Red Snapper | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Red Snapper are notable for a pioneering and evolving synthesis of acoustic and electronic sounds that has drawn from avant-garde jazz, funk, dub, post-punk, and hip-hop. Guitarist David Ayers, double bassist Ali Friend, and drummer Richard Thair formed the London-based band in 1994, the year they released their first two EPs, both of which featured Beth Orton as the first of several vocal collaborators. After a third EP, it and the preceding releases were licensed to Warp, which compiled them as Reeled & Skinned (1995). Warp remained Red Snappers home for the proper albums Prince Blimey (1996), Making Bones (1998), and Our Aim Is to Satisfy Red Snapper (2000), a period during which the group also thrived as a live act and supported Björk and Massive Attack, among several other artists. After the trio devoted time to separate projects, they returned on Lo Recordings with Red Snapper (2003), a collection of previously unreleased and live material, and Redone (also 2003), a remix set. Performances and outside activities resumed during the ensuing years as Red Snapper recorded less frequently, documented on A Pale Blue Dot (Lo, 2008) and Key (V2, 2011). The group subsequently toured with a reissued print of the 70s Senegalese road movie Touki Bouki, a film that enabled a deeper exploration of Afrobeat -- one of their enduring inspirations -- and formed the basis of Hyena (Lo, 2014). Touring commitments afterward included performances of Prince Blimey in its entirety. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 11 Title: Reeled and Skinned Released: 1995-06-26 Tracks: 9 Duration: 59:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Snapper (04:46) 2 One Legged Low Frequency Guy (05:31) 3 Swank (06:15) 4 Hot Flush (04:10) 5 Cortina (05:07) 6 Hot Flush (Sabres of Paradise remix) (08:05) 7 In Deep (09:28) 8 Wesley Dont Surf (04:59) 9 Lobster (10:36) |
| Reeled and Skinned : Allmusic album Review : The first Red Snapper full-length is an EP collection including three tracks each from Snapper, Swank and Hot Flush originally released on the Flaw Recordings label. Though the tracks are a bit skeletal, collaborations with Sabres of Paradise ("Hot Flush") and Beth Orton ("Snapper," "In Deep") come off quite well. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 11 Title: Prince Blimey Released: 1996-09-09 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:01:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Crusoe Takes a Trip (06:39) 2 3 Strikes and Youre Out (05:50) 3 Thomas the Fib (05:41) 4 Get Some Sleep Tiger (04:08) 5 Fatboys Dust (05:15) 6 Moonbuggy (01:49) 7 The Paranoid (05:38) 8 Space Sickness (04:09) 9 The Last One (04:17) 10 Digging Doctor What What (07:03) 11 Gridlock (05:10) 12 Lo-Beam (05:38) |
| Prince Blimey : Allmusic album Review : At a time when Warp Records was known as "the premiere electronica label," along comes another album from this mostly acoustic quartet to drop some jaws with good old-fashioned musicianship. Richly accomplished for a sophomore full-length, Prince Blimey finds Red Snapper expanding rather than floundering for ideas. In a time where acid jazz was busy developing by artificial (sampled) means, Red Snappers musical prowess became a force to be reckoned with, and many of the tracks here place heavy emphasis on the groups secret weapon: the rhythm section. On a drawing pad, many of these songs would look like pyramids, with the base (bass) end getting most of the emphasis and the top corner crammed with little harmonic afterthoughts. The double bass is essential to the success of these tracks, featuring Ali Friend growling, slinking, and sliding on the frets as confidently as Zeus with a thunderbolt in his hands. Similarly, Richard Thair keeps his drums in time with Friend -- hopscotching, marching, and breakbeating from R&B; club to jazz dub to acoustic jungle. The flip side to all this is that other elements seem downright compromised. Although there are tight guitar hooks and some very impressive saxophone work (courtesy of Ollie Moore), both frequently get downplayed in the mix. Even guest vocals by Anna Haigh on "The Paranoid" have trouble redirecting the focus. However, with grooves this infectious theres still a lot to appreciate. "3 Strikes and Youre Out" gives guitarist David Ayers a little gutbucket blues drawl riff and backmasking acrobatics, and "Thomas the Fib" is the very cigarette dangling from a con artists lips, replete with catwalking basslines and some haunted vocal cackling. "The Last One" (also