Electribe 101
Encyclopedia
Electribe 101 was a British
-based electronic music
group
in the late 1980s and early 1990s, managed
by Tom Watkins of Bros
, Pet Shop Boys
, and 2wo Third3
fame.
refrigerator
and the Roland SH-101
synthesizer
, the band was composed of four electronic composer
s and producer
s from Birmingham
(Brian Nordhoff, Joe Stevens, Les Fleming, and Roberto Cimarosti) and a female vocalist from Hamburg
, Germany
(Billie Ray Martin
).
Before signing with Mercury
/PolyGram Records in 1988, the group released its first single
, "Talking With Myself," without much success. However, before its next single release, Martin guested with Eric Robinson of Eric and the Good Good Feeling on the S'Express
record
"Hey, Music Lover."
The Top 10 success of "Hey, Music Lover" sparked interest from the music press
in Martin's band, although Eric and the Good Good Feeling's album
flopped. Electribe 101 signed with Mercury
/PolyGram Records, and its single
"Tell Me When The Fever Ended" was issued. It reached number 32 in the UK Singles Chart
.
In 1990 Electribe 101 released its debut album
, Electribal Memories
. The group also re-released its single "Talking With Myself," which reached #23 on the UK Singles Chart. In late 1990, the band released its version of the Jesse Rae
song "Inside Out" (a hit
for Odyssey
) and toured as support act for Depeche Mode.
Starting work on recording their second album, the band had differences of opinion with Mercury and tensions grew between the band's members. Mercury declined to release their second album and Electribe 101 split in early 1992. Not wanting to carry on under the Electribe 101 name without Martin who embarked on a solo career, the band renamed itself The Groove Corporation and signed with the Network Records
subsidiary label Six6.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
in the late 1980s and early 1990s, managed
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
by Tom Watkins of Bros
Bros
Bros were a British band active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, consisting of twin brothers Matt Goss and Luke Goss along with Craig Logan...
, Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
, and 2wo Third3
2wo Third3
2wo Third3 were a gay four piece 1990s electropop group, with three performing members and one non-performing songwriting member. They were called 2wo Third3 because out of the performing members, the two backing members dressed in identical clothing usually with rubber gloves and the frontman,...
fame.
Career
Named after a SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
and the Roland SH-101
Roland SH-101
Roland SH-101 is a synthesizer from the early 1980s, manufactured by Roland. It is a small, 32 key, monophonic analog synthesizer. It features one oscillator with 3 simultaneous waveforms, an 'octave-divided' square sub-oscillator, triangle and square/pwm waveform. It has a low-pass filter/VCF...
synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, the band was composed of four electronic composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
s and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
s from Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
(Brian Nordhoff, Joe Stevens, Les Fleming, and Roberto Cimarosti) and a female vocalist from Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(Billie Ray Martin
Billie Ray Martin
-Career:Billie Ray Martin has had dance and pop hits in various collaborations and as a solo artist. Initially a guest singer for S'Express , she went on to work with the electronic/pop/house-music group Electribe 101. The group's only album was Electribal Memories because it disbanded...
).
Before signing with Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
/PolyGram Records in 1988, the group released its first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Talking With Myself," without much success. However, before its next single release, Martin guested with Eric Robinson of Eric and the Good Good Feeling on the S'Express
S'Express
S'Express were a British dance music act from the late 1980s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre."Theme from S'Express", based on Rose Royce's "Is It Love You're After", was also one of the earliest recordings to capitalize on a resurgence of sampling culture...
record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
"Hey, Music Lover."
The Top 10 success of "Hey, Music Lover" sparked interest from the music press
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
in Martin's band, although Eric and the Good Good Feeling's album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
flopped. Electribe 101 signed with Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
/PolyGram Records, and its single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Tell Me When The Fever Ended" was issued. It reached number 32 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
In 1990 Electribe 101 released its debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Electribal Memories
Electribal Memories
Electribal Memories is the only album by the house-music group Electribe 101. It was originally released in 1990, and it was re-released in 1998 with three remixes of "Talking With Myself," which had gained popularity that year. In 2002, it was reissued again under the title The Best of Electribe...
. The group also re-released its single "Talking With Myself," which reached #23 on the UK Singles Chart. In late 1990, the band released its version of the Jesse Rae
Jesse Rae
Jesse Rae is a Scottish singer from St Boswells. His single "Over the Sea", reached number 65 in the UK Singles Chart in 1985. The video for the single – which features a kilted, helmeted, claymore-brandishing Rae in both New York City and the Scottish Highlands – won a Vira award...
song "Inside Out" (a hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
for Odyssey
Odyssey (band)
Odyssey was a New York, now UK-based dance music band. It grew out of the talent of the Connecticut-born Lopez sisters: Lillian Lopez , Louise Lopez , and Carmen Lopez , who left the group before Odyssey, as the group came to be known after her departure, was formed.-Career:Filipino singer Tony...
) and toured as support act for Depeche Mode.
Starting work on recording their second album, the band had differences of opinion with Mercury and tensions grew between the band's members. Mercury declined to release their second album and Electribe 101 split in early 1992. Not wanting to carry on under the Electribe 101 name without Martin who embarked on a solo career, the band renamed itself The Groove Corporation and signed with the Network Records
Network Records
Network Records was a rave music independent record label, based in Birmingham, England, during the late 1980s and mid 1990s.The label concentrated on bringing Garage music to Britain & taking UK House music to a new level as well as playing a massive role in the development of Early Hardcore and...
subsidiary label Six6.
Singles
- "Talking With Myself" - (MercuryMercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
/PolyGram Records) 1988 - "Tell Me When The Fever Ended" - (Mercury/PolyGram Records) 1989 UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#32 - "Talking With Myself" - (Mercury/PolyGram Records) 1990 UK #23
- "You're Walking" - (Mercury/PolyGram Records) 1990 UK #50
- "Inside Out" - (Mercury/PolyGram Records) 1990
- "Rain" as 'The Groove Corporation' - (Six6/Network RecordsNetwork RecordsNetwork Records was a rave music independent record label, based in Birmingham, England, during the late 1980s and mid 1990s.The label concentrated on bringing Garage music to Britain & taking UK House music to a new level as well as playing a massive role in the development of Early Hardcore and...
) 1994 #72 - "Talking With Myself" (1998 remixRemixA remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
) - (Mercury/PolyGram Records) 1998 UK #39
Albums
- Electribal MemoriesElectribal MemoriesElectribal Memories is the only album by the house-music group Electribe 101. It was originally released in 1990, and it was re-released in 1998 with three remixes of "Talking With Myself," which had gained popularity that year. In 2002, it was reissued again under the title The Best of Electribe...
(MercuryMercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
/PolyGram Records) 1990 UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#26 - reissued as The Best of Electribe 101 featuring Billie Ray Martin in 2002. - Co-operation - as the Groove Corporation (Six6/Network Records) 1994