Well I didn't even know there was a version of this with a rap on it - let alone the squawking diva
The "Out of History Mix" is, I think, the one I like (and love the title)
Also the Cave Edit (another good title) - very spare and empty at first
And the Dub Mix
"Rehurse Eq" - what's that when it's at home?
Is this an unofficial remix from back in the day?
This claims to be one too but i can't hear much remixing going on
Then there's this recent-ish remix by Perc + Truss - nice bit of retro-slam action
Of T.99's one true moment of glory I wrote this (as part of an eMusic round-up called the Rave Dozen):
t.99
Anasthasia
For a couple of years in the early
90s, Belgium ruled rave culture, spewing out a series of innovatively abrasive
tunes that rocked ravefloors across the world while also upsetting droves of
Chicago house/Detroit techno purists, who saw the style as eradicating techno’s
links to black music altogether. And its true, the Belgian sound, as pioneered
by labels like Hithouse, Who’s That Beat, R&S and 80 Aum, did turn away
from the Afro-American wellspring and drink deep on strictly Euro sources. Its
secret ingredients were a strong dose of Electronic Body Music, that
stiff-jointed but dancefloor oriented offshoot of industrial trailblazed by Belgium ’s own
Front 242, and a pungent tang of classical music, especially the more sturm und drang-y Carl Orff/Wagner end
of it.
Out of all the Belgian hardcore
hitmakers, t.99 were the biggest crossover success, reaching #14 in the UK charts in
May 1991 with “Anasthasia” and also scoring with the near-identical “Noctune”.
The principal hook in “Anasthasia” is a
hard-angled stab pattern playing what sounds like a choral sample (possibly the
famous “O Fortuna” sequence of Orff’s Carmina Burana). The intro to the track,
a female voice saying “music, maestro, please” is at once a nod to the
quasi-classical vibe of the tune and an advance rejoinder to the horrified
hordes of house purists who would decry this slice of brutalist bombast as
“just not music”.
Actually the parts of “Anasthasia” that don’t feature the portentous
fanfare-blare of the riff are quite pleasant: a chugging Euro-haus groove
topped with wafting synths, almost like “Pacific State” without that cheesy saxophone.
But the harsh ‘n’ doomy hook-stab does always return at regular intervals, sounding a bit like a flock of crows cackling
in scorn.
The four mixes are fairly indistinguishable (this was a time when
remixes were precisely that, remixes, as opposed to virtually brand-new
tracks), the “Out of History” version perhaps having the edge by a whisker.
That’s an intriguing sub-title, actually:
were t.99’s Patrick de Meyer and Olivier Abbeloos hinting that rave was
a gigantic exodus
of disaffected and politically disengaged youth leaving reality behind for a
utopia of druggy noise? Or was the idea more apocalyptic, as in “we’re running
out of time”? Or a bit of both, as suggested by the title of the debut t.99
album Children of Chaos?
Sadly, following its 1992 release, the duo themselves headed for the dustbin of (dance) history.
Sadly, following its 1992 release, the duo themselves headed for the dustbin of (dance) history.
Their other glory-ish moment- "Nocturne"
Yet more C+C Music Factory style Eurodance rappige and diva sqwawkage
"Nocturne" came in mixes indexed to particular times of the night - stations on the journey to the end of the rave - a cute 'n' clever idea!
The same idea as "Anasthasia" / "Nocturne" pretty much
Different, but not good - the video is quite a period piece though
Oh the pathos of the rave single-artist album...
Fairly banging, reasonably slamming:
Before they were hardcore, they were New Beat
The rap mix is by The Valentine Boys (aka Kicks Like A Mule). No clue who the dodgy rapper and female vocalist are. Also the "Music Maestro please" sample is from Love Unlimited Orchestra. Nobody knows what the kind of african-y sample says or where it's from.
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