Under The Influence with London Elektricity

With a back catalogue of some of the finest drum n bass to grace the genre including material that undoubtedly helped shape its overall sound and progression, Tony Colman AKA London Elektricity is one of the electronic music world’s elder statesmen.

From his 1996 debut “Sister Stalking” through to the full-band fuelled live dates that would follow over the years, his output has been consistently top drawer and he’s rarely put a foot wrong.

The early LE material was co-produced with Chris Goss and it was with Chris that Tony also set up Hospital Records, the home for the majority of their output and one of the scene’s top labels responsible for bringing the likes of High Contrast, Logistics, Nu:Tone, Danny Byrd and many more to your ears.

This year sees the imprint celebrate 18 years in business and to celebrate, they’ve lined up a compilation entitled “Hospital: We are 18″, landing on January 27th and packed end to end with exclusive material from the Hospital family and trusted friends.

The album features an exclusive new London Elektricity track in the shape of “Snow Angels”, Colman’s first outing since 2011′s “Yikes” album and it’s without a doubt one of the album’s stand out moments.

There are also a couple of special events across London to mark the occasion where the label’s new talent will go head to head with the more familiar names.

We managed to catch up with Mr Colman and ask him about the tracks that influenced him as a producer, there are some amazing pieces of music in here….dive in…

Under The Influence with London Elektricity

Steve Reich – 18 Musicians

One evening in 1978 I came home from the pub and there was a documentary on BBC2 which was a film of the first performance of this hour long work.

I hadn’t heard of Steve Reich, but watching that and hearing the piece completely changed my musical life.

Funkadelic – Maggot Brain

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This was on a bonus 7″ inside the “One Nation Nation Under a Groove” album.

It’s the live version, and to this day Eddie Hazel’s workout is the single best guitar solo I have ever heard on record. Orgasmic.

Grandmaster Flash – The Message

I couldn’t believe it when i heard this. Despite being the first ‘proper’ hip hop release it sounded like a record that should always have existed.

The lyrics are amazing, and I spent a month learning it off by heart. I only performed it to myself in my bedroom. Sensible I’d say.

Robert Wyatt – Shipbuilding

I’ve always been a fan of Robert and his former band Soft Machine, but when he covered this outstanding Elvis Costello song he created a piece of socialist classical music.

Brings tears to my eyes when I hear it even now.

Kraftwerk – Computer Love

This came out when I was 21, and it was different from anything else at that time. It was clinical, dispassionate yet amazingly soulful and warm.

My granny who was 80 and in her final year used to sit listening to the whole album, spellbound.

Todd Rundgren – Sometimes I Don’t Know What to Feel/Don’t You Ever Listen

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Hard for me to single out one Todd tune as I am an obsessive. He soundtracked my formative years and provided me with an emotional philosophy that helped me navigate my late adolescence as well as turning me on to a new harmonic language.

These productions are perfect examples.

Grace Jones – Slave To The Rhythm

Trevor Horn produced some of the best tunes of the early eighties: Moments In Love, Relax, the ABC album and this amazing record.

“Slave” marries gogo beats of Chuck D and Trouble Funk to futuristic synthesis and sublime chord work – add Grace Jones‘ outstanding song writing and unique vocal delivery and you get a truly timeless and spine tingling piece of music.

Prince – Sign o’ the Times

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I was on a beach in Devon at 2 o’clock in the morning after having seen Prince’s movie “Under The Cherry Moon”. Must have been 1986. I had the realisation whilst staring at the black waves that I had to jump of the proverbial cliff and commit to a full time career in music.

“Sign of the Times” is in my opinion the pinnacle of Prince’s career and it was a major landmark for me – it showed what a solo musician/songwriter/producer could achieve. 100% inspirational.

Rolf Harris – Two Little Boys

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The first record I bought. Age 7, I saved up my birthday money and bought this for 5 shillings. The second record I acquired was “Rock and Roll parts 1 & 2″ by Gary Glitter, which I swapped my Swiss army knife for.

To say that recent events have ruined the memory of those innocent and joyous first months of my musical life is an understatement. I feel violated

Calibre – Second Sun

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Almost impossible to single out any tune from my chosen genre, but this comes to mind. Calibre is my favourite D&B producer, and this is my favourite Calibre tune!

It’s about 8 years old, but I still can’t stop myself from playing it, it’s so perfect and unique.

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Paul McFadyen