released as a single) seems to have the most studio enhancement, laying down rusted bass slides and cavernous drum cans underscoring an increasingly amusing soundbite. The jazzy "Get Some Sleep Tiger" and the fire-alarm funky "Digging Doctor What What" are both relentless, go-for-broke police chases through the dark streets of London, rich with imagery and tension. The last two tracks are looser, where the scaffolding overhead reveals some expanded atmosphere. "Gridlock" is a spaced-out theme, strummed through a black hole like chill-out acid jazz (if there is such a thing), and "Lo-Beam" staggers about for the finale, a late night rock noir in the same vein as David Holmes grunge epic, Bow Down to the Exit Sign. Only a handful of bands can successfully reside in the category of "electronica" when so little of their material stems from it, so Warp gets points for pushing the envelope just enough. In terms of songwriting, Red Snapper might not live in a completely furnished house, but the foundation is rock solid. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 11 Title: Making Bones Released: 1998-07-01 Tracks: 10 Duration: 55:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Sleepless (04:46) 2 Crease (06:21) 3 Image of You (06:13) 4 Bogeyman (05:01) 5 The Tunnel (05:25) 1 Like a Moving Truck (05:20) 2 Spitalfields (07:01) 3 Seeing Red (04:51) 4 Suckerpunch (05:13) 5 4 Dead Monks (05:16) |
| Making Bones : Allmusic album Review : A full decade of acid jazz never produced a more stunning fusion of electronic music with live instrumentation than Making Bones. Poised halfway between Sly & Robbie and Roni Size, Red Snappers first album for a worldwide audience surfs a wave of breakbeat funk that includes nods to dub, punk, soul, drumnbass and hip-hop. The rock-steady rhythm section of Richard Thair (drums) and Ali Friend (bass) holds the groove better than any sampler, tying together radically different material like classic British soul on "Image of You," metallic drumnbass on "The Sleepless" (with excellent rapping by MC Det) and the fusion update "Bogeyman" (with trumpeter Byron Wallen). Its obvious the Snapper have mastered all aspects of 90s electronic dance, and Making Bones is proof positive. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 11 Title: Our Aim is to Satisfy Released: 2000-10-09 Tracks: 11 Duration: 56:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Keeping Pigs Together (05:23) 2 Some Kind of Kink (05:26) 3 Shellback (05:43) 4 Dont Go Nowhere (04:50) 5 The Rake (05:13) 6 The Rough and the Quick (05:06) 7 Bussing (05:23) 8 I Stole Your Car (04:16) 9 Alaska Street (05:00) 10 Belladonna (04:27) 11 Theyre Hanging Me Tonight (06:07) |
 | Album: 5 of 11 Title: Its All Good Released: 2002-08-15 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:11:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Someday My Blues Will Cover The Earth (Ectomorph Electro Storm mix) (06:01) 2 Nuno (02:59) 3 King Dragonfly (04:42) 4 Take Control (12" version) (05:04) 5 Space Chase (07:00) 6 Houston (Live version) (07:58) 7 Fatien (New Sector Movement remix) (07:43) 8 Metallic Funk Appliance (08:24) 9 Jenna (06:28) 10 Ultraviolet (05:47) 11 Spellcheck (04:45) 12 Belladonna (04:27) |
| It's All Good : Allmusic album Review : Sadly, one of Red Snappers final projects before dissolving only goes to show what a forward-thinking group they really were. Crafting an emotional and soulful compilation, the groups entry into the Its All Good series is a fantastic mixture of jazzy experimental electronica, ethereal house, and energetic dance tracks. The secret here is the sense of yearning, which may be the only thread connecting the array of music within. This is an album that always returns to that understated passion, even when it takes sharp turns towards fast-paced beats and up-tempo songs. Starting with the mournful Ectomorph remix of His Name Is Alives "Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth," the disc somehow makes the journey to Spacers snappy, horn-laden "Houston" and finally to Red Snappers own dreamy "Belladonna" in a seamless array of movements. Pulling strong feelings out of this material seems like a difficult task, especially when the tracks are often kept at their original, unabridged length. But Red Snapper rewards patience with a strong sense of relief, bringing the record to a powerful emotional high before slowing back down again to drop the listener off. Red Snappers Its All Good doesnt resemble a typical mix record, but instead it ebbs and flows like a good jazz recording (even the blurb on the back of the album makes the connection). It may be a tad too heady for the dancefloor, but during a late night-drive on the freeway, it would be hard to find a finer companion. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 11 Title: Red Snapper Released: 2003-02-24 Tracks: 10 Duration: 54:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Regrettable (05:38) 2 Mountains and Valleys (03:28) 3 Ultraviolet (06:01) 4 Heavy Petting (06:15) 5 Dnipro (05:15) 6 Hot Flush (Sabres of Paradise remix) (08:05) 7 Odd Man Out (04:24) 8 The Quiet One (03:31) 9 The Tunnel (live) (05:53) 10 4 Dead Monks (live) (05:31) |
