Edzy from Unique 3 talks about being in one of the biggest dance bands of the past two decades…
Edzy, I used to stand on the stage at The Hacienda with my hands in the air, dripping with sweat with bulging eyes as Graeme Park spun ‘TheTheme’, a record that still sounds fresh today. Just wanted to say thank you. What a record. How on earth did you make that? How did it all begin for you all those years ago, and woah, your ‘Soundyard’ club…?
“Mmmm… and because of that very same night that you still remember, twenty years later and on my wedding day, I managed to bully poor Graeme into fading a piece of music in from Jungle Book for my wife to walk up the aisle to – quite expertly I may add (well he HAS had some practice!) on a makeshift sound system that we’d set up in a freezing cold church in Edinburgh. By the way, I’m wiping a tear away as I write this, it seems been downhill since those eye bulging, halcyon days for ALL of us! But back to your question… ‘The Theme’ came about like so many other thousands of pieces of music – shoplifted keyboards, pawn shop drum machines and young pals with not very much else to do with their time, messing about with things that they definitely shouldn’t be touching! We had some very talented people around our feet at the time – Cutz (my DJ partner) the most talented and natural DJ I’ve ever come across, MC JMP – by far the BEST voice on a mic I’ve ever heard (and I’ve heard a few). He would have wiped the floor with ANY US rapper at the time, but unfortunately he was uncomfortable in the role and simply didn’t want to rap anymore. Soon after the initial success of Unique 3, he put the mic down, never to pick it back up again. Last but not least, Deadly D kept us honest in the studio and his Reggae Sound System schooling meant that we were quick in achieving that heavy bottom end sound that we became known for.
Also in our inner circle was The Mad Musician, that ‘angry with the world voice’ that you hear on the run-in of the original white label demos of ‘The Theme’. The Mad Musician was a big driving force, musically, for Unique 3 in those very early days and for ‘The Theme’ in particular.
It was getting towards the back end of the 80’s. For us, as very young DJs, US Hip Hop had just about nudged 80’s Funk off the dance floor and, as DJs, we were starting to hear US import tracks that were physically picking up speed. The change in speed was obviously having a great affect on a newly drug consuming dance floor – the higher people got, the faster they wanted to be carried along by the music (I very clearly remember being shocked at playing my first ‘fast track’ at 118bpm!) – this new, faster stuff which was eventually to become House Music was exciting, was re-energising on what had become a very tired dancefloor.
Previously for us, only Electro had had this effect on dancefloors. We wanted more of this new sound, enough of it to fill a full DJ set to kick up the crowd, but getting your hands on the stuff was basically an impossibility to achieve. Back in the early days, you could travel the length and breath of the country to find a record store upfront enough to be getting hold of any of this stuff (we used Spin Inn in Manchester). So through pure frustration, we resorted to making our own demos on chrome cassettes and playing them during our sets at our weekly Sunday night dance ‘The Soundyard’ in Bradford. Our Sunday night sessions were crazy. Coaches lined up and down the street from as far away as Scotland, Lancashire and as far south as London with a thousand people each week packing themselves into our club night. It was at ‘The Soundyard’ that we started dropping our home made tracks. Seeing a reaction to a piece of music that you’ve created is stronger than any drug and, with the success of our early bedroom demos, we were hooked!
The next step, getting plates and test pressings made was relatively easy for us through reggae sound system contacts. We knew chop shops that were pressing Reggae dubplates and raw vinyl and so, through that route, we were able to press up our very first records, then play and promote them as we drove up and down the country playing at underground dances.
The music industry back then was basically layers and layers of stagnated shit. It hadn’t had a kick up the arse since the punks had turned it on it’s head. Record Companies were run by tired old gets who’d sat on top of the their industry, looking down for far too long. They simply weren’t prepared to stand for any of this new ‘street/black (loosely termed) music’ coming through and gave it little respect for the first few years – missing out on those magical early years. But, as with everything else, the beast was caught in the end and tamed and has since been made into a Multi Million Pound industry.”
They were such exciting times for us all. Whizzing around the country checking into raves, illegal clubs and warehouses…
What are your favourite memories from back then? Best rave for instance?
