Lunatic Calm were an English electronic music group formed in 1996. Despite a wide-ranging sound palette, the group was best known for their high impact, industrial-tinged

big beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as th ...

compositions.

History

Formed in 1996 and composed of Simon "sHack" Shackleton and Howard "Howie" Saunders, they released two well received albums, as well as several singles and a wide range of remixes. The two had known each other since an early age, and prior to forming Lunatic Calm, they also played in several bands with

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been descri ...

( Radiohead frontman), namely

Headless Chickens The Headless Chickens was a New Zealand band. Going against the grain of the Dunedin sound that dominated the Flying Nun Records roster at the time, the Headless Chickens made extensive use of electronic instruments in their music. History ...

and Flicker Noise.

Metropol (1997)

Their debut album ''Metropol'' was often compared to the works of The Prodigy and other bands, although it ranged from offbeat and psychedelic

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with " downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tem ...

to heavy turbo-charged

. Record company MCA failed to support the band and they switched their attentions to the American market where they enjoyed a series of successful tours with other groups including

Crystal Method The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video gam ...

. The most notable track from that album, and the one for which the group remains best known, is "Leave You Far Behind". This track has appeared on numerous movie soundtracks including ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

'', '' Charlie's Angels'', and '' Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'', also including The Crow in 1998–1999. A number of Lunatic Calm's tracks were used on video games, and the group did numerous

remixes A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

for various artists including

Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

, DJ Scissorkicks, and

Curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

Breaking Point (2002)

The group's second album, ''Breaking Point'' was released in 2002, after several years of wrangling with record companies, and with little to no promotion. As the album was due to be released, the record label City of Angels went bankrupt. Without label support the band were unable to continue and Lunatic Calm disbanded in 2003.

Aftermath

Simon Shackleton has been highly active as a solo producer and DJ ever since, operating primarily under the name Elite Force, but also under aliases such as Killer Elite, Futurecore, Double Black, pHrack R and Zodiac Cartel. He has run labels such as U&A Recordings (2006–present) and the Fused & Bruised imprint between 1996 and 2002, and is often cited as one of the leading proponents of the emergent Tech-Funk movement, fusing house,

breaks Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to: Time off from duties * Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties * Break (work), time off during a shift/recess ** Coffee break, a short mid-morning rest ...

, Electro and

Techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

. Some of his songs (both remixes and new tracks) have appeared on the Crystal Method remix albums, ''

Community Service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...

'' and ''

Community Service II ''Community Service II'' is the second collaboration album from The Crystal Method, and features remixes from The Crystal Method and other Nu skool breaks artists. Track listing # The Crystal Method - Intro – 1:38 # PMT - Gyromancer (Elite ...

'' amongst others. He is currently recording an album as Simon Shackleton which is scheduled for release in early 2016 and has become a regular performer and attendee at the Burning Man Festival in Nevada each summer. Howie is now one half of DoubleDose, a music production and sound design partnership he set up in 2004 with BAFTA award winner Nick Ryan, devising multimedia marketing campaigns, live event productions and sonic branding for companies such as Nokia, Shell, Ernst & Young, Ford, Mazda, Land Rover, Intel and Formula One motor racing across Europe, North America & Asia Pacific. Howie is also a Director at AudioFuel, which launched in December 2008 and offers music that is custom-composed for runners and personal fitness training programs.

Discography

Albums

* '' Metropol'' (1997) * '' Breaking Point'' (2002)

Singles

*"Centista" (1996) *"Leave You Far Behind" (1997) *"Roll the Dice" (1997) *"LC Double '0' Series" (1998) *"One Step" (1999)

Remixes

* The Heads - ''"Don't Take My Kindness for Weakness"'' (1996) * Amen - ''"Vacuum"'' (1996) * Collapsed Lung - ''"Ballad Night"'' (1996) * Hurricane #1 - ''"Chain Reaction"'' (1997) *

Black Grape Black Grape are an English rock band, featuring former members of Happy Mondays and Ruthless Rap Assassins. Their musical style fuses funk and electronic rock with electronic programming and samples. History Formation, first two albums and ...

