A Short History of Goldie

The book 'Last Night A DJ Saved My Life', by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, states that there was a sudden explosion in fast techno beats because of cheap ecstasy tabs. The tabs contained more amphetamine than before, so the beats got faster. Certain dance scenes in the UK were based around certain geographical locations. There were clubs in the Midlands, in the cities, which were at the center of a fresh new sound, the sound of hardcore techno. Clubs like The Clipse in Coventry. It had previously been a bingo hall and once it had opened as a dance club it began attracting speedsters from all the surrounding towns. This happened without the knowledge of the large student population or the mainstream townies. The new scene had its own stars in the form of DJs Fabio and Grooverider. They set up their own club night in London, at Heaven. They called it Rage. It was here that a young man, who had been working hard on his own thing, got his first jungle track played.

Goldie used to be a B-boy. He was into the hip-hop criteria which were laid down by Afrika Bambaataa. Namely, he was a self-styled graffiti artist, he was into knowledge, and he could spin on his head. All this got him the role of gaffer in a film documentary, 'Bombing', which featured the man himself, Afrika Bambaataa. And it was this role which enabled him to spend time at the very heart of New York's hip-hop scene.

At the end of the eighties he went back to the UK. Compared to his experiences in New York England seemed rather tame. Acid House had become popular and the bass had made way for the love of bleeps. However, this didn't stop Goldie fully embracing the scene. He made friends with Nellee Hooper and 3D, the Bristol scenesters. They would go on to be central in the trip-hop scene - dance music you didn't have to dance to. For Goldie though, his future lay in something a little more extreme.

Having spent time around Fabio and Grooverider, Goldie made his first jungle track. It was 1992. His early single 'Terminator' featured a sample of Arnie Schwarzenegger. It was made with the skills and techniques he had acquired when he worked at a dance label called Reinforced Records. The label was operated by 4 Hero, a production team. His beats per minute reached 170 at times. There were ultra fast breaks, but the bass was slower. This gave the tracks a brooding atmosphere. He embraced new technology like the Hoover, the Akai S-1000 Sampler, which let him slow the samples down but kept the pitch the same, and he built his album 'Timeless'. When compared to his early singles the album sounds soulful and light.

The album's title track lasts for twenty-two minutes. It has three distinct sections. Each section marks a shift in mood. It feels like driving around a city and coming across different areas, each with their own distinctive personality and nuances. The other tracks are just as smooth. Sometimes the beats are almost inaudible in the background ('Angel', 'State Of Mind'). Then other tunes and in-yr-face rushes, like 'Kemistry', the name of his then-girlfriend.

When compare to his first album, his second sounds a little self-indulgent. It features a sixty minute opening track and has Noel Gallagher's guitar all over another. Then Goldie appeared on 'Celebrity Big Brother' and several other mainstream throw-away TV shows. But Goldie was a real player for a moment back there. He was the sound of cool and innovative British urban culture doing it for themselves during a time of optimism and partying.