Shades of Rhythm were a seminal group in the early nineties and are still enjoying a high profile after more than a decade, thanks to the old skool revival that exploded last year.
Nick Slater and Lanx (aka Kevin Lancaster) - two thirds of Shades of Rhythm - are also the men behind Drumattic Twins, one of Fingerlickin' Records' biggest breakbeat acts. This Saturday, Tangled in Manchester will be hosting both acts in an 'old-skool vs nu-skool' extravaganza.
Nick is currently enjoying fatherhood for the first time, although he reckons even years of raving can't prepare you for the fatigue. I caught up with him at home in Peterborough to talk about the story behind his long and illustrious career in the music industry.
"Originally me and Lanx were in a covers band at school. My secret shame of Shadows and Beatles covers," explains the happy new father, "but then we started DJ'ing when we were 15, and thought it was the only cool thing, so the band stopped.
"This was in 1981; the end of the disco era, and there was the American street soul, and the new eighties electronic sound. I remember playing Blue Monday for the first time in my last year of school - it was totally ahead of its time, it still gets played in clubs after more than 20 years."
Nick says that they first played out as 'Nick and Lanx' - "It took us ages to come up with that name" - putting on parties with a few others. Then Nick went to college, where he met Rayan, who became the vocalist. It was at this point that the three formed as Shades of Rhythm, doing mostly hip-hop at first with Rayan rapping.
"The technology was so basic - we took a deck in, and one keyboard without midi with a two-second sampler in it, which was impressive at the time. We had to play everything live into the keyboard.
"About six months later we discovered midi, which was a phenomenal moment for people like us - it was like 'where were you when you first discovered midi?' The drum machines could send a signal to midi, and this allowed you to start programming basslines. It was originally meant for accompanying live musicians, but the Americans turned it into the monster acid machines, which was really the start of the whole thing."
After forming in 1988, they got together eleven tracks to create their first album, the Frequency LP. They pressed up 1000 coipies, and one weekend in 1990 loaded up Nick's Cavalier and went up to Manchester to distribute it themselves.
"We never expected commercial success. At first we made tunes to play on the pirate radio station that we had, and then we pressed up the album. We took a few shops a few boxes, and before we left Manchester, people were ringing us up to ask us to drop off some more. The next weekend we did the same thing in London and Leeds, and that was the lot gone.
"Three weeks later it had sold out. There was a phone number on the album cover, we thought we might get some gigs, but we ended up being courted by all the major record labels. We were like kids in a sweet shop, but eventually signed to ZTT, to get the best of both worlds. Trevor Horn owned it; he was someone we already respected because he was a big producer.
"But it turned out that Warner actually owned 51% and had the final say, so ultimately it was just like being signed to a major. When they asked us to put more vocals on a track we tried to refuse, but actually, if they hadn't asked us we would never have done 'Sound of Eden' because that was an instrumental to start with. Eventually we agreed to give it a go, and it ended up being one of our biggest ever tracks."
I ask Nick what he thinks of the whole 'old-skool' revival phenomenon - is he sick of the sound of it now? "Things like the Ministry of Sound compilations have been massive. It has been a bit exhausted now, but it's great fun just doing it once in a while."
Spo is Nick excited by the breaks scene, or worried that it could reach a plateau or over-commercialise? "No I'm not worried at all, it has always done its own thing. The scene doesn't bow down to chart success. There's definitely more interest from the press and bigger nights starting up, but that in itself is great. The only danger is when a scene gets to a certain size, and tunes get made just for profit - that's when it goes pear-shaped.
"Major label thinking can be corrupting, like when one type of remix is successful, they start remixing everything in that style. If major labels start signing breakbeat acts, it could happen - but at the moment they're pretty much all independent."
I ask Nick if he would like his own label for breaks, as he and Lee Coombs have released some electro tracks together on their 'Freakazoid' label. "No, because for breaks, Fingerlickin' are fantastic. Justin (part of breaks act 'Soul of Man', and head of A&R at Fingerlickin') is really good because he knows what he wants, he's into what we do; he'll tell us to keep an acid riff or double the bridge in the middle for example.
"It's how A&R should be, and it's useful to have feedback when you're making your own tunes as you can lose persepective. Fingerlickin' is a great outlet for us. I have actually just done a new Freakazoid track though, which is out soon."
Lanx has recently moved back to live in Peterborough, but the last album was done via the Internet, and I ask Nick which method of working he prefers. "We're in the studio all the time now which is easier, but the advantage of the Internet is that you're not together, so moods don't enter the equation. It's easier to suggest something should be changed without getting annoyed with each other."
Has there been a natural progression into breaks, or has there ever been a period when you didn't make music? "It's always been a progression, we've always made tunes. Everything spawned from the same beats originally - I mean drum & bass is just fast breaks. I do think all the bootlegs have saturated the market at the moment though. It's a DJ's dream because it's an easy way to have an exclusive track, but it can be a bit lazy."
Where are you heading at the moment? "We're working on the second Drumattics album now, it'll be updated but still the Drummatics sound, We never stay on the same sound for too long, it's always evolving. That's why Fingerlickin' are so good, because you need that bridge between the artist and the final release and marketing.
"We wouldn't have chosen exactly the same tracks that Justin chose, but they were the right choice. As the artist you personalise the tracks because you have slaved over them, they probably mean more than they should do." Does Nick feel lucky to have such trust in Fingerlickin'? "Totally, we're probably the happiest we've ever been now. We went through that whole control thing with Warner where they exerted pressure. with Fingerlickin' we don't need to worry; it could just be a gentleman's agreement."
Nick used to be a resident at a Peterborough night until the management changed, and I ask if he has anything else in the pipeline. "I wish I did, I've always been a DJ as well as a producer. I don't miss the stress of promoting, but I used to love going out as the resident and having a laugh with all my friends, it's more like a night out than work. It's not the same going somewhere alien, getting picked up from the hotel and then just going straight into the club to do your set."
Before I end the interview, I ask Nick if there are any other events in his diary, and he mentions the tour of Australia that Fingerlickin' are organising over New Year. "Everyone who has been to Australia says the breaks scene is unbelievable - they have huge venues, and the record shops sell more breaks than anything else. It'll be the middle of their summer, just outside Sydney, and loads of artists are doing it - Krafty Kuts, Soul of Man, A-Skills and Stanton Warriors are all going. I can't wait!"
JENNY PERRINS