Soul Mekanik – ’81 Deluxe’ (WONK006)

Soul Mekanik – ’81 Deluxe’
Wonk (WONK006)
Release Date: Monday October 4th, 2010

Originally released in 2005 with a cacophony of support from Pete Tong (Essential New Tune), Zane Lowe and Annie Mac, Soul Mekanik’s futuristic cosmically charged ‘Eighty One’ album is reworked and re-released in its original format alongside a second CD featuring ten new versions from the likes of Greg Wilson, Maurice Fulton and Soul Mekanik themselves.
DJ Mag named ‘Eighty One’, “One of the finest albums of 2005” and Pete Tong (BBC Radio One) hailed it “A very tasty, classy album”. Singles from the album including ‘Wanna get Wet’ and ‘Never Touch That Switch’ transformed Soul Mekanik into pop maestros with their productions skills in demand for stars including Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue.
After a considerable hiatus in the colourful world of pop production, Soul Mekanik return with a look back and a ‘future refection’ (in a purely time traveling sense) on ‘Eighty One Deluxe’. This new edition of Soul Mekanik’s debut album contains the entire original album and unveils ten remixes previously unavailable on CD, four being classics included by demand and six new & previously unreleased.
“Striking a perfect balance between party minded retro-electro, introspective futurism, deep electronics and pop sophistication, ‘Eighty One’ is a perfect example of just how good ‘dance’ albums can be.” (IDJ – album of the month.) 
From the synth auras of Maurice Fulton’s ‘Go Upstairs’ remix, to the dirty funk workout from Freeform Five of ‘Don’t’ (a track never previously released), down to the cosmic meanders of mysterious remixer Cosmic Me’s version of ‘Hacienda Must Be Re:)built’ and Greg Wilson’s tingling edit of ‘Wanna Get Wet’, this special collection of tracks offers up something for everyone. Appealing to lovers of the deep and sensual through to fans of fired up acid workouts, disco monsters and nostalgic dance weapons, each carefully picked track on ‘Eighty One Deluxe’ is tinged with the raw essence of house music.
Soul Mekanik AKA Kelvin Andrews and Danny Spencer have made many prolific marks on the history of dance music, both truly deserving the status of musical legend. Starting right at the birth of house music, Danny made the UK’s first acid house record in This Ain’t Chicago’s, ‘Ride the Rhythm’ and then went straight on to a little dose of pop stardom as Candy Flip with ‘Strawberry Fields’ topping the UK’s chart.
Kelvin was meanwhile DJ’ing the world over and resident at Golden in Stoke On Trent when it was at the epicentre of the UK’s clubbing revolution. Their next step was as world leading super-remixers, Sure is Pure, in the 90’s when they remixed, well, everyone and produced mega-hit, Blueboy’s ‘Remember Me’.
2010 has seen them return to the forefront of the underground dance movement with a slew of releases, reedits and new material on their own labels, WONK and RIP digital, bringing a great time to revisit their debut album release, ‘Eighty One’ in a new light.
The single release of Soul Mekanik ‘Don’t’ is out on 23rd August 2010 on Rip Digital. Exclusive free downloads and news can be found at www.soulmekanik.com

TRACKLISTING – CD1 – 81 Original
1. 81 Intro
2. A34
3. Wanna Get Wet
4. High On Hope Street
5. 27/5/81
6. Serobotik
7. Go Upstairs
8. Basement City
9. Elektrik Elefant
10. Robots3
11. Take Me Home
 
CD2 – 81 Deluxe
1. Go Upstairs (Maurice Fulton Mix)
2. Don’t (Freeform Five Re-Edit)
3. Hacienda Must Be Re:)Built (Cosmic Mix)
4. High On Hope Street (Rubber-dub)
5. 27/05/81 (12′ Extended Version)
6. Wanna Get Wet (Greg Wilson Re-Edit)
7. High On Hope Street (Alt Vocal Mix)
8. Home Cookin’ (Unreleased Mix)
9. 81 Intro (Soul Mekanik Remix)
10. I’ll Call You (Kaghoul Mix)