D IS FOR DIRTY BEATNIKS

Some hip hop influenced beats from Wall of Sound stalwarts Dirty Beatniks.

 

The Dirty Beatniks were Justin Underhill, Mau, Neil Higgins and Rory Carlile. They came to prominence in the mid-1990s as Big Beat was peaking in the UK but had a less heavy sound than others on the WoS label.

 

Dirty Beatniks founders Neil Higgins and Andy Carlile met in Dublin in the late ’80s during the acid-house heyday before relocating to London in the early ’90s. After a spate of remix work (for Cujo, Ruby, and Akasha among others), the pair released their ’96 debut album, 117 In The Shade, on Wall Of Sound. The Dirty Beatniks sound combines Detroit techno-inspired basslines, breakbeats and samples but does not fit comfortably into either the trip-hop or big beat categories. The Beatniks were an overnight success. 2000’s Feedback appeared under the Beatniks moniker, although Neil produced nine of the eleven tracks alone. Vocalist Mau (of Earthling fame) guests, offering visceral, Generation X lyrics. The group seems to have folded after 2000. It is from Feedback that the following tracks are taken:

 

Dirty Beatniks – Disco Dancing Machines

Dirty Beatniks – Kris Kristofferson

 

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~ by acidted on January 29, 2009.