Hempton Manor

Last updated

Hempton Manor
HemptonManorShamen.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 1996
Recorded1995-1996
Genre Techno, dub, drum and bass
Label One Little Indian
The Shamen chronology
Axis Mutatis
(1995)
Hempton Manor
(1996)
UV
(1998)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Music Week Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Muzik Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]

Hempton Manor is the sixth studio album by The Shamen, released in September 1996. Hempton Manor is inspired by and dedicated to hemp and featured a liner printed on hemp-based paper. "Hempton Manor" hybridizes tripped out techno, spacey dub and frenetic drum and bass styles. The decision to make it an entirely instrumental album was a deliberate ploy to break from their record label, One Little Indian. It is alleged to have been recorded in seven days to conclude the recording contract with One Little Indian, and the first letters of each track form an acrostic spelling out "Fuck Birket", referring to label founder Derek Birkett, [4] who wanted the group to move back into more commercial territory.

Track listing

  1. "Freya"
  2. "Urpflanze"
  3. "Cannabeo"
  4. "Khat"
  5. "Bememe"
  6. "Indica"
  7. "Rausch"
  8. "Kava"
  9. "El-Fin"
  10. "The Monoriff"

Related Research Articles

<i>Please Please Me</i> 1963 studio album by the Beatles

Please Please Me is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom, following the success of the band's first two singles "Love Me Do", which reached number 17 on the Record Retailer Chart, and "Please Please Me", which reached number one on the NME and Melody Maker charts. The album topped Record Retailer's LP chart for 30 weeks, an unprecedented achievement for a pop album at that time.

Republica English alternative rock band

Republica are an English alternative rock band formed in 1994. The height of their popularity spanned from 1996 to 1999. The current line-up consists of Saffron (vocals), Tim Dorney (keyboards), Johnny Male (guitar), Conor Lawrence (drums).

Jesus Jones English alternative rock band

Jesus Jones are a British alternative rock band from Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, formed in late 1988, who continue to record and perform, as of 2021. Their track "Right Here, Right Now" was an international hit, and was subsequently globally licensed for promotional and advertising campaigns. The single was also nominated for a Grammy award at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1991, as was its album, Doubt. They also achieved chart success with the songs "Real Real Real", "International Bright Young Thing" and "Info Freako".

<i>Tubular Bells</i> 1973 album by Mike Oldfield

Tubular Bells is the debut studio album by English musician Mike Oldfield, released on 25 May 1973 as the first album on Virgin Records. Oldfield, who was 19 years old when it was recorded, played almost all the instruments on the mostly instrumental album.

Gomez (band) English indie rock band

Gomez are an English indie rock band from Southport, comprising Ian Ball, Paul "Blackie" Blackburn (bass), Tom Gray, Ben Ottewell and Olly Peacock. The band has three singers and four songwriters, employing traditional and electronic instruments. Their music covers the genres blues, indie, alternative, rock, folk, psychedelic and experimental.

<i>Post</i> (Björk album) 1995 studio album by Björk

Post is the second studio album by Icelandic singer Björk. It was released on 7 June 1995 by One Little Indian Records. Continuing the style developed on her first album Debut (1993), Post features an eclectic mixture of electronic and dance styles such as techno, trip hop, IDM, and house, but also ambient, jazz, industrial, and experimental music. Björk produced Post herself with co-producers including Nellee Hooper, 808 State's Graham Massey, and former Massive Attack member Tricky. She wrote most of the songs after moving to London, and intended the album to reflect her new life in the city.

Fluke was an English electronic music group formed in the late 1980s by Mike Bryant, Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier. The band's conception was influenced by the members' interest in the burgeoning acid house music scene and particularly the work of Cabaret Voltaire and Giorgio Moroder.

The Shamen Scottish electronic dance music band

The Shamen were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping British electronic dance music act by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie. Peter Stephenson joined shortly after to take over on keyboards from Angus. Several other people were later in the band. Angus then teamed up with Will Sinnott, and together they found credibility as pioneers of rock/dance crossover. When rapper Mr. C joined, the band moved on to international commercial success with "Ebeneezer Goode" and their 1992 Boss Drum album.