| Red Snapper : Allmusic album Review : This 2003 release denotes something of a return to action for this rather talented, acoustic-electric trio. In addition, this outing features seven new pieces amid some older works, and two live tracks. The band really shines through in its multi-layered blend of EFX-driven dance beats and jazzy grooves to complement an abundance of melodically tinged hooks. Effectively, taste is the measuring stick here, as the musicians shrewd arrangements feature synth horns, quaintly organized treatments, and contrasting themes. No filler material here, thank you! Its an intelligently produced effort, consisting of polytonal works framed upon ostinato motifs, reverberating keyboard-based choruses, breezy guitar licks, and more. They even manage to align various genres such as American folk, worldbeat rhythms, and techno stylizations into various sequences and ethereal soundscapes. Essentially, few working units of this ilk successfully merge disparate elements into something so cohesive and idiosyncratic. A finely crafted program for sure! | ||
 | Album: 7 of 11 Title: Redone Released: 2003-10 Tracks: 12 Duration: 57:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Quiet One (Broadway Project remix) (03:54) 2 Regrettable (Depth Charge remix) (04:31) 3 Four Dead Monks (Radioactive Man remix) (04:16) 4 Ultraviolet (Rich Thair remix) (05:33) 5 Regrettable (Blue States remix) (05:36) 6 Mountains and Valleys (Susumu Yokota remix) (05:32) 7 Heavy Petting (The Creation remix) (05:26) 8 Dnipro (Europa 51 remix) (03:40) 9 Odd Man Out (Odd Man remix) (04:41) 10 The Quiet One (Knowledge of Bugs remix) (04:40) 11 Mountains and Valleys (Pedro remix) (04:17) 12 Ultraviolet (Rothko remix) (05:07) |
 | Album: 8 of 11 Title: A Pale Blue Dot Released: 2008-10-27 Tracks: 8 Duration: 46:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Brickred (04:53) 2 Lagos Creepers (05:50) 3 Wanga Doll (06:09) 4 Moving Mountain (05:07) 5 Clam (03:43) 6 Deathroll (05:44) 7 Clam (Kelpe remix) (07:46) 8 Brickred (Subway mix) (06:57) |
 | Album: 9 of 11 Title: Key Released: 2011-04-18 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:03:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 In Your Backs (05:15) 2 Chimee (05:34) 3 Biffa Bacon (04:47) 4 Jack (03:29) 5 Spiky (04:32) 6 Architectronic (04:34) 7 Take Your Medicine (04:56) 8 Loveboat (04:50) 9 Eye Liner Stab (03:29) 10 Great First Touch (04:13) 11 Racing Snake (04:19) 12 Off Balance (05:20) 13 Fat Roller (05:01) 14 You Read My Cards Wrong (03:27) |
 | Album: 10 of 11 Title: Hyena Released: 2014-09 Tracks: 12 Duration: 45:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Card Trick (04:40) 2 Walking Man (03:33) 3 Village Tap (05:31) 4 Herder Can Dance (03:30) 5 Wonky Bikes (02:41) 6 Dock Running (04:14) 7 Blue Chest (03:32) 8 Lassoo (03:43) 9 Trafic (02:39) 10 Mambetty (02:44) 11 Archout (03:38) 12 No Exit (05:29) |
| Hyena : Allmusic album Review : Having cut a "post-soundtrack" for the 70s Senegalese film Touki Bouki, the U.K. trio known as Red Snapper lifted some of those elements for their 2014 album Hyena. The results are an ethno-muso mash of African thumb pianos, acid jazz beats, and spaghetti western guitars, and while the first two-thirds flow well enough, these disparate genres seem at odds toward the end of the album, which sounds like a Red Snapper audition tape, displaying all the varied things this talented crew can do. Fans hung up on their skill and dexterity get a new framework around the usual grooves, but newcomers are best checking one of their regular albums where the overall flow is as crafted and as cared for as the music. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 11 Title: Mambety Released: 2014-11-03 Tracks: 4 Duration: 18:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Mambety (DJ Food) (04:28) 2 Mambety (DJ Food radio edit) (03:18) 3 Walking Man (Moists Stumbling mix) (06:19) 4 Dock Running (04:16) |