British dance giants Underworld have given ClashMusic readers a free track, in conjunction with MFlow.
Underworld’s career charts the progression of British dance music. Initially a synth duo, the band had their mind blown by Acid House, promptly taking on board new influences from Detroit and Chicago.
Across a series of albums in the 90s Underworld came to define a new wave of British dance artists, making bigger, louder, stronger music. Returning with their new album, ClashMusic tracked down Karl Hyde and Rick Smith to talk about their influences.
Naming five key tracks, Underworld opened with a selection from Tangerine Dream. Amongst the more successful Krautrock bands, their pioneering use of synthesisers helped introduce the notion of machine led music.
“In the mid-’70s this was the sound of hippie students’ bedsits across the land. I knew very little of electronic music when I first heard this and was completely blown away by the sounds I heard” they said.
“I think it was made all the more impressive because home stereo equipment was developing at a pace and we were starting to listen to music in a, ahem, ‘altered state’!”
Talking the impact techno had on their music, Underworld revealed that former member Darren Emerson introduced them to the music of Detroit. Naming Carl Craig as an influence the pair said: “Darren Emerson turned us onto Carl Craig and we’ve been fans ever since. First it was his dance floor material like ‘Paperclip People’ and ‘Jam The Box’ but as the years went by we heard all kinds of stuff from Carl that amazed and inspired us.”
“We loved the Detroit experiment material as we share a love of all things jazz, and the style of ‘At Les’ seems to come from an interest in modern classical music that we also share.”
Read the entire interview HERE.
Teaming up with MFlow, ClashMusic can offer fans five free downloads including a new track from Underworld. To grab it, just register with MFlow via our special offer HERE.
