The Shamen
Since their beginnings in 1986, change has been no stranger to The Shamen.
Originally an indie-rock outfit from Aberdeen, Scotland, the band relocated
to London a few years later and became heavily influenced by the acid house
scene.
But 1991 was a pivotal year for the group - they finally broke in America,
went top 40 in Britain and lost one of their founding members. Last year,
The Shamen have regrouped and released a new album, "Boss Drum,"
an LP that finally realizes their full potential as a dance outfit.
The Shamen's interests in dance music first became evident after the
"Drop" LP. Previous to this, the group had been using synths and
primitive samplers in their music, but it wasn't until The Shamen started
hearing hip-hop and electro music that they began using the technology to
create a dancier sound. The group's original drummer, Keith, was a major
influence in bringing these styles into The Shamen sound. Relocating to
London in 1988 and becoming immersed in the acid house scene completed the
band's transition.
Psychedelia has always been part of The Shamen, and that's what attracted
them to acid house. "I could recognize the psychedelic aspects of the
music immediately, but it was irresistibly danceable," says Angus refering
to the spacey sound of classic analogue synths used in the songs. "And
the reports I was hearing about the parties, the multi-media events very
like what I imagine events were like in the 60's in terms of massive light
shows with strobes and oils and colored lights and lots of people enjoying
the company of one another in a psychedelically enhanced atmosphere or empathy
of love."
"Move Any Mountain", a reworked version of their 1990 club
anthem "Pro-Gen," was the song that finally introduced The Shamen
to mass audiences both here and abroad. The song was remixed by so many
people that the band had more mixes than they knew what to do with, so they
released it as a limited edition double album called Progeny. The lp went
straight to #21 on the British album charts, disappearing a few weeks later
when all the copies were gone.
"Electronic music is such a powerful way of composing and such
a powerful way for two artists to interface in each other work, as this
album hopefully shows," explains frontman Colin Angus. "We were
making a point to the people buying the record 'well what exactly is the
definition of a track these days."
The Shamen even went so far as to include the individual samples so
that fans could create their own mixes (these also appeared on the US single
of the sound). The group found itself flooded with new mixes when itwent
on the road, and the break beat can be heard on the Utah Saint's "Something
Good."
1991's "En-tact" was the Shamen's breakthrough LP in the States,
but the American issue differs from the original UK version, which was released
in November of 1990. Tracks were remixed by various people, including the
Shamen themselves, who say they were getting bored with some of them. Angus
feels that the resulting package was superior to the original. "I think
there's a greater diversity among the tracks, it's a lot more polished and
more danceable," he says.
Sadly, co-founder Will Sin did not live to see his band finally make
it big. When the group travelled to Tenerife to shoot a video for the new
version of "Move Any Mountain," Sin drowned at the age of 31.
But The Shamen continued on as a duo of Angus and rapper Mr. C, a long-time
collaborator who had recently been made a full-time member of the band.
"When it first happened, I was still reeling from the shock of
Will's completely unexpected and tragic death, and I couldn't think about
the Shamen at all, couldn't see how anything could continue," says
Angus. "But as I came to terms with it and thought about the situation
I realized that what the Shamen's about was positivity and that positivity
is like the spirit of the music and positivity acknowledges the need for
change. So for those reasons I elected to carry on and also I knew that
the name Shamen really meant a lot to Will and that was one of the main
attractions for joining the band for him."
Angus adds that he could not let the Shamen fall into history because
it is "such an informative name."
"Once you start delving into what Shamanism is, and Shamanism is
definitely on the rise worldwide, we realized that it's such a powerful
excuse for putting forth that kind of information," he says. "The
Shamen must continue to exist as a band."
On "Boss Drum," the ideas of Shamanism figure prominently
in the lyrics. The most extreme example is "Re-evolution," on
which Terence McKenna explains the relationship between house music/rave
culture and the ancient beliefs of Shamanism, saying how the youth culture
of the 90's is leading to an "archaic revival".
"We're putting across the information of what Shamanism is, why
the rhythm is important, why it is important to dance, the ideas about planetary
consciousness and human evolution," explains Angus. "We've put
this across in the lyrics of most of the tracks, particularly the title
track and 'Re-evolution'."
To support "En-tact," the Shamen brought their "Progeny"
show to America for their first-ever tour of this country. A continuation
of the groups "Synergy" nights in London, the shows featured sets
by The Shamen and Moby, in addition to a variety of DJs. Although on a smaller
scale, these gave many Americans their first tastes of the all-night raves
that have been going on in England since acid house hit. The aim is to make
the audience feel like they're part of the event, rather than just fans
out to see a band. The group always goes out into the crowd and mingles
after their set is over.
For the live shows, Angus says that the group breaks down their studio
and re-creates it on stage. The Shamen run all of the sequencers live, adding
keyboards, drums and guitar on top of it. "It's quite a time-consuming
set-up to reconstruct every night and a lot of work for the people making
the music and for the man who's mixing the sound," explains Angus.
"But it is a very, very live sound and that's what sets us apart from
other dance artists."
The Shamen is currently a trio of Angus, Mr.C. and vocalist Jhelisa,
formerly of Soul Family Sensation. Angus says that the line-up has worked
out well and that he has been pleasantly surprised by the amount of collaborating
he's been doing with Mr. C. "Coming from a DJing background, he's obviously
sharpening up the rhythms," he explains. "But on a lot of the
raps he does, we're actually working out the words for those together."
All the vocal talent in the band creates a big difference between the
sound of "En-tact" and "Boss Drum". Angus no longer
handles all the lead vocals, and on some tracks, such as "LSI,"
the voices of all three are equally prevalent. As a whole, Boss Drum is
a much stronger effort than En-tact due to more variety in the songs and
a more dance-oriented sound. Angus explained that this time around less
emphasis was placed on sampling and the group concentrated on creating their
own rhythms and sounds, often going back to the classic analogue synths
that were the backbone of acid house.
The group sees themselves as more of a house band than a rave or techno
act. Angus feels that the rave scene has lost a lot of its power, now that
it is dominated by insanely fast hardcore techno. "The music has become
far too fast for dancing to properly," he explains. "It's certainly
become far too fast to be psychologically empowering - it doesn't alter
neurological states in the same way that music between 90 and 130 bpm does."
Copyright 1993 Bob Gourley
note: this article originally appeared on
the chaos control archives and now appears as text only