Review: Well consider us surprised to say the least: we'd have never of thought that the acid house anthem "Theme From S'Express" would get a re-release on Jamie Jones' Hot Creations powerhouse - not to mention some absolutely killer remixes. Originally released in 1989 and produced by the legendary Mark Moore (in collaboration with Pascal Gabriel) from their debut studio album, Original Soundtrack. It peaked at No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1988 for two weeks and is considered as one of the earliest electronic music songs to incorporate sampling. The remixes come courtesy of Greek tech house hero Detlef - whose version is respectful to the original, but gives it an adequately modern reshape and works that 303 acid darn well. Lauer and Gerd Janson's Tuff City Kids remix keeps it in the late '80s realm, like they always do so well. It incorporates some steel drum presets and a hot Juno bassline.
Review: Where would we be without the heroic Mark Moore, eh? An 80s London club aficionado who brought house and perfect flat-tops to the masses on Top Of The Pops courtesy of his psychedelic motley crew, S-Express. Here various remixers pay homage to his back catalogue, with I Robots turning "Funky Killer" into a searing hiNRG growler and Punks Jump Up taking "Hey Music Lover" into tripped-out jackin' territory. The classic "Theme From S-Express" also appears as both sultry, low-slung acid and slow machine funk courtesy of Vanilla Ace and Supermen Lovers respectively.
Mantra For A State Of Mind (Ray Mang extended remix) - (11:08) 120 BPM
Primal Scream - "Mantra For A State Of Mind" - (6:22) 92 BPM
Review: S-Express was a group of glorious misfits led by the legendary DJ Mark Moore. A teenage punk and New Romantic, he was a pivotal figure in London's club scene and one who helped house music reach the masses with "Theme From S-Express" which topped the charts in 1988. Here he invites an eyebrow-raising list of names to reinterpret his band's back catalogue and it's a thrill a minute listen. Highlights include HMD's deep disco rework of "Pimps, Pushers, Prostitutes", Chris & Cosey's deliciously electroclash rework of "Lollypop" and Primal Scream's gospel-tinged drone-rock rework of "Mantra For A State Of Mind".
Juan Erlando & His Latin Band - "Brazil Express" - (2:32) 131 BPM
Francis Coppieters - "Piano In Transit" - (4:20) 122 BPM
Keith Mansfield - "Crash Course" - (2:43) 106 BPM
Keith Mansfield - "Soul Thing" (with KPM All Stars - live at Jazz Cafe) - (2:56) 97 BPM
Alan Hawkshaw & Keith Mansfield - "Theme From 'Dave Allen At Large'" (with KPM All Stars - live at Jazz Cafe) - (2:37) 97 BPM
Alan Hawkshaw & Keith Mansfield - "Beat Boutique" (with KPM All Stars - live at Jazz Cafe) - (2:59) 95 BPM
KPM All Stars - "Swamp Fever" (live at Jazz Cafe) - (2:42) 95 BPM
KPM All Stars - "Unlimited Love" (live at Jazz Cafe) - (2:45) 97 BPM
KPM All Stars - "That's What Friends Are For" (feat Emma Kershaw - live at Jazz Cafe) - (3:29) 104 BPM
James Clarke - "Second Cut" (with Steve Grey & KPM All Stars - live at Jazz Cafe) - (2:50) 76 BPM
Duncan Lamont - "Funky Express" (with KPM All Stars - live at Jazz Cafe) - (3:26) 101 BPM
Alan Hawkshaw - "Girl In A Sportscar" (with KPM All Stars - live at Jazz Cafe) - (2:43) 96 BPM
Alan Hawkshaw - "Senior Thump" (with KPM All Stars - live at Jazz Cafe) - (3:47) 94 BPM
Alan Hawkshaw - "Landscape" (with KPM All Stars - live at Jazz Cafe) - (2:32) 94 BPM
Alan Hawkshaw - "The Champ" (with Kirsty Hawkshaw & KPM All Stars - live at Jazz Cafe) - (3:10) 103 BPM
Keith Mansfield - "Crash Course" (with KPM All Stars - live at Jazz Cafe) - (3:18) 100 BPM
Keith Mansfield - "UK Sports Theme Medley: Theme from 'The Big Match'/Theme From BBC Wimbledon Tennis/Theme From BBC Athletics/Theme From 'Grandstand'" (with KPM All Stars - live at Jazz Cafe) - (4:33) 66 BPM
Review: Strut have a strong record in delivering excellent, thoroughly researched compilations, and this is one of them. This album collates the best from the vaults of KPM's public library music collection - music made by expert musicians but never intended to be publically available. Of course everyone from Jay-Z to Doom have sampled these previously hard to find gems, but now we can all enjoy the flute-disco whimsy of Alan Parker's "Unlimited Love", the carnival freakout of Barry Morgan & Ray Cooper's "Samba Street" and the very familiar loungey jazz of Francis Coppieter's "Cross Talk".