“We had so very many wild nights and I’ve long since pickled my brain. My best memory was playing a do on Shaftesbury Avenue in London, Massive venue, can’t remember the name but it was the week after we’d filmed our first video which I thought had been a bit too lame and wasn’t 100% happy with. We walked out on stage in London to a massive full house of early ravers to do a live PA and everything about it was perfect apart from there were no cameras filming it – now THAT would have been the perfect video for the first single!”
You were one of the forerunners at the time that alongside crews such as LFO, Coldcut and Warp – who were you giving props to back then music wise?
“We were pally with LFO – the three (then 2) lads were studying in Leeds if I remember rightly and they were regulars at our Sunday night do. Nightmares On Wax were virtually family and Warp was still a record shop in Sheffield that we visited regularly. There were many crews forging forward, Gerald (A Called…) was a pal who came over from Manchester and played live at my Sunday night club around 1988 and for a long time, in ANY club, you couldn’t hear either ‘The Theme’ or ‘Voodoo Ray’ unless the were mixed through. Trick DJs were a massive thing to us back then (same now I suppose) and so we used to go out of our way to find people like DJ Pogo and Cash Money for our events – we gave props to all the originators back then and they more than likely played at my Sunday night do.”
‘Activity’ was the first dance track to ever sample the ‘AMEN’ break and went on to become one of the most sampled records ever whilst being cited as one of the very few original ‘break-beat’ tracks which laterspawned ‘Jungle’ then ‘Drum & Bass’ & paved the way for Nu-Skool Breaks. What do you think about that then?
“Not bad going eh – someone get me a beer!”
What music did you grow up listening to?
“I was lucky to grow up in an area of Bradford that was a heady cocktail of white, Afro Carribean and Second Generation Asian – you could walk down our cobbled backstreet and in that short walk from top to bottom hear anything from The Everley Brothers, The Drifters, Cream, Hendrix through to Judge Dread, Delroy Wilson, The Heptones and The Jamaicans blaring from the different houses. I was very lucky, my parents (even though white) were very big into obscure 50’s Doo Wop, like The Impressions & rare 60’s Soul like The Four Pennies, – I had access to an education from Acid induced guitar heroes to Motown classics and to Studio 1, Upset, Horse and Blue Beat from my close pals parents’ collection next door and my house.”
How do feel about one of the bands that inspired The Chemical Brothers, your music got them in the studio and have made some of the best tunes EVER – you put the magic feeling into their heads and hearts… thoughts…?
“It’s really cool that they included Unique 3 on their early album of tracks that inspired them to make music. What they’ve done is amazing and by sticking to their guns they’ve achieved the status that befits them. They’re an inspiration to me and thousands upon thousands of others now.”
Hip Hop obviously a major influence, ‘Musical Melody’ broke the Top 20… who are your hip hop gods?
My gym iPod only has UK Hip Hop on it at the minute. It’s the only thing that kicks me up enough to pull my tired arse around a gym every morning. My Hip Hop Gods are those early pioneers like Duke Bootee, Bambaata, Chuck Chill Out and Red Alert but the one that stood out for me (and if it hadn’t have been for his later ‘commercial attempts’ would still be wearing the crown) is Canada’s greatest export – Curtis Jaleel.”
What I like about your DJ sets is the diversity. Jackin’ Electro House, Breaks, Drum & Bass… who are your favourite artists at the moment that you place onto the wheels of steel?
“Mmmmm, Jack of all trades, master of none – that’s me!. There’s so much strong and heavy produced Electro House (although I resent that the word ‘Electro’ has been kidnapped from it’s TRUE form and applied to the latest mutation of House music). My sets are either a comfortable mixture of dirty, ELECTRIC House and deep bassline-driven Tech House (nothing changes there then) or a more Breaks led set depending on the event. Festivals are always an uncertain mish-mash of everything with a token Drum & Bass section at the end for good festival measure…”
Tell us about your Left of Centre radio show
“My radio career started on the pirates in the late 80’s on Emergency FM and has bumbled along nicely for many years. More recently, I had a weekly show on London’s ‘House FM’ but switched to the comfort of my recording studio (and not having to cross London and back every Sunday) and into a weekly slot on NSB Radio in 2006. Having had to commit to writing the last Unique 3 album, sadly I had to leave NSB Radio and park my ‘Left of Centre’ Radio Show up for while. Album done & with a little more time back to play with, you can now find my show on www.samurai.fm.
