ALBUM NOTES: 808 State makes a welcome return with 'Ex:el' (Tommy Boy, New York). The Manchester-bred band that helped pave the way for the ambient house movement with 'Pacific' offers a more varied palette of ideas and grooves this time around.
808 State Ex:el Rar Key
First, there are appearances by New Order /Electronic vocalist Bernard Sumner (on 'Spanish Heart') and Sugarcubes front woman Bjork (on 'Ooops' and 'Qmart '). Dropping lyrics into the band's already cinematic instrumental arrangements adds an intriguing depth to the overall tone of the album.
808 State Ex:el Rar Command
Musically, 'Ex:el' shows the band experimenting with different
rhythms and textures. While 'Leo Leo' and 'Lift' are true to the atmospheric concepts of their debut, 'Nephatiti' uses startingly raw and aggressive keyboard effects and 'Empire' is fueled with easy-paced tribal beats. There are also several choice tracks for industrial fans, starting with the cool machine -like vibe of 'In Yer Face.'
The first single will be 'Ooops,' sporting new mixes by Eric Kupper. This quirky, down-tempo track will likely show the group once again testing (and, we hope, expanding) the boundaries of mainstream club programming-which is apparently becoming
its specialty. A brilliant effort.
- Find 808 State bio, music, credits, awards, & streaming links on AllMusic - U.K. Acid house pioneers who have influenced.
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[Larry Flick]
808 State Ex:el Rar Game
808 State are true electronic pioneers that opened up the possibilities for so many forthcoming British electronic artists. If you think about their groundbreaking Newbuild album that came out in 1988 and has only recently been recognised as a classic ahead of it's time, this was long before the fantastic Warp label had taken off with it's roster of great artist albums.