''ESG'' is the debut EP by American

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

band ESG. It was released by 99 Records in 1981. The EP received positive reviews from music critics. "Moody" became popular with

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 ...

DJs, and "UFO" came to be one of the most sampled tracks in hip hop music.

History

Ed Bahlman discovered ESG while serving as the judge for a talent show and became the band's unofficial manager.Reynolds 2006, p. 272.

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder ...

from

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Durutt ...

approached the band after a performance at Hurrah in the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

, and three days later they began recording with

Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy ...

. They recorded "Moody" and "You're No Good" in the first take. Hannett had three minutes left on the master tape, so he had the band record "UFO". The recordings helped bring Bahlman's focus to the band. On December 3, 1980, he recorded ESG's performance at Hurrah, which became the B-side for ''ESG''. Bahlman formed a partnership with Factory so that his 99 Records label could release the EP in 1981. By July, they made a second pressing of the record. The band's name—and the EP's title—stands for emerald, sapphire, and gold. Emerald and sapphire are Valerie and Renee Scroggins'

birthstone A birthstone is a gemstone that represents a person's period of birth that is usually the month or zodiac sign. Birthstones are often worn as jewelry or as a pendant necklace. History of birthstones Western custom The first century historian ...

s, and gold refers to the

record certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. The blue, green, and yellow cover artwork was adapted for ESG's 2000 compilation '' A South Bronx Story''. The artwork for its 2015

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

release of ''The Moody EP'' is loosely based on the ''ESG'' cover. Lead vocalist Renee criticized the adaptation, saying it looked like someone had "puked it on a canvas". ''ESG'' is a

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

take on funk music, removing brass, saxophone, and synthesizers to leave vocals, bass, and percussion. It was received positively by music critics.

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful, soulful voice and wikt:sartorial, sartorial elegance, and his stylistic explorations, combining Soul music, so ...

called it one of 1981's "freshest records". For ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine, Leo Sacks wrote that "the beauty of this album is that it is so natural, so kinetic, and so compelling." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' placed ''ESG'' second on its list of the best EPs and cassettes of 1981, and ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' placed the EP third on its

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics' poll.

Songs

"Moody" was released off of ''ESG'' as the band's debut single. A 12-inch remix single followed, and both versions found popularity at clubs in New York and London. Because of the single's release through Factory, many New York DJs assumed ESG was a London-based act.

Paradise Garage Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of dance and pop music, as well as LGBT and nightclub cultures. The club was founded by sole proprietor Michael Brody, and ...

listed the song in its top 50 all-time tracks. It became a foundational track for the emerging house music scene. House producer Chip E. used the song's bassline for his 1985 single "Like This". Swedish producer

Christian Falk Christian Falk (25 April 1962 – 24 July 2014) was a Swedish record producer and musician. Falk started his recording career with the band Madhouse in the early 1980s. He later moved on and became a founding member of post-punk band Imperiet. In ...

covered "Moody" with

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk an ...

on his 1999 album ''Quel Bordel'' and released a second version with singer Kenny Bobien. "UFO" is inspired by the conclusion of

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spi ...

's ''

Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...

'', where government officials communicate with an extraterrestrial craft using music. Renee wrote the song imagining what would happen if a UFO had instead landed in the housing projects. "UFO" has since been sampled in over 300 songs, becoming one of the most sampled tracks in hip hop music. ESG did not receive royalties for the sampling for around 20 years. The band referenced this with the title of its 1992 EP ''Sample Credits Don’t Pay Our Bills''.

Track listing

All songs written by ESG. # "You're No Good" # "Moody" # "UFO" # "Earn It" # "ESG" # "Hey!"

Personnel

Credits adapted from ''ESG'' liner notes. ;ESG * Renee Scroggins – lead vocals, guitar * Deborah Scroggins – bass, backing vocals * Marie Scroggins – congas, backing vocals * Valerie Scroggins – drums, backing vocals ;Additional musicians * Tito Libran – congas ;Production *

– production (1-3) * Ed Bahlman – production (4-6) * Gina Franklyn – artwork, sleeve design

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{Authority control 1981 debut EPs 99 Records EPs Albums produced by Martin Hannett