And your Mutate Records label…
“Mutate Records was born out of a complete disgust and total frustration at labels I was signed to at the time where basically, I was not getting paid. I wanted to create an outlet that was based around the artist’s needs, NOT the label’s wants. The days of pressing 1000 white labels and slam them into shops for a fiver was gone so the intent was predominantly a digital download label with the very odd exception. It was a partnership between myself and my long time friend (DJ/producer/promoter) Bobzilla whose art and design company www.tubbyphunk.com was a major source of creative goings on.”
Best ever Unique 3 gig?
“Who can remember?! It was crazy times. Disused airfields, huge marquees thousands upon thousands of happy folk, flasks of mushroom tea. E’s made by real chemists NOT second year chemistry students. I won’t see the likes of those nights again I’m afraid!”
You’ve always stayed true to the underground, but come on, what’s the cheesiest record you’ve put on your system when you’ve got back from a club to dance to?
“I’ve danced to some pretty outragious stuff on my way back down from a club, but unless you get a hold of the private videos, you’ll NEVER get to know!!! Clubwise, I played a Bryan Adams track during my set at the Glade Festival which kicked up and I’ve dropped Abba’s ‘Dancing Queen’ as a last track in a club set which I still hear mentioned of to this day.”
Invasive Signals’ is your second band album – 20 years of what you’ve lived, breathed and seen in the clubland. ‘Serial Killer’ with it’s 808 Bass and superb guitar and synth riffs that send you back to thinking of dancing in a field, ‘Take This Love’ – what a hook and your sister’s vocals and ‘Shades of Grey’ SOS getting real deep – all amazing. But it’s been said that some of the tracks were written in the depths of a “drug-induced paranoia and despair”. Sometimes being in that state of mind make the best records. Except if you’re Pete Docherty. Did you write some of the material when you were unhappy?”
“I wrote ALL of it unhappily! Every last note and every single word. My life had changed rapidly and I’d lost something that was dear to me. I was battling my own addictions which had consumed me and which I knew I just had to shake off or face the loss of my sanity for good. I’d turned into all but a recluse and real basic things like being awake and eating were sometimes impossible. I started the writing process for ‘Invasive Signals’ and with every new note and pen stroke, I felt the weights that were crushing me lighten ever so slightly. Midway through the album project, I was DJing in Ibiza for seven weeks and was able to walk for miles and miles every day with a pen and pad, getting the words for the songs just right and emptying my head of all the crap that had previously troubled me along the way. The next album will probably be a right pissy affair if I don’t manage to get someone to break my heart or worse and bring those creative dark clouds back!”
Tell us about your friendship with DJ Graeme Park, some mad nights eh? He once shaved my eyebrows off when I passed out…
“If I tell you about some of the days, nights and weekends that I’ve spent with that pal of ours, his wife will disown him, his Mam will write him out of the will, his two young sons will have to scrap their way through upper school and the police may even make a visit on his rolling farmstead and start digging certain parts of the plot up. We have had some fun mind and I just love being with him as I look 20 years younger and 30 years healthier when I’m at his side.”
Ever trashed a hotel room after a club?
“Not since having been ordered to turn round by a promoter (we were already on the motorway going home) to meet him back at the hotel that we’d left. Seems the Hotel Manager had given him a couple of hours to ‘tidy up’ all the rooms we’d used the night before before he called in the police – pretty decent of him I suppose – although I’m quite sure that the manager was in the middle of the frivolities the night before. So I’m usually far too paranoid to leave a messy hotel room these days!”
What’s next for you musically?
“I’m currently remixing something for Si Begg whilst working through a third Unique 3 album project for Mutate Records that should see light of day next year. Mutate Record’s release schedule is looking very busy and there’s a few Unique 3 single tracks in there running up to next summer, so it’s all looking good.”
Thank you dude, take care…
“Thank YOU dude and give my regards to your Ma and Pa – pioneers themselves x”