Fats Comet | |
---|---|
Origin | London, Greater London, United Kingdom |
Genres | Funk, industrial |
Years active | 1984–1987 |
Labels | On-U Sound, Rough Trade, World |
Associated acts | Tackhead |
Past members | Keith LeBlanc Skip McDonald Adrian Sherwood Doug Wimbish |
Fats Comet was a British/American industrial hip hop group formed by Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc, Skip McDonald and Doug Wimbish. The band was known for producing dance tracks that were densely layered in samples and ahead of their time. In a 1987 article in Spin , Scott Burlingham commented that "songs like "Bop Bop" and "Stormy Weather" are three years old and they still don't fit in." [1] The members eventually shifted their focus to another project Tackhead, under which they continue to produce music.
British music producer Adrian Sherwood first met American percussionist Keith LeBlanc in 1984 while working on a remix for the reggae group Akabu. They were joined by guitarist Skip McDonald and bassist Doug Wimbish in London. Fats Comet was originally conceived to be a studio-only project. [2] A change in musical direction led the members to focus their attention on another project called Tackhead, which aimed at having a less commercial sound compared to Fats Comet. Sherwood explains, "the masterplan [...] was for Tackhead to take dub/funk on a journey through leftfield and into the unknown to God knows where, and then for Fats Comet to pilot the mothership smoothly back from this alternative dimension to a safe earthly landing with sounds that you would recognize instantly without ever having heard before." [3] [4] Although they never released a full-length album, the group's final single, "Rockchester", was a modest success in the UK. [5]
Chart placings shown are from the UK Indie Chart. [5]
Dub Syndicate is a dub band, formed by Adrian Sherwood, which became a showcase for Adrian Sherwood's collaboration with Lincoln "Style" Scott, former drummer with the Roots Radics, Suns of Arqa and Creation Rebel.
Tackhead is an industrial hip-hop group that was most active during the 1980s and early 1990s, and briefly reformed in 2004 for a tour. Their music occupies the territory where funk, dub, industrial music and electronica intersect. The core members are Doug Wimbish (bass), Keith Leblanc (percussion) and Skip McDonald (guitar) and producer Adrian Sherwood. Despite being short-lived as a band proper, the legacy and output of these groups of musicians has been prodigious.
Douglas Arthur Wimbish is an American bass player, primarily known for being a member of rock band Living Colour and funk/dub/hip hop collective Tackhead, and as a session musician with artists such as Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, Depeche Mode, James Brown, Annie Lennox, and Barrington Levy.
Adrian Maxwell Sherwood is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing techniques to other forms of electronic dance music and popular music outside of the genre. He has worked extensively with a variety of reggae artists as well as the musicians Keith LeBlanc, Doug Wimbish and Skip McDonald. Sherwood has remixed tracks by Coldcut, Depeche Mode, The Woodentops, Primal Scream, Pop Will Eat Itself, Sinéad O'Connor, and Skinny Puppy. In his role as a record producer he has worked with a variety of record labels; however, his best-known label is On-U Sound Records which he founded in 1979. Sherwood has been a member of the band Tackhead. He considers himself tone deaf, and focuses on making sounds and noises rather than melody.
Skip McDonald is an American musician who also performs under the stage name Little Axe.
Short and Sweet is a 1992 album recorded by the American singer Little Annie.
Friendly as a Hand Grenade is an album by the American band Tackhead. It was released in 1989 through TVT Records.
Mark Stewart is the third album by vocalist Mark Stewart, released in 1987 through Mute Records.
Tackhead Tape Time is the debut album of Tackhead, released in 1987 through Nettwerk.
Strange Things is the third album by Tackhead, released in 1990 through SBK Records.
"What's My Mission Now?" is a single by the American industrial hip-hop group Tackhead, released in October 1985 on On-U Sound. Scott Becker of Option called it "Sherwood as his outrageous best: wild stereo effects, a crucial beat, a bit of dubbing-it-up, found vocals, odd sounds, the works."
"Mind at the End of the Tether" is a single by the industrial hip-hop group Tackhead, released in 1986 on On-U Sound Records. Although the record states otherwise, the B-side is actually the Fats Comet song "King of the Beat".
"Reality" is a single by the industrial hip-hop group Tackhead, released in January 1988 on On-U Sound Records.
"Ticking Time Bomb" is a single by the industrial hip-hop group Tackhead, released in March 1989 on World Records.
Power Inc. Volume 1 is a compilation album by the American industrial hip-hop group Tackhead. It was released in 1994 on Blanc Records.
Tackhead Sound Crash is a remix album by the industrial hip-hop group Tackhead. It was released on November 13, 2006 on Beat and On-U Sound Records.
"Rockchester" is a single by the British industrial hip-hop group Fats Comet, released in January 1987 on World Records.
Strange Parcels was an industrial hip-hop group, formed in 1991. The nucleus was guitarist Skip McDonald, drummer Keith LeBlanc and bassist Doug Wimbish. The group also enlisted the aid of numerous guest musicians, including Mark Stewart, Bim Sherman, Jesse Rae, Talvin Singh and Basil Clarke.
If You Want Loyalty Buy a Dog is the seventh album by Little Axe, released on October 24, 2011 by On-U Sound. It was the first album Skip McDonald produced without the aid of fellow Tackhead members Keith LeBlanc and Doug Wimbish.
"The Game " is a single by the industrial hip-hop group Tackhead, released in 1987 on 4th & B'way Records.