Electribe 101 finally sees Frankie Knuckles remixes of ‘Heading for The Night’ released
30 years since their creation, the never before released Frankie Knuckles remixes of Electribe 101’s “Heading for The Night” are finally made available on 12“ vinyl and CD. This EP of remixes precedes the release of Electribe 101’s second, never before released album “Electribal Soul”, later this year.
UK based electronic group Electribe 101 was founded after vocalist and writer Billie Ray Martin had placed an ad in Melody Maker in 1988: “Soul rebel seeks musicians – genius only”. Billie headed to meet the four responding musicians (Brian Nordhoff, Joe Stevens, Les Fleming, and the late Roberto Cimarosti) at their studio in Birmingham.
“I took three songs with me, one of were the lyrics and melodies to (Electribe 101’s first single) “Talking with Myself”, as well as a copy of Julian Jonah’s “Jealousy and Lies”,” says Billie. “I told the guys: I’ve heard the future, and this is what I want to do. I had heard Julian’s track at the WAG Club and I still remember the moment I stopped my shimmying and just stood there, staring, then turning on my heels and going straight to the DJ to ask what this record was. The guys had already experimented with some more dance orientated tracks and were instantly sold on the idea.”
Originally self-released on white label and championed by pirate radio, “Talking with Myself” quickly got them enough attention to sign to Phonogram Records. “Because we weren’t yet used to writing together, we tried different approaches,” explains Billie. “I brought along a few songs I’d already written with others. Other songs we wrote from scratch. “Heading for The Night” is one of those songs. The guys had developed the music and I wrote and sang the melody and lyrics straight onto the track, without making any arrangement changes.”
The band had also found fans in the US, and saw mixes from some of the most in-demand remixers of the day, including Chicago House producers Larry Heard and the late Frankie Knuckles. “Frankie had already done such an incredible job with “Talking with Myself” and he was smitten with “Heading for The Night””, recalls Billie. “He enjoyed mixing it so much that he did six mixes, each one brilliant and soulful in its own way. His effortless and perfect vocal production while creating a more danceable version makes this another Knuckles masterpiece.”
While “Heading for The Night” had been considered for single release, these legendary remixes never saw the light of day. Until now.
Release date is 9th of July, Vinyl End August. Full pre-order info here.
What happened to Electribe 101 ?
In June 1990, Electribe 101 released its debut album, “Electribal Memories”. The same year the band toured as support act for Depeche Mode.
As the group started work on recording its second album, the band members had differences of opinion with Mercury/PolyGram Records and tensions grew between the members. The label refused to release its second album and Electribe 101 split in 1994.
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