ACR & ESG (rip Tony Wilson, Pt. 2)

Here's a quick follow-up to yesterday's r.i.p. Tony Wilson post. In addition to the Durutti Column, featured yesterday, Wilson managed A Certain Ratio.

ACR incorporated electro-funk sounds and dance beats long before Factory label mates New Order. Although their initial sound was in the same post-punk vein as most Factory artists, ACR's music soon became funky and danceable. Their second single, "Shack Up," was a minor club hit in the U.S., charting in the R&B Top 50. After the release of their Martin Hannett produced first album To Each... in 1981, the band dove further into the sound of dance funk and electro. 1982's Sextet had, as "Uncut Magazine noted, a "taut, abrasive swagger — an uncompromising blend of percussive NY dance-funk, avant jazz and African, Latin and Brazilian influences."

After a trip to NYC, the band became fascinated with Latin percussion and Nuyorican rhythms. Here's how Soul Jazz Records , who've released the ACR (and ESG) back catalogue, puts it in their ACR bio:

A Certain Ratio was one of the first groups to sign to the legendary Factory Records in Manchester. Whilst many people credit New Order and The Happy Mondays as the groups who brought Dance music into the sound of Manchester (later Madchester!), it is in fact ACR who were there in the beginning.
. . .
It was while in New York that ACR first came across new musical styles. ACR first heard Nuyorican Latin percussion street music in Central Park. The following day ACR brought Bongos, Whistles, Congas and a Cuica and didn't look back! By the time of their next album "Sextet", ACR had all the ingredients of their sound in place. At this time ACR would end their live sets with a ten-minute percussion workout (that would become Si Firmo O Grido) and had also taken to wearing Brazilian Football gear on stage!

OK, maybe a couple too many exclamation marks (!) in the Soul Jazz ACR bio, but you get the point.

In late 1982, ACR released the Hannett produced I'd Like To See You Again. You can find a taste below. While "Touch" has a funky dance floor groove typical of the early 1980s (sounding not unlike Heaven 17 at their funkiest or even a more restrained Morris Day, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis Minneapolis sound), the vocoder show case "Show Case" has a more overt electro sound. It's delicious. Other tracks on the album featured even more Latin percussion and Afro-Cuban jazz influence. And it's always good to hear a cuíca! As AMG notes, I'd Like to See You Again is "essential listening for fans of the Factory sound that spawned the British club sound exemplified by New Order and the New York wave of minimal funk groups, like Liquid Liquid and ESG."

Show Case -- A Certain Ratio: I'd Like to See You Again

Touch -- A Certain Ratio: " . . . " (1982)

Speaking of ESG . . . the South Bronx band had a revolutionary sound caught in the cross fire between post-punk, hip hop, and no wave. ESG consisted the Scroggins sisters -- Deborah on bass, Renee on guitar, and Valerie on drums -- along with Marie on congas. Their stripped down, hip hop influenced funk caught the ear of 99 Records owner Ed Bahlman, who became their manager. Bahlman's 99 Records was home to the Bush Tetras and Liquid Liquid, and became one of New York's seminal punk-funk and no wave labels.

ACR played a gig with ESG in New York 1981, after which Tony Wilson asked ESG if they wanted to record an Ep for Factory Records, sharing the E.A.R.S. studio in New York where Martin Hannett was recording ACR's To Each. . .

The result was ESG's Hannett produced You're No Good Ep, which, along with the title track, included the now legendary "Moody" and "UFO" -- the latter being one of the most sampled tracks in hip hop history.

UFO -- ESG: You're No Good Ep

Moody -- ESG: " . . . " (1982)

As the Cerysmatic Factory site notes, Bahlman's 99 records developed a working relationship not only with Facotry Records, but also Rough Trade, and Adrian Sherwood's On-U-Sounds. The label was eventually forced into bankruptcy after losing a protracted court battle with Sugar Hill records over Grandmaster Flash's unauthorized sampling of Liquid Liquid's "Cavern" in "White Lines." ESG also sued for unathorized use of their samples -- a point they drove home with 1993's "Sample Credits Don't Pay Our Bills."

In the early 90's ESG began to be name-checked by the likes of the Beastie Boys and Luscious Jackson. About five years ago, Soul Jazz Records helped bring the groups' influence to light by re-releasing ESG's back catalogue (laong with ACR's). Soul Jazz also released two fantastic ESG compilations: A South Bronx Story, Parts I and II. And the Scroggins sisters are still at it! Soul Jazz released the group's latest album Step Off in 2002, featuring Renee Scroggins' daughters Nicole and Chistelle.

As the Soul Jazz site puts it:

The influence of ESG's music cannot be over-stated.

Who else could claim the admiration of their South Bronx neighbours in the nascent Hip-Hop community and the post-punk worlds of both the UK and USA?

Which group has been sampled by Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, 3rd Bass, LL Cool J, Marley Marl, Q-Tip, and Doug E. Fresh?

Which group has played with The Clash, A Certain Ratio, Public Image LTD, Liquid Liquid, and Gang of Four?

Which group played the opening night of Manchester's Hacienda and the closing night of New York's Paradise Garage with Larry Levan?

ESG!!

purchase ACR from Soul Jazz Records or LTM
purchase ESG from Soul Jazz Records
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