groovy basslines accompanied by spacey & atmospheric synths & long chords. Back to 1991, a hidden artifact of that era can be found:

LATITUDE - ES LA ROSA (PIANO MIX)

LATITUDE - ES LA ROSA (GUITAR MIX)

Latitude was a short-lived project of art students David Hill and Ellen McAuslan, based in London. The duo was one of the first signings for Nude Records, mostly known for releasing the first works of English alternative rock band Suede.

Their first release was a white label for the discographic company, possibly influenced by the rising popularity of progressive house. Es La Rosa is a balearic prog tune, presented in two different editions; A-side contains more vocals with a leading piano melody, while the B-side is dubbier combined with a lead guitar! Both versions contain the classic stabs which are easily recognizable in the music style.

A nice trivia for the track is that it was the first vinyl release for Sean Johnston (performing mixing duties), curator of the ALFOS events along with the late Andrew Weatherall. IMO, it shares similarities with the remix of the latter for Sly And Lovechild – The World According To Sly & Lovechild (1990).

Little information can be found on the Internet regarding the group and its members. Only available information at the moment is that Ellen McAuslan continues to work in the art business as an animator and art director. I wonder if the group members are aware of their contribution to the early progressive music; the way it should be!

P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Tune #116: Kano - Another Life

I always thought that italo-disco was a bit cheesy for my ears. On the other hand, italo tracks with space disco & electro elements... that's what I am talking about! Many examples fit in this category and one of them is certainly Kano - Another Life!

KANO - ANOTHER LIFE (INSTRUMENTAL VERSION)

Kano was an ensemble of Italian musicians and producers Luciano Ninzatti (guitars), Stefano Pulga (keyboards) and Mateo Bonsanto (production), established in Milan during late 70's. The production trio released 3 studio albums during the first half of the 80's, accompanied by vocalist Glen White in the last one. 

Kano's music can be characterized as a fusion of disco, funk and R&B elements, but the group were not always stuck on the commercial italo disco formula (cheesy music & vocals). During their initial steps, they made heavy use of repetitive loops & arpeggios by utilizing electronic drum machines, vocoders and overdubs. The first works were pivotal to the evolution of electronic dance music, whether it was hip hop, electro or house music.

Their debut song was the international hit "I'm Ready" (1980) with various releases worldwide, while its distinctive bassline was been sampled by various electronic music tracks throughout the years. The track was included in their first self-titled studio album, along with other compositions such as "It's A War", "Now Baby Now" and "Cosmic Voyager".

Three years later, the project released "Another Life", which was another successful single worldwide. The heavy use of synths (Prophet 5 for bassline, Yamaha DX7 for bells/chords and Minimoog for the lead melody) along with the soulful vocals of Glen White made the track a huge success! Just like their first single, it was sampled in various tracks; notable examples are Lifelike & Kris Menace - Discopolis and Junior Jack - Life.

Kano disbanded as a production team in the middle of the 80's. However, vocalist Glen White used the project name in some of his first solo releases, in which the original members did not participate. After a very long time (2021), Kano regrouped for the production of a new studio album, titled "No Cents... Go Funky!", mostly oriented in funky compositions (as the album name implies).

Last but not least, you may enjoy the official promo video of the track, as feature in German TV show "Formel Eins":

KANO - ANOTHER LIFE (OFFICIAL PROMO VIDEO)