Meat Beat Manifesto :: RUOK? (:/Run Recordings)

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Biography // Press-Release ::

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Visionary, Forefather, Innovator, these are the terms that get thrown around all too loosely in the world of electronic music, but for certain individuals, these descriptions apply without question. Jack Dangers, the veteran composer and sound sculptor behind Meat Beat Manifesto, is one of these individuals. It is without superlative that one can say Dangers has helped define and inspire the sound of the last 10 years. His constantly evolving musical invention has generated a long string of futuristic classics, such as “Strap Down”, “God O.D.”, “Helter Skelter”, “Psyche Out”, “Radio Babylon”, “Edge of No Control” and “It’s the Music”. Dangers’ innovative uses of samples and breakbeats have inspired countless artists (both in the dance and hip-hop worlds), putting him in a category with other visionary artists of the late 80’s/early 90’s such as Coldcut, The Dust Brothers, and The Bomb Squad.

Originally from Swindon, UK, but currently residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jack Dangers continues to stretch sonic boundaries and influence new generations of sound activists. As a premiere remixer, producer and sound designer, he has played a seminal role in defining tomorrow’s’ music today. Past Dangers’ production/remix projects include: Public Enemy, David Bowie, Orbital, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Coil, David Byrne, Bush, Banco De Gaia, and The Shaman. Adding to this list of heavy hitting achievements, the single, “Prime Audio Soup” from the MBM album Actual Sounds & Voices, was featured in the sci-fi fantasy blockbuster, The Matrix and on its platinum-selling soundtrack.

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Which brings us to R.U.O.K? This, MBM’s seventh album and first in 4 years, represents a healthy growth in the innovative “Meat Beat” sound, and it also marks the first MBM album to see its initial release on a US label (past albums were all licensed to US labels). At first listen, the dense, dark layers of samples, breakbeats, and politically-charged vocals that were the hallmark of previous MBM releases are noticeably stripped down on R.U.O.K?. The newfound sonic direction is a direct result of the equipment and setting Dangers used in the recording of the new album. The music was in part created in Dangers’ Bay Area studio on an incredibly rare 1970’s Synthesizer unit called the EMS Synthi 100. Only 29 of the synth units were produced, and Dangers recently acquired the only fully working unit in existence for the recoding of this album. The majority of the music on R.U.O.K? was created from scratch, using a wide variety of synthesizers and instruments including the Synthi 100 and live bass (Dangers is an accomplished bass player). Dangers likes to use old equipment with the control capabilities of modern software. Dangers says, “There’s a whole instant gratification with sampling: you go to a record shop, you find the old beats, you loop them up and then you start putting things on top of that. That’s when it sounds more layered and more packed. But if you start with the elements, like creating a kickdrum which has never been heard, the whole process tends to be slower and more methododical.. it’s more playable. So I went for that, I went for minimal rhythms with interesting nuances that come out each time you play them. This is the least sample-laden album I’ve done.”

R.U.O.K? collaborators include the turntblist-of-the-moment, Z-Trip, and ambient legend Alex Patterson of The Orb. Z-Trip, perhaps best known for his very listenable scratch/blend DJ sets that combine hip-hop and classic rock, lends his scratching ability to the very funky “What Does it All Mean?” & “Hankerchief Head”. With the sharp, programmed drums achieving very interesting nuances alongside Z-Trip’s deft scratching, these tracks sound as fresh and contemporary as any of the current output from the Bay Area turntablist community. Dancers says of the Z-Trip tracks, “They were more of the instant, in the studio jamming style rather than the more meticulous approach I used on the rest of the album. All the takes are done in one, and then you’re on to the next thing.” Alex Patterson contributes on the eerie “Horn of Jerico”.

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Never content to rest on his past achievements, Dangers truly chose an adventurous path in the creation of R.U.O.K?, exploring new equipment, techniques, collaborations, and concepts. And while the sound is still undeniably Meat Beat Manifesto, the album marks a distinct growth in this veteran’s musical output.

Tracklist ::

01 Yuri

02 Spinning Round

03 Horn Of Jerico

04 What Does it All Mean

05 No Words Necessary

06 Intermission

07 Supersoul

08 Hankerchief Head

09 No Echo In Space

10 Dynamite Fresh

11 Retrograde