Trust me #103
Life Is Sweet by The Chemical Brothers
Stumble out into the dawn streets with a still-buzzing Tim Burgess on the glorious Life Is Sweet, his choirboy voice royally f***ed up and slumped across a mere slip of melody. Stephen Dalton, NME
What a beautiful piece of writing by Stephen Dalton for the NME! What more could I add?
The Chemical Brothers were a force of nature in the 1990's and along with the likes of The Prodigy, Underworld and Fatboy Slim, they helped create a huge melting pot of music. Alternative British music was thriving; Radiohead, Spiritualized, Massive Attack, Portishead and Primal Scream would release groundbreaking albums, pushing boundaries with their sonic soundscapes and ambitions.
Lets go back to 1992 and it was very much the case of right place, right time!
The Chemical Brothers met in Manchester and began DJ-ing in pubs while also forging ahead with producing their own psychedelic big beat sounds. Originally called The Dust Brothers, until the US producers asked them to change, their first self-pressed white label 12-inch found its way into the hands of Andrew Weatherall who began playing Song to the Siren in his sets.
Word, as tended to happen with Weatherall, got round and before long Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons were remixing for Leftfield, Lionrock and Republica. In October 94, the duo, still known as The Dust Brothers, became resident DJ's at the Heavenly Sunday Social on Great Portland Street. Noel Gallagher and Tim Burgess were regulars and before long The Dust Brothers were remixing Primal Scream's Jailbird, The Charlatans Patrol and Nine Acre Court, the Manics and The Prodigy.
By 1995, The Dust Brothers had become The Chemical Brothers due to a name clash with the American producers. Tom and Ed were carving out their own space in the world of electronic music, fusing breakbeats, big beats, and psychedelic grooves into something fresh and thrilling. Their debut album Exit Planet Dust was a game-changer, and one of its standout moments and was Life Is Sweet, a track that featured none other than Tim Burgess of The Charlatans on guest vocals. Tim was a big fan of the Heavenly Social where The Chems had a residency. It seemed like a natural fit. It sounds like it most definitely was.
1995 was a super sunny summer and Life Is Sweet was one of many songs released around that time that seemed to be tailor made for the times and the weather. Life - for a 19-year old with no ties, good friends and regular nights out - was very sweet.
The Chemical Brothers were already known for their heavy, rolling beats and club-shaking basslines. But Life Is Sweet was something else: a hypnotic, groove-laden track that felt equally at home on a dancefloor as it did blasting through a car stereo on a summer evening drive down the Clyde Valley.
I'm driving in the sun
It's a hell of a way down south
Bring me back my love
Swirling synths, a relentless and infectious groove and Burgess' floating vocal, trying to calm the storm going on around him, but getting beautifully caught up in it.
Burgess, Tom and Ed definitely found chemistry together in this collaboration.
Released as a single, Life Is Sweet included a Daft Punk remix. Looking back, this release captured a moment when electronic music was evolving, absorbing elements of rock, hip-hop, and psychedelia to create something new and intoxicating, fresh for the 90's.
On reflection, I wish the video had documented the times - Tom an Ed DJ-ing in a packed basement in the Heavenly Social The video (below) with Tim singing and dancing along. That would be super cool to look back on.As it is, Tom and Ed are mucking about with (and blowing up and trying to fix) a large bank of equipment, while Tim is seemingly locked in a smaller room looking through a hole in the wall to watch The Chems, while in other rooms there are a series of mad people!
Remember (cause it can be difficult when you read or turn on the news) that life can be sweet, and so is this tune.
Life Is Sweet is added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify or CLICK HERE. Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series.
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