THE HERBALISER-THERE WERE SEVEN-REMIXES.

dereksmusicblog ♦ July 1, 2014 ♦ Leave a comment

THE HERBALISER-THERE WERE SEVEN-REMIXES.

Twenty months ago, The Herbaliser released the seventh album of their career, There Were Seven. It was released to widespread critical acclaim and marked a welcome return from The Herbaliser. They’d been away too long. Four years to be exact. That’s a long time in music. 

Music is constantly changing. As a result, artists have constantly got to be keeping their finger on the musical pulse. If they don’t, they risk releasing music that’s irrelevant. That can spell the kiss of death for a career. Not The Herbaliser though.

During the four years The Herbaliser were away, they’d kept their finger on the music pulse. As a result, There Were Seven matched the quality of their six previous albums. What had changed was the musical landscape.

When Jake Wherry and Ollie Trattles made their comeback, social media was King. Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest were now perceived as an essential way to engage, and interact, with their fan-base in the digital age. Just like other artists, much more of their time was spent glad handling their fans. After shows, they had to spend time chatting and signing autographs. Gone were the days of jumping on the tour bus, quaffing a few beers, enjoying a smoke and listening to some tunes. No way.

The same goes for music. Now fans expect more from an artist than an album every two or three years. Nowadays, fans want music released on a much more regular basis. This includes singles and E.Ps every couple of months. Preferably these releases should be on multiple formats and feature multiple remixes. Fans also expect albums of instrumentals and remixes. So, The Herbaliser have decided to give their fans what they want, by releasing There Were Seven-Remixes on The Herbaliser’s Department H label, on 30th June 2014.

There Were Seven-Remixes features fifteen newly recorded and remixed versions of tracks from the critically acclaimed There Were Seven. They come courtesy of some of The Herbaliser’s old friends. This includes UK Hip-Hop legend No Sleep Nigel. That’s not all. The Herbaliser invited a new breed of producers to remix some of the tracks from There Were Seven. 

Among the new names to contribute remixes to There Were Seven-Remixes, are French producer Gigabeatz Bonson, Liverpool’s Jenome and Paraguayan trio Lopez. The result is a groundbreaking album of remixes, There Were Seven-Remixes, which features contribution from old friends and new faces. It’s just the latest instalment in The Herbaliser’s nineteen year career.

For nineteen years, Jake Wherry and Ollie Trattles have been releasing groundbreaking, genre-hopping music. That was apparent from their debut album Remedies. This was the first of a quintet of albums The Herbaliser released for Ninja Tunes.

Two years later, in March 1997, The Herbaliser released Blow Your Headphones. It was very different from the music Remedies. There was a reason for that. Musicians replaced the samples that featured on Remedies. The Herbaliser also brought onboard guest vocalists. They played their part on the jazz-tinged sound of Blow Your Headphones. This was also the case on their third album Very Mercenary.

Very Mercenary was released in 1999. It featured a cast of guest vocalists. Among them were Roots Manuva, Blade, Dream Warrior, Philly-based Bahamadia and What? What?, who also featured on Blow Your Headphones. Each of these artists played their part in the development of The Herbaliser’s sound.

This development continued on Session One. Released in 2000, it was their first studio album to be recorded entirely by a live musicians. Each of the tracks were taken from The Herbaliser’s first three albums. They’re reinvented by The Herbaliser Band, who combine funk, jazz, hip hop and a big band sound. Although very different to what The Herbaliser had released previously. What of the future though?

Something Wicked This Way Comes was released in March 2002. The title is a quotation from Macbeth. This was the case with several other tracks on Something Wicked this Way Comes, which features a whole host of guest vocalists. Among them were Seaming To, Rakaa Taylor, Blade, Wildflower, Phi Life Cypher and MF Doom. A fusion of hip hop and nu jazz, The Herbaliser’s music was constantly evolving. There was no chance of The Herbaliser standing still. 

Over three years passed before The Herbaliser released Take London, in May 2005. This was The Herbaliser’s fifth studio album. As usual, they were joined by a whole host of guest artists. This included Trap Clappa, Cheech Marina, Daddy Mills, A.K, MacGuyver,Private E1, Jean Grae, Katerine and Roots Manuva. Although they’d been away three years, The Herbaliser were still relevant. Their music was still ambitious and innovative. That would continue to be the case.

After another gap of three years, The Herbaliser released Same as It Never Was in 2008. A fusion of musical genres, funk, hip hop, jazz and soul melted into one. Especially with guest artists like Jessica Darling, Jean Grae and Essa. They played their part in Same as It Never Was’ sound. Well received by critics and music lovers alike, Same as It Never Was was the last we heard of The Herbaliser until 2012.

It wasn’t until October 2012, that The Herbaliser released their seventh album. That was the critically acclaimed There Were Seven. Hailed as one of the finest albums of The Herbaliser’s career, it marked a return to form from two veterans of the UK’s electronic music scene. 

Now, twenty months later, The Herbaliser return with There Were Seven-Remixes. It features fifteen newly recorded and remixed versions of tracks from the critically acclaimed There Were Seven. They come courtesy of some of The Herbaliser’s friends. There’s contribution from old friends and new faces on There Were Seven-Remixes.

