Description
Includes liner notes by Dana G. Smart.
Digitally remastered by Erick Labson (Universal Mastering Studios West).
Before setting global music charts afire with his Fatboy Slim alias, Norman Cook was merging his love of '70s funk breaks with classic Jamaican dub sound system rhythms. Shortly following his stint with UK indie popsters the Housemartins, Cook founded Beats International as a creative outlet for his growing interest in dance music. Using studio musicians, rappers, vintage vinyl recordings, and samples, he fashioned clever, catchy pop tunes that were to become the basis for the genre now known as "funky breaks."
This collection compiles some of the high points of the Beats International catalog with some of Cook's other early production credits and remixes. Cook's debt to Jamaican producers is clearly indicated by "Tribute to King Tubby," a homage to the slain dub remix innovator, while on "Echo Chamber," he juxtaposes a Steve Miller vocal refrain with ragga vocalizations and a house-styled 4/4 pulse. This unlikely combination of sources is held together by a relaxed, dubbed-out production. Cook also borrows from French electronic music pioneers such as Jean Jacques Perry; of particular interest is the remix of Perry's "E.V.A.," which mixes kitsch melodies from a Moog synthesizer with an uptempo hip hop break.
Details
Released: Tue 21 Mar 2000
Catalogue Number: 564787
Availability
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