Clash of the Titans
OK, here we go - for me personally, this song is about as good as it gets, because it brings together two sources that are close to my heart, UNKLE and Morgan Geist.
I'll admit, I don't own the new UNKLE album, but a few years back, I was pretty obsessed with collecting MoWax releases, which included the UNKLE project. This obsession started for me, like many others, with DJ Shadow's ...endtroducing - essentially a 'perfect album' that defined a whole genre of music by sampling from so many others.
I heard about the upcoming new UNKLE project, Psyence Fiction, where DJ Shadow was going to join forces with James Lavelle, but while I waited for this to happen, I worked my way backwards, basically buying any used MoWax records and CDs I could find (NB: I was in the UK at the time - 1998 - so this wasn't as difficult then and there as it would be now in the US). I was able to get my hands on the Berry Meditation and The Time Has Come EPs (NB: UNKLE at that time included Tim Goldsworthy, who is now half of the DFA production team), as well as a myriad of other older MW releases, including the Headz comps (1, 2A + 2B), La Funk Mob (who later became Motorbass/Cassius), DJ Krush, Attica Blues, Luke Vibert, Innerzone Orchestra, Urban Tribe, Liquid Liquid, Andrea Parker, Peshay, Major Force West, plus when the UNKLE album came out, I bought all the singles...
See? I told you all I was obsessive about this.
OK, part 2 is Morgan Geist, Environ Records label-head, production genius and half of Metro Area. Geist makes beautiful house music that draws inspiration from classic and (extremely) obscure disco, as well as detroit techno - these things come together with sweet melodies and synths, clicks and handclaps, that make you want to move your body (ie: your booty). As Metro Area, Geist and his partner Darshan Jesrani have released a handful of EPs and one full-length - all of their output is absolutely essential listening if you are even slightly interested in house music, seriously. Buy any of the Environ releases here - I'd suggest you start with the MA LP, the Kelly Polar Quintet EPs, and the Geist UNClassics disco mix-cd.
Okay, so as for these two together, basically Geist has reworked this UNKLE tune to near-perfection, with a very long lead-in to the slow-burning jam that this song takes, with the Ian Brown (lead singer of the brilliant Manchester group, the Stone Roses) vocals deep-dub echo-chambered out, and a stepped synth-bass line that squiggles with the other synth wiggles... its a long song, but well worth listening to all the way through. The original version of the song comes off Never Never Land, which you can buy from our friends at Insound, or download from iTunes (they have the rest of the Reign EP too).