2023-08-02
PSYCHIC TV - TUNE IN (TURN ON TO THE ACID HOUSE) @ 35
HERBIE HANCOCK - FUTURE SHOCK @ 40
Released
in August of 1983, Herbie Hancock's Future Shock turns 40 years old
this month. Fusing jazz, funk, hip-hop & electronic dance music,
the album, along with the Rockit single and it's unforgettable music
video, would bring Hancock's name to its highest recognition in popular
music.
With two decades of work under his belt, Hancock was
well established in the jazz scene, both as a solo artist and for having
worked with legends like Miles Davis. He was always a forward thinking
musician and he'd done extensive work throughout the 1970s defining the
jazz-fusion sound, incorporating funk grooves with jazz sensibilities
and pushing it all into the modern age by incorporating synthesizers and
electronics. But Future Shock didn't even begin life as a Hancock
album.
The origins of the album began with bassist Bill Laswell
and keyboardist-producer, Michael Beinhorn, who were looking to devolp a
follow-up to their sophomore Material album, One Down. Many of the
songs on Future Shock began as demos for what was thought would be the
next Material LP. However, once the ball began rolling on these
compositions, the duo approached Hancock to work with them on developing
the songs further. From there, reggae drumming legend, Sly Dunbar,
guitarist Pete Cosey and DJ Derek Showard, better known by his stage
name of GrandMixer DXT, came onboard to fill out the studio band.
Together, they managed to channel the zeitgeist of a new breed of fusion
music, incorporating modern jazz sensibilities with cutting edge
alternative hip-hop funkiness. They soon realized they were on to
something when demos of their recordings started receiving unexpected
positive reactions from people who had a chance to hear them.
For
the single, Rockit, a stunning video was directed by 10cc's Godley and
Creme, who helped mastermind an iconic set of robot dancers and
musicians created by Jim Whiting, a production which swept the MTV music
awards of that year. The video managed to keep the song in heavy
rotation on the fledgling music channel, propelling the single and album
into major sales territory. It was one of those rare moments when true
innovation and creativity managed to break into the mainstream music
scene.