Shades of Rhythm are an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

most active from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, still performing live today and hailing from

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

in 1988. They are best known for being a part of the early '90s rave scene.

Career

Shades of Rhythm were signed to

ZTT Records ZTT Records is a British record label founded in 1983 by record producer Trevor Horn, Horn's wife and businesswoman Jill Sinclair, and ''New Musical Express'' (NME) journalist Paul Morley. The label's name was also stylised as ZANG TUMB TUUM and ...

. Their debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

release was "Homicide"/"Exorcist" in January 1991. This was followed in April by "Sweet Sensation" (which sampled Patti LaBelle's "Something Special (Is Gonna Happen Tonight)" from her 1986 album

Winner in You ''Winner in You'' is the eighth studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Patti LaBelle. It was released by MCA Records on April 28, 1986, in the United States. Recording sessions took place during 1985–1986. Production was handled by sev ...

), and then "The Sound of Eden" which was a #35

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 ...

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in August that same year. The next release was "Extacy" which peaked at #16 in December 1991. Their debut album ''Shades'' (ZTT 11, later reissued as ''The Album'') sold over 50,000 copies, and they remixed " Set You Free" by

N-Trance N-Trance () are a British electronic music group who were formed by Kevin O'Toole and Dale Longworth in 1991. The group is known for their European hit songs " Set You Free" and " Electronic Pleasure", and their covers of the 1970s disco songs ...

. All these recordings were supported by live appearances at raves, such as Technodrome and Fantazia. In March 1991, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

music magazine, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', reported that Shades of Rhythm were appearing at the 'Great Indie Festival - A Midsummer's Day Dream' at Milton Keynes Bowl in June that year. Also on the bill were 808 State,

Gary Clail Gary Clail (born 1956) is an English singer and record producer, and the founder of the Gary Clail Sound System. He was part of On-U Sound Records (and also the On-U Sound System) and led Gary Clail's Tackhead Sound System. They had a big hit in ...

New Fast Automatic Daffodils New Fast Automatic Daffodils (later shortened to New FADS) were an alternative rock group from Manchester, England, active between 1988 and 1995. History The band was formed in 1988 by former members of the punk rock group Pariah.Strong, Mart ...

The Shamen The Shamen ( ) were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping British electronic dance music act by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie. Peter St ...

, Paris Angels plus

Flowered Up Flowered Up were an English indie pop- alternative dance band, formed in Camden Town, London in 1989, active during the Baggy movement. Their 13-minute single " Weekender" reached the UK top 20. The band split up in 1994 amid drug problems. Fo ...

. Shades of Rhythm released "Sweet Revival (Keep It Comin')" in February 1993, followed by "Getting Away". Their time with the

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

was rounded off with a #37 UK chart placing for the reissue of "The Sound of Eden", which featured

X-Press 2 X-Press 2 are an English electronic dance music duo. The members are DJ Diesel (Darren House) and DJ Rocky (Darren Rock). Ashley Beedle left to pursue solo projects in 2009. They were DJ Award winners in 2002 and Ivor Novello winners in 200 ...

, Chris Coco,

Joey Negro David Russell Lee (born 18 June 1964) is an English DJ and house music producer, formerly known by the stage name Joey Negro, which he retired in July 2020 following the George Floyd protests. He has released music under a variety of pseud ...

and

Richie Hawtin Richard "Richie" Hawtin (born June 4, 1970) is a British-Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He became involved with Detroit techno's second wave in the early 1990s, and has been a leading exponent of minimal techno since the mid-1990s. He beca ...

. Their final chart outing was in June 1997, when "Psycho Base" spent one week at #57 on Coalition Records. Shades of Rhythm also regularly appeared on some of the dance compilation albums of the day, such as ''Deep Heat'', ''Total Science'', ''Cream Live'', ''Hard Fax'', ''Essential Hardcore'' and ZTT's own ''Zance''. "The Sound of Eden" has also been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by two different British dance acts, Casino in 1997 and Another Chance in 2007 - the latter titled "Everytime I See Her (Sound Of Eden)". In later years, group members Kevin Lancaster and Nick Slater joined to form the breakbeat duo the Drumattic Twins.

Group members

* Kevin Lancaster * Nick Slater * Rayan Hepburn

Discography

Albums

*1990: ''Frequency'' (S.O.R. Recordings) *1991: ''Shades'' (

ZTT ZTT Records is a British record label founded in 1983 by record producer Trevor Horn, Horn's wife and businesswoman Jill Sinclair, and ''NME, New Musical Express'' (NME) journalist Paul Morley. The label's name was also stylised as ZANG TUMB TUUM ...

) - UK #51 *1992: ''The Album'' (

)

Singles

*1991: "Homicide"/"Exorcist" - UK #53 *1991: "Sweet Sensation" - UK #54 *1991: "The Sound of Eden" - #35 *1991: "Extacy" - UK #16 *1993: "Sweet Revival (Keep It Comin')" - UK #61 *1993: "The Sound of Eden" (reissue) - UK #37 *1994: "The Wandering Dragon" - UK #55 *1997: "Psycho Base" - UK #57

References

External links

*
Page on ZTT Records official website
{{Authority control Hardcore techno music groups English electronic music groups English dance music groups English techno music groups English house music groups Breakbeat hardcore music groups ZTT Records artists