"Rhythm Is a Mystery" is the debut single by British electronic music group

K-Klass K-Klass are a British electronic music group from Wrexham, Wales and Chester, England, who are based in Manchester, England. Its original members were Andy Williams, Carl Thomas, Russ Morgan and Paul Roberts. In 1991, K-Klass signed with the l ...

, released in 1991 from their debut album, ''Universal''. Lead vocals are performed by Bobbi Depasois.

Background and release

Andy Williams, Carl Thomas, Russ Morgan and Paul Roberts met in a nightclub in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in 1988. They formed production collective

and debuted with ''The Wildlife EP'' in 1990. "Rhythm Is a Mystery" was their follow-up in 1991. The distinctive drum roll which features at various junctures in the track was sampled from the 1987 song "Devotion" by

Ten City Ten City (derived from ''intensity'') is an American, Chicago, Illinois-based R&B and house music act, that enjoyed a number of club hits and Urban radio hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was one of the first exponents of deep house. ...

. First released via Creed Records, it secured K-Klass a contract with

Deconstruction The term deconstruction refers to approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who defined it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essence ...

. Upon the first release of "Rhythm Is a Mystery", the song only reached No. 61 in the UK. However, after a new remix was

re-released In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Rec ...

that same year, it peaked at No. 3 on 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 ...

. It is their biggest hit to date.

Impact and legacy

British clubbing magazine ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and Nightclub, clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' ...

'' ranked "Rhythm Is a Mystery" number 34 in its "100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time" list in 1996. The same year, English DJ

Tall Paul "Tall Paul" is a song recorded by Annette Funicello and written by the Sherman Brothers, along with Bob Roberts. Background It marked the first time that a female singer reached a top ten slot with a rock and roll single. It also spotlighted An ...

chose it as one of his top 10 tracks, adding, "I think this came out in 1990/91. It's a great song — listen to that piano drop. I remember seeing the place go completely mad to it: you can still easily drop it now and people go mad. An all-time classic."

MTV Dance Club MTV, formerly MTV Dance, is a European pay television music channel from Paramount Networks EMEAA that was separated from the UK channel on 27 May 2014. It broadcasts electronica, dance and r'n'b music programming. The channel is widely ava ...

ranked it number 79 in their list of "The 100 Biggest 90's Dance Anthems of All Time" in November 2011. The song was featured in the 1992 comedy film ''

Encino Man ''Encino Man'' (known as ''California Man'' in France, Finland, Sweden, Great Britain, Asia, South Africa, and New Zealand) is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Les Mayfield in his directorial debut. The film stars Sean Astin, with a suppo ...

''.

Charts

References

1991 songs 1991 debut singles Deconstruction Records singles British house music songs {{1990s-single-stub