we all have our guilty pleasures, so there’s no denying that my love for apollo 440, @440, apollo four forty is easily one of my less kept secrets.
ever since their brilliant ambient techno classic liquid cool package was released back in 1995 their brand of high gloss technology music has always been on my radar.
of course the band were never cool and loved by the right people, but this never seemed to be of concern to them (or me for that matter), a point made all the more interesting given that the band consists of people who have a far more interesting history than 90% of your standard indie fare.
i mean howard gray has his name hidden away in the production credits for so many bands it’s scary (including having a big part in forming the sound for the ultimate marriage of noise and technology, 1000 years of trouble by age of chance), trevor has helped out all over, and as for noko, well, surely google is a better option than a crappy lo-tech blog.
so, upon setting up a slighter better than freebie 5.1 speaker system for the computer room @ ireallylovemusic hq what better music to christen the surround sound set up with than with a nostalgic blast of @440 ?
so imagine my surprise when checking out the various 12″ versions i came across this forgotten track that predated the love of the glam stomp and a techno groove many years before t.raumschmiere, goldfrapp, rachel stevens et al took it to the max.
hidden away on the 1997 cd single for their chart smash, aint talking ’bout dub i reckon its time once more to release the glitter.
a little further digging reveals that the band are on the live scene, albeit over in eastern europe, and from the photos online in their facebook hangout, they seem to be going back to their rock band roots.
still, this is a cracking slice of schaffel electro.
more detail : apollo 440 (incl. live pictures from 2007 !)
interview : ireallylovemusic vs apollo 440