The Sabres of Paradise | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Andrew Weatheralls Sabres of Paradise were one of the U.K.s most celebrated experimental techno groups. A combined effort of Weatherall and collaborators Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns, the group released a flood of singles and EPs, many of which were collected on compilations released by Warp and Weatheralls other main focus: the Sabrettes label, with releases from Plod and Slab, among others. Born in Windsor, Berkshire, Weatherall considers himself a DJ first, and his exhausting schedule of deckwork has been arguably as influential as his records, inspiring scores of other DJs and anticipating trends in trance-techno, inelegant dance, and even trip-hop. Still, tracks such as "Smokebelch," "Theme," "Wilmott," and the expansive Haunted Dancehall did much in helping to push the post-techno envelope beyond the often staid conventions of the dance floor. Weatherall also gained visibility through remix and production work, working with Primal Scream and Scottish ambient-pop group One Dove, and reworking tracks for James, the Orb, Bjork, Therapy?, Happy Mondays, Future Sound of London, Bomb the Bass, Skylab, and Moody Boyz. His mixing skills can be sampled firsthand via the three-CD collection Cut the Crap, released by Six by 6 Records. After dissolving his Sabres of Paradise project and label, Weatherall set up the tripartite Emissions label group and launched his latest, perhaps most prodigious musical venture, Two Lone Swordsmen. A collaboration with Emissions engineer Keith Tenniswood, 2LS was formed in early 1996. The group speaks the same language of warped, downtempo grooves as much previous Sabres work (particularly "Smokebelch" and "Wilmott"), but opts instead for a syntax of minimal electronics and taut, brittle electro-funk for structure and guidance. The groups first full-length release, 1996s The Fifth Mission, was a whopping double-CD/triple-LP, both preceded and followed by additional EPs of new material ("Tenth Mission" and "Third Mission"). A few months later, the group issued two additional LP-length releases (both remix albums under the title Swimming Not Skimming, although the CD and LP versions sported different tracks), and by the end of 1996 had racked up no less than a half-dozen remixes (including Slab, Alter Ego, Sneaker Pimps, and David Holmes). The heavy release schedule continued through the rest of the decade, with an assortment of LPs and mini-LPs recorded via a new deal with Warp. [See Also: Two Lone Swordsmen] | ||
 | Album: 1 of 5 Title: Smokebelch II Released: 1993-09-20 Tracks: 3 Duration: 36:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Smokebelch II (Entry) (11:44) 2 Smokebelch II (David Holmes mix) (14:25) 3 Smokebelch I (Flute mix) (10:31) |
 | Album: 2 of 5 Title: Sabresonic Released: 1993-10-04 Tracks: 8 Duration: 1:01:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Still Fighting (06:58) 2 Smokebelch 1 (07:40) 3 Clock Factory (14:44) 4 Ano Electro (Andante) (08:15) 5 RSD (05:39) 6 Inter-lergen-Ten-ko (06:11) 7 Ano Electro (Allegro) (07:14) 8 Smokebelch II (Beatless mix) (04:16) |
| Sabresonic : Allmusic album Review : The Sabres techno-oriented debut album includes crucial singles like "Smokebelch," "Wilmott," and previously unavailable items like "Still Fighting" and "Ano Electro." Also tacks on In the Nurserys beatless remix of "Smokebelch II." | ||
 | Album: 3 of 5 Title: Haunted Dancehall Released: 1994-11-10 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:16:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Bubble and Slide (02:39) 2 Bubble and Slide II (07:38) 3 Duke of Earlsfield (08:42) 4 Flight Path Estate (03:21) 5 Planet D (04:41) 6 Wilmot (07:28) 7 Tow Truck (06:35) 8 Theme (04:48) 9 Theme 4 (01:55) 10 Return to Planet D (05:04) 11 Ballad of Nicky McGuire (08:30) 12 Jacob Street 7am (03:46) 13 Chapel Street Market 9am (07:14) 14 Haunted Dancehall (04:24) |
| Haunted Dancehall : Allmusic album Review : The Sabres second album is a conceptual manifesto of sorts, accompanied by a loose song-by-song narrative of descriptions written by the group. According to Weatherall, they initially hired Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting) to pen the notes, but, unhappy with the results, threw together their own versions minutes before the record was shipped off to be pressed. Lots of thin, bubbly, minimalist ambient and mid-tempo breakbeat, with quirky, occasionally half-thought-out tracks aided by production assistance from Geoff Barrow (Portishead) and A. Carthy (Mr. Scruff). | ||
 | Album: 4 of 5 Title: Versus Released: 1995-05-09 Tracks: 8 Duration: 49:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Tow Truck (Depth Charge mix) (06:31) 2 Tow Truck (Chemical Brothers mix) (04:48) 3 Bubble & Slide (Nightmares on Wax mix) (06:30) 4 Tow Truck (Depth Charge mix II) (05:14) 5 Duke of Earlsfield (LFO mix) (06:27) 6 Haunted Dancehall (Performed by In the Nursery) (05:50) 7 Wilmot (08:04) 8 Wilmot Meets Lord Scruffage (06:19) |
 | Album: 5 of 5 Title: Sabresonic II Released: 1995-07-27 Tracks: 9 Duration: 1:17:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Smokebelch II (Beatless mix) (04:16) 2 Inter-Lergen-Ten-Ko II (08:56) 3 Return of Carter (04:06) 4 Still Fighting (06:58) 5 Smokebelch II (12:42) 1 Edge 6 (05:56) 2 Clock Factory (14:44) 3 RSD (05:39) 4 Smokebelch II (David Holmes mix) (14:25) |