One record at a time: 518. 808 State - 90

808 State were different from many of the acts feeding the late-eighties rave scene because they wanted, and were able, to think beyond the 12-inch single. When "90" landed in 1989, acid house was spilling out of warehouses and illegal raves and into nightclubs and the charts. Rather than stopping at club-ready singles, 808 State pushed further and started building albums that were driven by ambition and backed up by the kind of studio craft many of their contemporaries simply did not have.

This album can still function as a tool for DJs, but it also works as a headphone record or a living-room "what is this?" conversion kit. The music is so good you don’t need to be loved up to enjoy it. The key is the production: even when they lean on the same samples and hardware as their contemporaries, 808 State retain a unique and distinctive sound.

The headline here, of course, is "Pacific 202" (a remix of the earlier "Pacific State"), the track that helped make dance music both credible and commercial. It received heavy radio play and brought the wider public round to the possibilities of dance music. 

"Magical Dream" is a soft-focus opener: chiming synths, a rolling groove, and just enough vocal presence to frame the album as pop-adjacent without turning it into songs. The Roland R8 drum programming on "Cobra Bora" could only be 808 State with double-hit hats, unhinged cowbells, and a sense of precision with a grin. The ravey brass stabs and rumbling TB-303 that drive it along are spot-on. 

"Donkey Doctor" may be a terrible title, but the track isn’t: busier and weirder in the best way, it’s where you hear the group’s love of studio play and abrupt left turns. "808080808" is a harder, leaner stomp that hints at the tougher techno future without losing the record’s slightly psychedelic glow. The comedown chapter comes with "Sunrise": long-form, patient, and genuinely pretty. In the same vein as songs like "Sun Rising" by The Beloved, this is less "rave banger" and more early-morning perspective.

"90" is a cornerstone record, not because it’s the loudest or fastest, but because it’s confident enough to leave space. If you like electronic music that’s physical and detailed, this is essential. My copy is the vivid pink LP, released in 2022 as part of the HMV 1921 Centenary Edition series. It sounds surprisingly good for a GZ pressing as their records are usually dirtier than a urinal cake. Still: highly recommended. 4/5.

One record at a time: 86. 808 State - Gorgeous

When I bought this record I didn't read the eBay listing properly. I thought I was buying the recent "Music on Vinyl" purple vinyl, but what turned up was the original limited edition from 1993. The record is in very good condition and even arrived replete with the bonus "disco" 12".

The album proper kicks off with "Plan 9" which uses a prominent acoustic guitar sample to create the melodic spine of the track. The presence of Pizagogo strings suggests 808 State got plenty of mileage out of their Roland D-50. "Moses" features a vocal by Echo and the Bunnymen singer Ian McCulloch and has some nice ideas. However, you get the feeling Bernard Sumner wasn't available this time around and they had to settle for second best. The next track, "Contrique" is a bit of a jumble of breakbeats, a sample of Joy Division and an analogue bassline. It's passable but nothing more than an album filler.

I have always enjoyed "10 X 10" as it features an original vocal and a killer house piano riff - I've never been able resist a piano break. Single "One in Ten" is a dance remix of an old UB40 track which shouldn't succeed but somehow does. Things go a bit 'wistful pop' with "Europa" but "Orbit" brings us back to more familiar territory.  

I find "Black Morpheus" intriguing as it is, to all intents and purposes, a techno track - but it has clarinets playing all over it. The next rack of note is "Nimbus" which has some fantastic arpeggios but it doesn't really extrapolate on the initial idea. The first disc finishes with "Colony" which lacks a vital spark that normally marks out 808 State's music. The curiously titled "disco" 12" that accompanies this release features 5 extra tracks, all of which fail to make much impression. There are some good tunes here but the lacklustre second half of the album pulls the score down a little. 3/5

One reocrd at a time: 85. 808 State - EX:EL

In a world full of generic dance music, 808 State shine out as pioneers with a distinctive sound.

Whilst the death of Andy Barker last year means the future of the band is uncertain, their legacy is assured. My favourite 808 State album is "EX:EL" and here we have the numbered, double yellow vinyl release from 2016. Despite being a "Music on Vinyl" release on coloured wax, the sound quality is quite good. 

"San Francisco" is the perfect introduction with its amazing bassline that has Graham Massey's fingerprints all over it. Bernard Sumner from New Order adds vocals to "Spanish Heart" which grooves along with TR-909 beats and Roland D-50 presets. "Leo Leo" is a fun track that I imagine would always have a dance floor singing and grooving along. "Qmart" sounds like a track the band got so far with and then decided to ask Bjork to ad lib over the top - it's good but not inspiring. The next track, "Nephratiti" seems to morph through a whole series of ideas with each one raising the bar a little higher. 

The standout pop-dance instrumental "Lift" is next with its searing string refrain, 808 beats and bouncy bassline. Personally I'm not a massive fan of the second Bjork collaboration "Ooops" but I can hear that it isn't entirely without merit. At this point most albums would throw some filler in and begin to wind down for the last track; yet this is the juncture at which everything begins to really kick off on EX:EL.

"In Yer Face" is a distinctive dance track that managed to breach the top ten in the UK. Whilst tracks such as "Jack Your Body" had infiltrated the charts as far back as 1987, it felt like a boom in electronic music occurred in the early nineties and 808 State were among the vanguard. The relentless "Cübik" provides another aggressive and hypnotic dance tune that is irresistible. "Lambrusco Cowboy" and "Techno Bell" keep the pace high before the magnificent "Olympic" breezes in to round out the album in style. Side four also has a couple of remixes and the bonus track "Ski Family" which sounds a prototype of The Chemical Brothers mixed with some deep house. Highly recommend album. 4/5