- ''"Get Higher"'' (1997) *

- ''"Comedown"'' (1997) *

- ''" Chinese Burn"'' (1997) *

Definition of Sound Definition of Sound was a London-based dance-music group, consisting of Kevin Clark and Don Weekes, working with musicians Rex Brough (aka The Red King) and later Mike Spencer. Their second and fourth single (music), singles, "Wear Your Love Lik ...

- ''"Outsider"'' (1997) * Elite Force - ''"Cool Like The Man"'' (1997) *

Meat Katie Mark Pember, also known as Meat Katie, is an English electronic musician. He creates music making hybrid sounds by combining several genres of music; tech-funk, techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is g ...

- ''"Boned"''(1997) *

Pitchshifter Pitchshifter are an English industrial rock band from Nottingham, formed in 1989. The band was started by lead guitarist and programmer Johnny A. Carter, and bassist and vocalist Mark Clayden. The band’s early material was characterized for ...

- ''"Genius"'' (1998) * Mankind Liberation Front - ''"Isolated"'' (1999) * DJ Scissorkicks - ''"Clap Yo' Hands"'' (1999) * Earl Hagen - ''"I Spy"'' (2001)

Soundtrack appearances

* '' The Jackal'' (1997) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * '' Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'' (1997) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' (V2. Instrumental Mix) * '' Head On'' (1998) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * ''

ESPN X-Games Pro Boarder ''ESPN X-Games Pro Boarder'', also known as ''X Games Pro Boarder'', is a video game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for the PlayStation and Windows in 1998. Reception The ...

'' (1998) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * ''

'' (1999) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' (Lunatic vs. Lunatic Rollercoaster Remix) * ''

Twin Dragons ''Twin Dragons'' (also known as ''Shuang long hui'' and ''Brother vs. Brother'') is a 1992 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark, and starring Jackie Chan in a double role as identical twin brothers separated at bir ...

'' (Theatrical Trailer) (1999) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * ''

Arlington Road ''Arlington Road'' is a 1999 drama film directed by Mark Pellington and starring Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, and Hope Davis. The film tells the story of a widowed George Washington University professor who suspects his new neighbors ar ...

'' (1999) - ''"Neon Reprise"'' * '' Need for Speed: High Stakes'' (1999) - ''"Roll the Dice"'' * '' Test Drive 6'' (1999) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * ''

FIFA 2000 ''FIFA 2000'' (titled ''FIFA 2000: Major League Soccer'' in North America) is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It was the seventh game in the main ''FIFA'' series. The game was released fo ...

'' (1999) - ''"LC001"'' (Neon Ray Mix) * '' La Femme Nikita'': Getting Out of the Reverse (2000) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * '' Charlie's Angels'' (2000) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' (V2. Instrumental Mix) * '' The Guilty'' (2000) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * ''

Titan A.E. ''Titan A.E.'' is a 2000 American animated science fiction film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, and starring Matt Damon, Bill Pullman, John Leguizamo, Nathan Lane, Janeane Garofalo and Drew Barrymore. Its title refers to the spacecraft ...

'' (Trailer) (2000) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * '' Formula One 2001'' (2001) - ''"Shockwave"'' * ''

Jeremy McGrath Supercross World ''Jeremy McGrath Supercross World'' is a racing video game developed by Acclaim Studios Salt Lake City and published by Acclaim Entertainment under their Acclaim Max Sports label for PlayStation 2 and GameCube. Reception The game received "unfa ...

'' (2001) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * '' Tomcats'' (2001) - ''"Roll the Dice"'' (Fatboy Slim vocal mix) * '' Spider-Man'' (Teaser Trailer) (2002) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'': Radio Sunnydale (2003) - ''"Sound of the Revolution"'' * '' Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life'': Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture (2003) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * ''

MotorStorm ''MotorStorm'' is a racing video game series developed by Evolution Studios, BigBig Studios, Virtuos and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The titles were off-road racing games featuring different types of vehicles with their own streng ...

'' (2007) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * '' Drive'' (2007) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"''

References

External links

Simon Shackleton site
{{Use British English, date=August 2015 English electronic music groups Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Musical groups from London MCA Records artists Big beat groups