At the center of the ’90s dance scene was a core group of producers who gave techno a new vision. These five records, all released by B12 on Warp, provide the ideal soundtrack for long train journeys or nights spent dancing at clubs.
Leftism, drawing inspiration from Detroit’s haunting sci-fi romanticism, is an essential record.
Masters at Work
Masters at Work were one of the greatest dance music duos ever to grace a recording studio, known for their upbeat, melodic productions and euphoric techno – this track being no different!
This epic song featuring choir, string orchestra and percussions is truly epic; building to an impressive crescendo at its conclusion with a beautiful sounding chorus. Perfect for relaxing after an exciting night of dancing!
This song is all about celebrating life with those you care about and it remains one of the greatest songs ever created. A beautiful, poignant ballad that can be enjoyed by audiences of any age – it will leave you with warm fuzzy feelings! No wonder that it became a worldwide hit and used in Mortal Kombat video game adaptation in 1995!
Original released in 1992, Weekender remains an anthem to city lovers everywhere and an immensely popular club track today. A collaboration between a shoegaze band and an ambient techno duo, Weekender takes listeners on an immersive 13-minute journey of synth pads, vocal samples, wailing guitars and funky acid breaks; even used as part of British Airways commercial in 2021 to highlight London skylines!
Bristolian DJ Yushh’s debut album is an eclectic medley of house, dub and vaporwave styles, bound together by lush production values and an absolute commitment to pleasure principle. The title track alone showcases this with a wild remix of Leo Delibes’ Flower Duet from Lakme layered over African chanting and dolphin noise recordings for maximum creativity and invention.
Drum and bass (D&B) and jungle music emerged out of UK rave scenes and sound system cultures in the 1990s, featuring fast breakbeats (160-200 BPM) with heavy or light bass lines, vocal samples, synthesized effects and other sounds such as reverb, compression or distortion to produce both an immersive yet powerful musical soundscape.
Massive Attack
Massive Attack was among the first groups to popularize trip hop music, alongside Portishead and DJ Shadow. Credited with giving trip hop its characteristic sensual feel, and their combination of various genres created an eclectic sound which left an indelible mark on many artists who later picked up on this musical genre.
Robert Del Naja, Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles and Grant Marshall founded their group out of the Wild Bunch sound system crew during the heyday of local hip-hop and reggae fusion scene in 1988. Later joined by Nellee Hooper (later to become part of Soul II Soul), as well as rapper Tricky who was an integral member for much of its early history.
Blue Lines was released to wide critical acclaim and is considered one of the greatest albums from the 90s. Their most notable single “Unfinished Sympathy”, an electronic dance track featuring sparse beats and full orchestral arrangement for an epic sound, also received high critical acclaim upon its release and music video for Unfinished Sympathy featured Shara Nelson walking around Los Angeles streets as part of the video for Unfinished Sympathy was an industry innovation.
After the success of Blue Lines, Massive Attack took a hiatus before reconvening in 1996 to record their second album, Protection. The record featured vocalists Nicolette and Tracey Thorn of Everything But the Girl as well as guest appearance by Tricky; its critical and commercial success were also well received, although some collective spirit had been lost since its predecessor’s release.
Heligoland was an album full of political activism and protest music, many of its songs reflecting Britain’s current problems such as political unrest and terrorist attacks. A Prayer for England featured a haunting female voice urging: “Let not another child be slain”. Considering our world today is filled with terror attacks and climate-change anxiety, few artists could channel such dark emotions so effectively.
Underworld
Underworld are unarguably one of the most influential British electronic music bands of the 90s. Karl Hyde and Rick Smith established their signature style through an eclectic blend of rock swagger with hypnotic rhythms and drones that would become their signature sound. Hyde’s poetic, hypnotic lyrics also became part of Underworld’s signature, often including excerpts of overheard dialogue or phone messages recorded overheard during live shows.
Hyde and Smith took their initial releases with Freur as an opportunity to experiment with their vision of combining rock, techno and other genres into an album called dubnobasswithmyheadman, released in 1994 and critically acclaimed at that time. While this album covered a broad spectrum of dance music styles it still showcased Underworld’s signature brand of electronic rock music that made an immediate impactful statement.
It was their inaugural album to feature vocals, marking a departure from their earlier, lyrically free dance music. Hyde’s spoken-word stream of consciousness added an otherworldly feel to tracks such as the chill-room anthem ‘River of Bass,’ with its slow honeypot groove that weaves radio chatter and subterranean vibrations into its melody.
After the release of dubnobasswithmyheadman, Underworld recruited DJ Darren Emerson who refined their sound further while maintaining blues and rock influences in its soundscape. Their albums such as Rez and Born Slippy Nuxx (released under Lemon Interupt in 1992 on Junior Boy’s Own) became dance music hits until Hyde and Smith decided to change back to Underworld as their moniker in 1993.
Trainspotting featured the band’s classic breakbeat track ‘Born Slippy/Nuxxx,’ cementing their partnership with director Danny Boyle that continues today. Danny called on them for his critically acclaimed Frankenstein production at National Theatre as well as for opening ceremonies of 2012 Olympic Games held in London.
Underworld have long been at the forefront of electronic music. Recently, they reunited with American singer Iggy Pop for Teatime Dub Encounters: Four Track EP. Since then, Underworld have launched Drift as a series of albums exploring diverse musical landscapes that has received widespread critical acclaim.
Orbital
Orbital was one of the most influential British electronic acts during the 90s, producing classic albums and songs which have had an enormous effect on musicians worldwide. “Where Is It Going?” stands as an impressive testament to Orbital’s ability to push innovation and creativity further than ever.
Orbital has long been considered one of the leading figures in UK rave culture, their 1989 single “Chime” becoming an international dancefloor staple. They were one of the pioneers to incorporate electronic instruments in their music – Paul Hartnoll described synthesizers as being like musical instruments for the mind!
Snivilisation was a groundbreaking and innovative album released in 1990 that showcased various styles and sounds, earning positive reviews even from publications which hadn’t previously covered electronic music.
“Remind” by Orbital was released in 1994 and features an atmospheric arrangement of synthesizers and samples with an infectious rhythm, all leading up to an ethereal vocal sample stating, “you remind me of the sun”. This song gives off an air of comforting hopefulness while remaining accessible and pleasingly melodic.
This song employs a unique technique known as audio dubbing, in which both channels of music start to drift out of sync with one another and creates an unusual sense of movement and depth that makes this track stand out among Orbital tracks.
Recently, Orbital has seen a remarkable resurgence in popularity with a new generation discovering their music through films like Hackers. Furthermore, the duo has released a powerful and inspiring remix of “Halcyon On and On,” featuring spoken word samples from famous physicist Stephen Hawking – highlighting Orbital’s ability to produce innovative and thought-provoking music.
Since their duo Orbital officially disbanded in 2004, Paul and Phil Hartnoll have continued producing music independently. Paul released his solo project 8:58 album self-titled in 2010, as well as writing music for movies and TV shows. Phil has performed with Long Range as well as working on projects combining electronic with orchestral sounds.