One Little Independent Records UK record label

One Little Independent Records is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In the 1990s it set up a number of subsidiary labels.

Man or Astro-man? American surf rock group

Man or Astro-man? is an American surf rock group that formed in Auburn, Alabama in the early 1990s and came to prominence over the following decade.

Baggy was a name given to a British alternative dance genre popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with many of the artists referred to as "baggy" being bands from the Madchester scene.

No-Man English art pop duo

No-Man are an English art pop duo, formed in 1987 as No Man Is an Island by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson. The band has so far produced seven studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections. The band was once lauded as "conceivably the most important English group since The Smiths" by Melody Maker music newspaper, and a 2017 article of Drowned in Sound described them as "probably the most underrated band of the last 25 years".

Ebeneezer Goode 1992 single by The Shamen

"Ebeneezer Goode" is a song by Scottish electronic music group the Shamen which, heavily remixed by the Beatmasters, became their biggest hit when released as a single on 24 August 1992. The group's original version featured on the vinyl edition of their fifth album, Boss Drum.

<i>The Techno Rose of Blighty</i> 1991 studio album by Fluke

The Techno Rose of Blighty is the debut album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in 1991.

Richard West, known as Mr. C, is an English house music DJ, producer and rapper. He was the resident DJ at the early acid house "RIP" nights at Clink Street, London, and later was the co-owner/co-founder of London's The End nightclub.

The Beatmasters are an English electronic music group who gained success in the UK in the late 1980s with four top 20 hit singles. They then went on to produce and remix records for many other artists. The group's string of chart hit singles include "Burn It Up", "Hey DJ! ", "Who's in the House" and "Rok da House". The latter, having been recorded in 1986, is one of the earliest examples of hip house and most likely the first song of the genre. Hip house is a subgenre of house music which features rap vocals performed over a house rhythm track.

Credit to the Nation are a British hip hop group, who had chart success in the 1990s and are best known for their Nirvana-sampling single "Call It What You Want". The band is fronted by Matty Hanson and was initially noted for fusing a conscious hip hop style with political elements taken from the British left-wing and anarchist movements. Following their initial split in 1998, the band reformed in 2011.

Move Any Mountain 1991 single by the Shamen

"Move Any Mountain" is a song by Scottish electronic music group the Shamen, first released under the title "Pro›gen". With an official remix by the Beatmasters, the song was re-released in the UK in summer 1991 and was their first top-10 single, reaching number four in the UK Singles Chart. It was the band's only top-40 hit in the US, where the song peaked at number 38 in February 1992 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Victoria Wilson-James is an American-born British singer, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, she performed in various theatre plays and musicals as a teenager. Following the release of her debut single "I Want You in My Movie", she was recruited by Jazzie B to joined a newly reformed line-up of R&B group Soul II Soul. Managed by her bandmate, Jazzie B, the group became one of London's best-selling groups of all time. Their second album, Vol. II: 1990 – A New Decade (1990), which achieved gold-status in the US and UK, featured the top-charting single "A Dream's a Dream" with Wilson-James on lead vocals.

Destination Eschaton 1995 single by The Shamen

"Destination Eschaton" is a 1995 song recorded by British band The Shamen, released as the first single from their sixth album, Axis Mutatis (1995). It features vocals by American guest vocalist Victoria Wilson James and was a hit in several countries in Europe, peaking within the top 10 in Finland and Scotland. In the UK, it peaked at number 15 in its first week at the UK Singles Chart, on 13 August 1995. In the US, the single reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. "Reviews: Albums" (PDF). Music Week . 21 September 1996. p. 14. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  3. Wyatt, Kieran (November 1996). "The Shamen: Hempton Manor" (PDF). Muzik . No. 18. p. 130. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  4. Hebblethwaite, Phil. "7 secret codes and ciphers hidden in music". BBC Music. BBC. Retrieved 22 October 2017.