"Pacific" is a single by English electronic music group

808 State 808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. They released their debut album, '' New ...

, released in 1989. It exists in various mix versions known by different titles, such as "Pacific State" (as included on the ''

Quadrastate ''Quadrastate'' is a 12" extended play (EP) by English electronic music group 808 State, released in 1989 on the Creed Records label. It contains the original version of " Pacific State", one of the most popular tracks by 808 State, which late ...

'' mini-album that year) and "Pacific 202" (as included on the album ''

Ninety 90 may refer to: * 90 (number) * one of the years 90 BC, AD 90, 1990, 2090, etc. * 90 (album), ''90'' (album), an album by the electronic music group 808 State * 90 (EP), ''90'' (EP), an album by the band South Club * Atomic number 90: thorium * Au ...

''). The song charted for 11 weeks in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background and release

Gerald Simpson began working on the track before leaving 808 State in 1989, after which it was released and hit the charts. However, according to Simpson, they had finished and released the track without his permission. Although Simpson was credited on its first release on the album ''

'' both as a writer and co-producer, the dispute escalated as Simpson claimed to have written the entire track. According to Massey, "Pacific" was "the last track at The Haçienda for the six months before it even got out. Then

Gary Davies Gary Davies (born 13 December 1957) is a British broadcaster. From 1982 to 1993 he was a BBC Radio 1 disc jockey and a regular presenter of ''Top of the Pops''. As of September 2022 Gary Davies can be heard on BBC Radio 2 presenting Saturd ...

heard it in

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

and started playing it on daytime

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

. A few features made it stand out: the birdsong and the saxophone. I played the sax part – which is good because I didn't really play saxophone at the time. It's a moot point whether I can play that part properly now."

Release and legacy

"There's about 42 different versions of 'Pacific'," quipped Graham Massey, "and 'Pacific 707' is the single version we put out on ZTT.” The single was released by

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Entertainment is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digital U ...

on 15 March 1990 in the United States. In retrospective reviews, '' The Independent'' reviewed a live concert by 808 State in 1997, describing "Pacific State" as "the song that made a nation chill out. Mellow but insistent beats, a light garnishing of wildlife noises, and a soprano sax threading through it like a viper in the Eden undergrowth. It was the aural equivalent of throwing a party inside a giant flotation tank. That was 808 State." ''Pacifics iconic bird sample, a recording of a

loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order Gavi ...

, was popularized by the song, and would go on to be used in many other electronic songs such as Lady Gaga's"

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

References

External links

Pacific State (song)
at Discogs 1989 singles 1989 songs ZTT Records singles Warner Music Group singles 808 State songs English house music songs {{1980s-single-stub