True Music
Alabama 3's esoteric sound
Robert Palmer
Alabama 3's esoteric sound

 

Alabama 3's esoteric distillation of techno, country, and bizarre antics, both on and off stage make them a force to be reckoned with. It's not often you hear country music coupled with techno, and allied to lyrical references from everything to drugs to religion. Alabama 3 have the upper hand on this unique style, though. The acclaimed Exile On Coldharbour Lane album, their live expeditions, and their ostensibly annihilitive attitude have already cemented their reputation as piss-taking mavericks. There's method in their madness, though, and the ever-growing conglomerate that is Alabama 3 is going from strength to strength, and sucking is confused punters by the day.

The band claim they got together by meeting through rehab centres for various addictions. They were formed in Brixton in the early 90s by founder members The Very Reverend Dr. D Wayne Love, Larry Love, The Mountain of Love, Sir Real “Congaman” Love, Missisipi Guitar man Love, Yhe Spirit and Little Boy Dope.
Despite Brixton being the mainstay of their antics (culminating in the album title), teh group's heritage, both geographically and musically is far more wide-spanned. Frm Wales to London, from country to drum & bass, Alabama 3 have managed to cover all bases and emerge with a drug and imagination-fuelled distillation that is purely their own.
Frontman Larry Love offer an insight into their influences. “We started as an acid house sound system, and have been evolvin ever since. Musically we're very diverse, and between us our influences stretch from every strain of music. A large part of our agenda is to bring together seemingly disparate elements of music, and since we have the techno and country influences, that seemed like a good starting point. We've really tried to rewrite the rules about country and blues, and it's annoying when people don't get it”.
However the band are adamant that people who associate with the cultural background of Alabama 3 are converts. Larry continues, “People have said this is a pastiche, but to me, country is white man's blues, and I see nothing wrong with putting it in a modern context. Me and D Wayne Love are Celtic, and in both Scotland and Wales, there's still such a proliferation of acoustic country based music, that it's been a very strong influence for both of us.”
As time went on, the crew quickly discovered the dance scene. They saw a real alliance between acid house and techno and their early country roots, and were swift to encompass the genres. Add to this their humorous outlook on the drug-induced club scene, and the formula was in place.
Their anarchic attitude, both musically and otherwise, along with their unique style and enthralling live shows demonstrate their commitment and long term potential.

Music Masterpiecies: Roxy Music by Roxy Music
by Paul Miller
Roxy Music - Roxy Music
Roxy Music debut album 
 

Roxy’s debut album was as cool and as avant-gard as you could get in 1972. A slicky-dressed group, fronted by the two Bryans, former art teacher Ferry and synth freak Eno,
Roxy Music had barely existed for more than a few months when they came up with a dazzling, sprawling collection of songs and sounds that were well ahead of the game, the perfect blend of squealing commercial rock and bizarre film references. From the double-fold cover, an elegant Fifties pastiche featuring the band as rock’n’roll playing cards and with model Kari-Ann pouting on the front, right through to Ferry’s uniquely phased delivery and Eno’s squeaking Mellotrons (the E-man was credited on the sleeve with playing ‘tapes and synths’), it was - is - a winning piece of work. Flawed, yes - the group hadn’t worked out quite how everything should sound and some of the mixes were a touch too dark but a masterpiece nonetheless, and producer Sinfield is to be congratulated for getting down all its disparate elements in a time period that nowadays would be considered just enough to record a couple of tracks. Ferry himself had been a stylish art school mod in the Sixties, who’d turned to teaching art before teaching himself piano using a curious number system of his own invention. Guitarist Phil Manzanera, saxman Andy Mackay, bassist Graham Simpson and drummer Paul Thompson had slightly more conventional backgrounds, in musical terms at least. But all were talented enough to shine on the right platform, and Roxy was the right platform, with cuts like ‘If There is Something’, ‘Bitters End’ and ‘2HB’ showing Ferry’s genius for coming up with sweet’n’sour numbers that had a tongue-in-cheek poignancy all their own. In July the album went Into the Top Ten as prestige gigs with Bowie - then No.1 with Ziggy Stardust - came through. Roxy’s early followers were true fanatics and many, like Sid Vicious and Siouxsie, would go on to make waves of their own. Of the band itself, Andy ‘Rock Follies’ Mackay, Ferry and Manzanera all enjoyed solo success, while Eno has been a hot producer for so many years.