One record at a time: 88. Electribe 101 - Electribal Soul

In 1992 Electribe 101 recorded a follow up to their debut album "Electribal Memories". However, their efforts were branded "crap" by their record company who promptly terminated their contract and triggered the disintegration of the group. Of course I had no idea any of this was happening and I was too busy listening to Altern-8, Dream Frequency, Felix, The Prodigy et al to worry about a band that had seemingly disappeared without a trace anyway. 

I only became aware of the existence of a second album when singer Billie Ray Martin made one of the tracks, "A Sigh Won't Do" available via her webpage in 2014. Unfortunately this track didn't make much impression on me and, as it was only available at a low bit rate, I didn't listen to it much.

Having re-discovered a DAT containing the album Billie decided to finally do something with it and had it properly mastered. In the absence of protests from the surviving members of the group (their consent would be unfathomable) the album was finally released on download, CD and the vinyl we have here in 2022. Only thirty years late but who's counting?

On first hearing this album I found it very impressive, but in truth there are only three tracks here that haven't been released by Billie during her solo career. Even the unlikely cover version of Throbbing Gristle's "Persuasion" saw a solo single release in 1993. 

As "Moving Downtown" progresses you might hear a vague similarity to "Running Around Town" but "Deadline for my memories" is almost identical to the later solo version. The Electribe 101 version of "Space Oasis" is much better than the later solo interpretation due to its prominent Korg M1 piano and TR-909 drums instead of distorted pedal steel (??).

There is a clear progression here from the first album and the sound of the band has matured into something more soulful and melodic (hence the title). Having said that, the best track that wasn't regurgitated during Billie's solo career is "Insatiable Love" which sounds like it could have been lifted straight from the band's debut.

The vinyl version of the album omits another song Billie resurrected, "You and I (Keep Holding On)" along with an alternate version of "Deadline For My Memories" and an instrumental titled "Conquering Tomorrow". 

This album is the equal of its predecessor but I had no idea nearly all of it had already seen the light of day in some form or another. Turns out I didn't have to wait thirty years to hear a new Electribe 101 album, it was under my nose all along. 3/5