Dubnobasswithmyheadman
Encyclopedia
Dubnobasswithmyheadman is the third album by Underworld
, released in 1994 after the band made the transition from synth pop to progressive house. It is also the first album to feature Darren Emerson
, ushering in the "MK2" phase of the band, which continued until Emerson's departure in 2001.
A prototype of the album surfaced on October 3, 2008, on Underworld's official messageboard, which featured a different running order, some extended mixes and three previously unreleased songs: "Big Meat Show", "Organ" and "Can You Feel Me", an outtake from previous sessions. "Organ" has since been featured on Underworld's MySpace
page.
that has been "multiplied, smeared, and overlaid" so much that it is nearly unreadable, alongside a "bold symbol consisting of a fractured handprint inside a broken circle". The artwork was originally intended for Tomato's book Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You: A Typographic Journal of New York, published in 1994.
According to the authors of The Greatest Album Covers of All Time, the cover "set a new standard of presentation for subsequent Dance albums". In Graphic Design: A New History, Stephen Eskilson cites the cover as a notable example of the "expressive, chaotic graphics" that developed in the 1990s, a design style he calls "grunge". Paul Zelevansky of the journal Substance says that "the packaging … replays the visual poetry of the 1960s and '70s and fast forwards to the alchemical transformations of computer graphics packages."
Underworld (band)
Underworld are a British electronic group, and principal name under which duo Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have recorded together since 1980.- Early years: 1979–1986 :...
, released in 1994 after the band made the transition from synth pop to progressive house. It is also the first album to feature Darren Emerson
Darren Emerson
Darren Emerson is a dance music DJ, and former member of the UK electronic music outfit, Underworld.-Career:Emerson began mixing Hip-Hop records at the age of 14, and by 16 was DJing regularly at local venues...
, ushering in the "MK2" phase of the band, which continued until Emerson's departure in 2001.
A prototype of the album surfaced on October 3, 2008, on Underworld's official messageboard, which featured a different running order, some extended mixes and three previously unreleased songs: "Big Meat Show", "Organ" and "Can You Feel Me", an outtake from previous sessions. "Organ" has since been featured on Underworld's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page.
Artwork
Tomato, the art design collective that includes Underworld's Rick Smith and Karl Hyde, designed the artwork for Dubnobasswithmyheadman. It features black and white typeTypeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
that has been "multiplied, smeared, and overlaid" so much that it is nearly unreadable, alongside a "bold symbol consisting of a fractured handprint inside a broken circle". The artwork was originally intended for Tomato's book Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You: A Typographic Journal of New York, published in 1994.
According to the authors of The Greatest Album Covers of All Time, the cover "set a new standard of presentation for subsequent Dance albums". In Graphic Design: A New History, Stephen Eskilson cites the cover as a notable example of the "expressive, chaotic graphics" that developed in the 1990s, a design style he calls "grunge". Paul Zelevansky of the journal Substance says that "the packaging … replays the visual poetry of the 1960s and '70s and fast forwards to the alchemical transformations of computer graphics packages."
Critical Reception
Dubnobasswithmyheadman received critical acclaim from music critics. Allmusic gave the album 5 out of 5 stars saying "From the beginning of the first track "Dark & Long", Underworld's focus on production is clear, with songwriting coming in a distant second" also adding that "Underworld are truly a multi-genre group". Drowned in Sound gave the album a perfect 10/10 score describing it as "An album indie kids and pop kids could like as well as the electronic elite, whist the band retained their credibility". Slant Magazine gave it 4 out of 5 stars saying that "It stands as their greatest overall contribution to electronic music" and also stating that "The album blends Acid House, Techno and Dub into a refined, epic headrush".Track listing
All songs by Karl Hyde and Rick Smith unless noted.- "Dark & LongDark & Long"Dark & Long" is a single by Underworld, originally released in 1994 in the United Kingdom. It entered the UK Singles Chart at #57 on 25 June 1994 for one week...
" – 7:35 - "Mmm... Skyscraper I Love You" (Darren EmersonDarren EmersonDarren Emerson is a dance music DJ, and former member of the UK electronic music outfit, Underworld.-Career:Emerson began mixing Hip-Hop records at the age of 14, and by 16 was DJing regularly at local venues...
/Hyde/Smith) – 13:08 - "Surfboy" (Emerson/Hyde/Smith) – 7:33
- "Spoonman" – 7:41
- "Tongue" – 4:50
- "Dirty EpicDirty Epic"Dirty Epic" is a single by Underworld. The track made its first appearance on the album, dubnobasswithmyheadman, in 1993 and released as a single on 18 July 1994...
" – 9:55 - "CowgirlCowgirl (song)"Cowgirl" was a live recording of "Cowgirl" released by Underworld in 2000, taken from their live album Everything, Everything. It contains newly commissioned remixes of the original song as well as the live recording of "Rez"/"Cowgirl", as featured on the album and video release...
" – 8:29 - "River of Bass" – 6:26
- "M.E." – 7:08