The fifteen remixes on There Were Seven-Remixes are all very different. Each remixer takes the original track and takes it in a new and different direction.This is the case from the get-go. 

Opening There Were Seven-Remixes is Gigabeatz Bonson’s remix of The Return Of The Seven. He remixes three tracks. Gigabeatz might be a new name for many people, but he’s seriously talented. At the start, his remix of The Return Of The Seven is briefly haunting, before becoming a slice of hip hop that’s melodic and dramatic. That’s a good description of another of his remixes, Crimes and Misdemeanours. With a myriad of scratches, blazing horns and flourishes of pounding piano, a hip hop opus unfolds. The Lost Boy is the last contribution. It’s very different from the other two tracks. A shimmering, ethereal, jazz-tinged track with a whispery, sensual vocal, it’s one of the highlights of There Were Seven-Remixes

The same could be said of the Colman Brothers remix of The Lost Boy. Straight away, It takes on an a haunting, ethereal, cinematic sound. The result is glorious. Danny K’s remix of The Lost Boy briefly, sticks to the understated sound of other remixes. That’s before a thunderous bass makes its entrance. This results in a very different remix of The Lost Boy.

No Sleep Nigel’s Dub remix of Welcome To Extravagance does what it says on the tin. With its dubby, lysergic sound, it’s a smoker’s delight from one of UK hip hop’s legends.

There’s nothing second class about 2econd Class Citizen’s remix Mother Dove. Waves of drama sweep you away. They come courtesy of chiming guitars, sweeping strings and pounding drums. Together, they create a dramatic 21st Century symphony. 

Soundsci’s remix of Zero Hill gives the track a dark, edgy hip hop sound. The hip hop sound continues on the T Power remix of Take ‘Em On. It features Zoe Theodorou. Waves of powerful, hypnotic music assail you. That’s before Zoe’s strutting, sassy vocal. Accompanied by horns and hollers, she struts her way through the track.

A Sad State Of Affairs features one of the new breed of producers, Jenome. He adds a funky sound to this moody, smoky slice of hip hop with a social conscience. Then there’s the Muneshine remix of What You Asked For. It’s best described as funky and soulful.

Krilla remix of March Of The Dead Things has a dramatic, cinematic sound, before a swaggering slice of hip hop unfolds. Hugo Kant takes the same track, and takes it in a very different direction. It’s a genre-hopping remix. Drawing inspiration from rock, nu jazz, electronica and briefly, sixties French music, Hugo sets the scene for the rap. The rest of the track is reworked, and is totally transformed. That’s definitely the case with the Renegade Brass Band remix of March of The Dead Things.  It’s a spellbinding remix. You can’t quite believe what you’re hearing. It’s a glorious fusion. What a way to close There Were Seven-Remixes, than with a brass band hued remix of a hip hop track. 

So, that’s the story of the latest instalment in The Herbaliser’s nineteen year recording career, There Were Seven-Remixes. Featuring fifteen remixes, the original tracks from There Were Seven are given a musical makeover. All of the tracks take on new life and meaning. 

In some cases, two or three remixers remix the same album. They take a very different approach to the same track. Often, the result is very different. That’s what you’d expect, given each of the remixers come from a very different musical background. The music becomes funky, jazz-tinged, rocky and soulful. One thing doesn’t change, and that’s the Rhere Were Seven’s fundamentals, its hip hop-tinged sound. It’s transformed into something very different.

Listening to There Were Seven-Remixes, is like discovering a totally new album. The fifteen tracks on There Were Seven-Remixes are very different from those on There Were Seven. You discover a whole new side to The Herbaliser’s music. You hear some glorious rhythms and melodies unfolding, as a variety of musical genres and influences melt into one. During There Were Seven-Remixes you hear everything from ambient, funk, hip hop, jazz, Nu Jazz, Nu Soul, rock, soul and trip hop is fused by remixers old and new.

Two generations of remixers remixed the tracks on There Were Seven-Remixes. They’re a combination of old friends and new faces. They reinvent the music on The Herbaliser’s 2012 album, There Were Seven. The result is music that’s cinematic, dark, dramatic, funky, haunting, jazzy, sassy and soulful. That’s not all. There Were Seven-Remixes is also uplifting, inspirational and thoughtful. This is music for the heart and soul, music that makes you think, music that makes you laugh, and music that makes you want to dance. It’s also a fitting homage to two veterans of the UK electronic music scene.

By that, I mean Jake Wherry and Ollie Trattles, a.k.a. The Herbaliser.  They’ve been making music since 1995. That’s three decades making music. So, it’s fitting that, There Were Seven-Remixes on The Herbaliser’s Department H label, on 30th June 2014. It’s a fitting homage to two pioneering musicians.  For nineteen years, The Herbaliser have been releasing groundbreaking, pioneering music. With each album The Herbaliser released, they pushed musical boundaries. The Herbaliser don’t stand still. No. Instead, their music, continues to evolve. That’s why The Herbaliser’s will continue to be relevant. Proof of this is their seventh studio album, There Were Seven, which has been reworked and reinvented on There Were Seven-Remixes, by two generations of remixers.

THE HERBALISER-THERE WERE SEVEN-REMIXES.