S'Express
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| S'Express | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Genre(s) | House music |
| Years active | 1988–1994 |
| Label(s) | Capitol/EMI Records Rhythm King/Sire/Warner Bros. Records Kitsune Records |
| Associated acts | Billie Ray Martin |
| Members | |
| Mark Moore | |
| Former members | |
| Sonique Michellé Mark D Jocasta Pascal Gabriel |
|
S'Express (pronounced ess-express; sometimes spelled S'Xpress or S-Express; otherwise known as Victim of the Ghetto) was a British dance music act from the late 1980s, that had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre.
"Theme from S'Express", based on Rose Royce's "Is It Love You're After", was also one of the earliest recordings to capitalize on a resurgence of sampling culture and it topped the UK Singles Chart as well as the Hot Dance Club Play chart in the United States (also scraping into the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number ninety-one).[1]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
The main player in the act was DJ/producer and remixer Mark Moore. In 1989, the group released its debut album, Original Soundtrack, which featured a line-up of Mark M (Moore, noise engineer), Michellé (microdot clarinet and vox), Mark D (trumpet, noise, boogie factor), Jocasta (hi-hat hairspray, background vox), and Pascal (Pascal Gabriel, noise engineer). The album consisted of slightly longer versions of S-Express's "Theme" and its follow-up hits "Superfly Guy" (UK #5) and "Hey Music Lover" (UK #6), along with an album's worth of new compositions. Singer Billie Ray Martin also appeared on several tracks on its debut.
By the release of the second album Intercourse, the act was reduced to a duo of Moore with new vocalist and DJ Sonique. Although not as successful as its debut, Intercourse spawned several mid-charting UK singles and club hits, most notably "Nothing to Lose", co-written with Martin Gordon, as were several other tunes on the record. Sonique, already a successful DJ, eventually embarked on a solo career and produced one of the biggest pop and club hits of the late 1990s ("It Feels So Good"). Moore went on to release many singles, remixes and albums on his own and also formed the band Needledust.
On the eve of the 20th anniversary of acid house, Mark Moore resurrected S'Express from the "cryogenic chamber" [2] and released a song on the French Kitsune record label called "Stupid Little Girls."
Mark Moore has also remixed Client, Soft Cell, and the B-52's.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1989 Original Soundtrack - UK #5[3]
- 1990 Intercourse
- 1998 Ultimate S'Express (hits compilation)
- 2004 Themes from S'Express: The Best of
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | UK Singles Chart[3] | AUS | GER | U.S. | U.S. dance | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | "Theme from S'Express" | 1 | 11 | 2 | 91 | 1 | Original Soundtrack |
| "Superfly Guy" | 5 | 35 | 13 | - | 2 | ||
| 1989 | "Hey Music Lover" | 6 | - | 29 | - | 6 | |
| "Mantra for a State of Mind" | 21 | - | - | - | - | Intercourse | |
| 1990 | "Nothing to Lose" | 32 | - | - | - | 9 | |
| 1991 | "Find 'Em, Fool 'Em, Forget 'Em" | 43 | - | - | - | - | |
| 1996 | "Theme from S-Express"1 | 14 | 42 | - | - | - | — |
- 1 remixed by Tony De Vit, available in Australia through Central Station Records, and accredited to Mark Moore presents S Express.[3]
[edit] See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
[edit] References
- ^ House music from the later part of the 1980s brought a resurgence in sampling in popular music recordings, though sampling had never died from the earlier 1980s electronic sampling hits, as it was an often integral part of earlier rap music, hip hop recordings and had been found, a few years before, in remixes of breakdance connected music. A good example is Larry's Dance Theme (Instrumental) by Grandmaster Flash (can be heard for free in sites such as YouTube.) Mid 1980s pre-house music dance music remixes, most often not very widely heard tracks, were places where sampling developed. Though electronic audio sampling became very noticeably prominent again as a basis for tracks, at the time of house music sampling was not new to pop and dance music and was first very noticeable in the earlier mid 1980s. Paul Hardcastle's 1985 British, French and German Number One hit "19" had been one of a number of famous earlier exponents of audio sampling, and there were more underground techno-pop tracks before and around this time which included sampling. In the later 1980s, more underground and a few successful disco tracks included some sampling, while some electronica or techno-pop music became more inclusive of sampling and more dance orientated. Sampling became a defining part of the dance style, house music, which developed. "Theme from S'Express", "Pump Up The Volume" by M.A.R.R.S., "Beat 'Dis" by Bomb The Bass and "Burn It Up" by The Beatmasters all gave sampling a very important role, often a greatly dominant role, in the developing house and increasingly more prominent dance music genre, and especially the acid house sub genre. Few commercially successful tracks had relied so heavily on sampling or had been built nearly exclusively from sampling before this time.
- ^ MySpace.com - Mark Moore - London, UK - Electrique / New Wave / Electronique - www.myspace.com/markmoore
- ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 477. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
