808 STATE BLUEPRINT

Artist: 808 State Album: Blueprint Release date: 05 September 2011 Label: Zang Tuum Tumb via Salvo Catalogue no.: SALVOCD051 Format: CD/'mini vinyl' + download Website: www.ztt.com

808 State are "masters of their art" (Q), "pioneers" (Future Music), "for sonic trailblazing and inestimable influence, among our most important groups" (Record Collector), and "Godfathers" (Nude), who "sketched the blueprint for British techno as we know it" (Mixmag). Zang Tuum Tumb and Salvo Music are proud to present Blueprint, the definitive career overview of one of the UK's most important, pioneering and influential electronic groups: 808 State. This is the first ever document of all eras of 808 State: from the seminally influential acid house releases on their own Creed label, to latterday collaborations with Guy Garvey and James Dean Bradfield. From their days as Haienda DJs to headling the Manchester G-Mex, and touring the world with 'stadium rave' (at one point with an unknown Moby as support act). Blueprint features the band's top 10 singles (including Pacific, Cbik, and In Yer Face), and their groundbreaking collaborations with Bjrk (1991's Qmart), Simian (2002's 606) and Brian Eno (1996's Lopez, with lyrics by Nicky Wire). The whole thing kicks off with Aphex Twin's legendary remix of Flow Coma, one of the first ever 808 State tracks, which was released on Richard D. James' own Rephlex label as a 12" promo vinyl in the early 00s. Other remixes all exclusive to this set come from Trevor Horn, Jon Carter/Monkey Mafia and the mysterious 808 Tape. Blueprint puts 808 State back on the map. Paul Hartnoll from Orbital writes the foreword to the CD's extensive booklet, which also features contributions from The Prodigy, Doughty, Moby, Simian and Future Sound of London. There's also an extensive archive interview with 808 State -- Graham Massey (Factory Records/Biting Tongues, Sisters of Transistors), Darren Partington and Andrew Barker -- by Paul Morley. Electronic instrument pioneers Roland have also pulled the original blueprints for the legendary TR-808 drum machine (from which the band took their name) out of their archives for the front cover and deluxe 'mini vinyl' packaging. Two brand new tracks close out the set: Spanish Ice and Metaluna, which segues back into one of the band's first acid house hits, Compulsion, bringing the whole story full circle. A brace of tracks have been completely re-recorded, revisited and updated by the band themselves, and they have even included the production mix of Olympic a/k/a the theme for The Word. This is 808 State, back to the future, across the 80s, 90s, 00s and 10s. Media Contact | Review copies / interviews / photography available now from... | Ian Peel @ Let It Beep | Email: ian@letitbeep.com, phone: 07775 937494 | www.letitbeep.com

808 STATE BLUEPRINT TRACK LIST 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 05:03 05:52 04:07 05:20 05:13 03:44 04:48 04:29 04:59 04:02 03:40 03:50 03:20 04:59 05:10 04:02 04:22 Flow ComaAFX remix by Aphex Twin Pacifc Stateorigin In Yer Facerevisited Cbikremix by Monkey Mafia Timebomb808 tape mix Cobra Borarevisited Olympicword production mix Nimbusrevisited Nephatiti Firecrackeredit Plan 9radio edit by Trevor Horn Lopezradio mix by Brian Eno, featuring James Dean Bradfeld Lemonsoulfeaturing Guy Garvey Qmartfeaturing Bjrk 606revisited, featuring Simian Spanish Ice Metaluna/Compulsionrevisited

Tracks/mixes 03, 05 to 08, 11, 15 to 17previously unreleased.

808 STATE BIOGRAPHY The story of 808 State defines an era of electronic dance music, and sets a blueprint of possibilities for future generations. Formed in Manchester in 1988, their first album Newbuild is now regarded as a milestone in UK electronica and sprang from a desire for a more outer-limits dance sound from the growing warehouse party scene in North West England. Pacific State followed, becoming an end-of-night anthem at the Haienda and breaking out of the dance underground when it was picked up by daytime Radio 1. But the band pushed against dance-celebrity culture and became more of a corporate electronic product with intentionally minimalist record sleeves and a reluctance to self promote. Paul Morley signed the band to the ZTT label, and the first fruits of this partnership 808:90 was awarded 10/10 from the NME. As The Guardian pointed out, with this record, 808 State mapped out the future of club music, utilising techno, ambient and rock to usher in the E-fuelled indie-dance alliance. Between 808:90 it's follow-up, ex:el, 808 State delivered two of the most brutal and absorbing instrumentals ever to enter the UK top ten: Cbik, with its squalling abstract guitar and uber-riffs, followed quickly by In Yer Face. At the height of chart success and the 'Madchester' era, 808 celebrated with a massive hometown gig filling the G-Mex stadium with the biggest PA system ever assembled. Hearing ex:el, Q magazine described how 808 State playfully tickle the underbelly of sampling, KLF-style stadium house and the dormant ghost of Kraftwerk to create something innovative, daring and different. Signing in the USA to influential hip-hop label Tommy Boy, they collaborated with the likes of Quincy Jones, David Bowie and Afrika Bambaataa. With Gorgeous, they tamed the beast that rave had become a schizophrenic, mass-market dance culture and delivered their most well-known album stateside, perhaps due to some numerology with the singles 10x10 and 1 in 10 and Plan 9 all hitting college radio stations one after another. With the Don Solaris project, 808 State recorded a whole new album. Then they scrapped it completely, went back to the drawing board and recorded a whole new 808 State. As the NME wrote at the time, 808 State revolutionised a whole genre of music in the late-80s, inspiring Underworld, Orbital and the Chemical Brothers in the process. But in the late-90s, Andrew Barker, Graham Massey, and Darren Partington pushed further and unearthed a deeper, darker version of their own selves. The bands back catalogue has been reprinted several times in expanded form both by ZTT, UMAA Inc. in Japan and Aphex Twins Rephlex label. It is a catalogue that continues to evolve, with 00s output taking in collaborations with Simian Mobile Disco and DJ Food, the beautiful Lemonsoul (with guest vocals from Elbow's Guy Garvey) and the Outpost Transmission album. 808 State can often be spotted around the world at festivals, with a full live band including bass, drums, percussion and a mountain of electronics, recent highlights including Primavera in Barcelona, Creamfields in Argentina, Bestival on the Isle of White and the Wire Festival at the Yokohama Stadium Japan. And, in between all this, there's an ever-evolving series of side-projects with Andrew Barker and Darren Partington generally either on a plane to a club or spinning in a DJ booth, and Graham Massey producing and performing both with his 28-piece big band Toolshed, art-house organ-group Sisters of Transistors, or solo electronica outlet, Massonix. Ian Peel, Spring 2011

Media Contact | Reviews/interviews /photography available from Let It Beep | Email: ian@letitbeep.com, phone: 07775 937494 | www.letitbeep.com