FACT MAGAZINE - 20 BEST BLEEP RECORDS EVER MADE

Unique 3 have three tracks in this list of 20 tracks ...

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Unique 3
‘Weight For the Bass’ (Original Soundyard Dubplate Mix)
(Ten Records, 1990)

A mindboggling soundclash of Kingston, the Bronx, and, er, Rimini. The latter is whence hails the Italo-house piano vamp that chatters brightly over the tectonic plate shaking 808 bass, frisky electro beats and vast vistas of empty space that make up the rest of the track (sadly unavailable on YouTube – try the original version above). This mix is named after the Soundyard, the legendary 1987-90 Bradford club founded by Unique 3’s Edzy.

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Unique 3
‘Phase 3’ (from Jus Unique LP)
(Ten Records, 1990)
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Rave acts almost always stumbled when it came to the obligatory Album (see also Shades of Rhythm) but amid the mixed bag of commercial house and unconvincing UK rap that is Jus Unique there are some bleep classics, most notably ‘Phase 3’, whose sagging drone-tones and weird blend of lush and harsh looks ahead to the mind-twisting directions that would spiral off hardcore in the near-future, from gloomcore gabba to darkside jungle.

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Unique 3
‘The Theme’/’7-AM’
(Chill/Ten, 1989)

This seminal track marks the rebirth of rave as an underground sound – hard ‘n’ dark ‘n’ strictly for the headstrong. Motored by a miasmic bassline that recedes into the mix then swarms back to subsume your consciousness like malevolent fog, ‘The Theme’ is the UK coming up with a creative response to ‘Acid Trax’ rather than just a faint reflection. But the ultra-minimal flipside track is even more inventive: just bass, space, and a plinky percussion riff that sounds like a xylophone made out of a dinosaur’s ribcage. The title ‘7-AM’ evokes that eerie pre-dawn moment at the rave when the comedown’s coming on and only the diehardcore ravers are still standing.

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Read the full piece, written by Simon Reynolds July 22 2013, by clicking the link below.

​https://www.factmag.com/2013/07/22/the-20-best-bleep-records-ever-made/