Pressure Drop are an English electronic music duo made up of Justin Langlands and Dave Henley.
Pressure Drop | |
|---|---|
 Pressure Drop. Photo by Chris Clunn | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Blood Brothers |
| Genres | Electronica, Acid Jazz |
| Labels | Big World Records, Marlboro Music, Higher Ground, Columbia, Sony Music |
| Members | Justin Langlands, Dave Henley |
| Past members | Gareth Tasker, Mick Puxley |
| Website | pressuredrop |
Career edit
Pressure Drop released their first single Feeling Good in March 1990. It was written and produced by Justin Langlands, Mike Puxley and Gareth Tasker, but when Puxley and Tasker left, Dave Henley joined. Since then Pressure Drop has been a duo.[1][2]
Langlands and Henley had known each other since 1986,[3] and started DJing together at London's Wag Club after being introduced by Paul Guntrip.[4][1] Langlands and Henley's first single together as Pressure Drop was Back 2 Back released on Big World Records in September 1990.[1]
After recording the debut album Upset, their English label closed and was only initially released by Marlboro Music in Germany in 1992,[5][6] and later in England in 1993 on Logic.[1] James Lavelle sold imported copies of the album at Honest Jon's, the record store he worked at prior to setting up his record label Mo' Wax.[4] He would later credit Pressue Drop for helping define the sound of his label.[4]
Pressure Drop's second album Front Row was released in 1993 on Marlboro Music and in Japan on Meldac in 1994.[1]
Their music was largely unavailable in England until they released Tearing The Silence EP on Leftfield's Hard Hands label in 1995,[7] and their third album Elusive in 1997.[3] During this period, they were likened to the current Trip Hop music trend,[8] such as Massive Attack, Portishead, and Tricky,[7][8][9] as their album received wider release than had been possible before.[10][11][12]
In 2001, Pressure Drop released their fourth album Tread.[13][14] They had relocated to Brighton in 1998 to begin work on the album.[4] The album featured vocals from Martin Fishley, MC Skibadee, and Vanessa Freeman.[4]
Food of Love, a compilation of their previous work and remixes, was released in 2003. Touch magazine called it "a timely retrospective of an important, but low key British collective."[15]
Blood Brothers Broadcasting Corporation edit
Pressure Drop hosted a weekly radio program on German's Sputnik under their alias Blood Brothers.[16] Titled Blood Brothers Broadcasting Corporation, it featured their own live DJ mixes, as well as guest mixes and interviews with musicians and producers,[17] and was available throughout Europe via the Astra satellite network.[18] Broadcast between 1992-1997, the programs were eventually digitised from cassette and made available online.[19]
Discography edit
Albums
- Upset (1992)
- Front Row (1993)
- Elusive (1997)
- Tread (2001)
- Food of Love (2003)
References edit
- ^ a b c d e Gaunt, James (2022-03-13). "Pressure Drop — The 90s English Duo Who Made It Big In Germany". The Shadow Knows. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (1998). The encyclopedia of popular music. Macmillan. p. 4315. ISBN 9780333741344.
- ^ a b Kendrick, Monica (1998-06-18). "Spot Check". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
- ^ a b c d e Phillips, Jacki (28 Feb 2001). "sounds saluting this city's soul". The Argus. p. 2.
- ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir (2001). All music guide to electronica : the definitive guide to electronic music. Backbeat Books. p. 407. ISBN 0879306289.
- ^ Gaunt, James (2022-02-07). "Groovin' To The Max : Marlboro Music". The Shadow Knows. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
- ^ a b Barnes, Jake (September 1995). "Dig The New Weed". Muzik (4): 19.
- ^ a b Garcia, Guy (1998-10-25). "MUSIC; Trip-Hop Reinvents Itself to Take on the World". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
- ^ "House of Tudor | Music | San Francisco | San Francisco News and Events | SF Weekly". 2021-09-22. Archived from the original on 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
- ^ Carroll, Jim (10 Oct 1997). "Dance - Pressure Drop: "Elusive" (Hard Hands/Higher Ground)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
- ^ Thorpe, Frank (November 1997). "Pressure Drop - Elusive". Muzik (30): 100.
- ^ Griffiths, Alex (March 1998). "Drop Down". DJ Mag. pp. 18–23.
- ^ Michele, Sotglu (Sep 2011). "Pressure Drop". Ultra Tomato: 33.
- ^ Luca, Roccatagllati (July 2001). "Pressure Drop Are Back!". UltraTomato: 7–8.
- ^ Blenkarn, Chris (2003). "Food of Love". Touch.
- ^ Spencer, Roy (May 2010). "The Classic Album : Pressure Drop Elusive". Future Music. pp. 18–20.
- ^ Anthony, Matt (Sep 1997). "Pressure Drop - Tales From The City". Straight No Chaser. 1 (43): 28–31.
- ^ Sherman (2 June 2016). "Release The Pressure". Melody Maker.
- ^ "Outta Space In Yer Face". bbbc-radio.com. Retrieved 2023-07-09.