Bassheads was a British

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

duo from Wirral. This consisted of Nick Murphy and Eamonn Anthony Deery (Desa). The group had a big European hit with "Is There Anybody Out There?"

History

Murphy and Deery started to produce house music in Nick Murphy's home studio in 1989. Their first recording was the

white label A white label record is a vinyl record with white labels attached. There are several variations each with a different purpose. Variations include test pressings, white label promos, and plain white labels. Test pressings Test pressings, usua ...

"The Defhouse Vol. 1" and their third release, "Is There Anybody Out There?", was picked up by

Deconstruction Records Deconstruction Records is a British record label founded in 1987 by Pete Hadfield and Keith Blackhurst, together with Mike Pickering of M People. According to ''DJ Magazine'' it is "best remembered for marrying underground credibility and diver ...

for national distribution. In November 1991 it got to number 5 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and charted in other European countries. The original white label resulted in threats of legal proceedings for illegal use of samples from

Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born on April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is an American DJ, rapper, and producer from the South Bronx, New York. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenc ...

's "Just Get Up and Dance",

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

' " Once in a Lifetime" and

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

's " Is There Anybody Out There?". Therefore the Deconstruction version contained re-recorded versions of the sampled tracks, other than the Pink Floyd sample. The use of samples for Afrika Bambaataa was cleared by giving 25% of the publishing. Pink Floyd allowed Bassheads to use their sample on the promo but not for full release. Nick Murphy (Bassheads) re-wrote the opening section also replaying the Talking Heads sample.

The Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group ...

' "

Crazy Horses "Crazy Horses" is a 1972 hit single by The Osmonds, the title track from the album of the same name. The song, the only hit record from the Osmonds to feature Jay Osmond as lead vocalist, reached number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and num ...

" guitar riff was replaced by a session player. Nick Murphy was the engineer and main programmer on most of, or all of the Bassheads material commercially released / white labels, apart from a major contribution on "Is There Anybody Out There" from Shaun Imre. It was recorded mixed and mastered by Nick Murphy at his home studio, with the exception of a handful of tracks on the Bassheads album ''C.O.D.E.S'', which were co-produced and mixed by Dave Eringa at Konk Studios in London (owned by

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

). These tracks also originated from Nick Murphy's new studio called "The Lodge" in Neston. Over the next three years Bassheads had three more hit singles, and remixed tracks for

Oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

and Visage. In 1993, Deconstruction released the album ''C.O.D.E.S.'' which contained ambient influences but did not chart. This proved to be Bassheads' last release. Nick Murphy has released recordings under the name "Angel" and more recently been involved in film score/ambient work, also some live Bassheads gigs recreating the original recordings from Baked Tapes from the original recordings (done on an old Fostex E16 multi track Tape Machine) to play live PAs with Ableton Live.

History

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links