Saint Etienne, Foxbase Alpha

Posted on 17th Jun 09 by Aoibheann Maguire | 3

Eighteen years ago, Saint Etienne released their debut album Foxbase Alpha at a time when gig goers were partying hard in an ecstasy of rave. For a band that produced subtle dreamy dance-pop they could have been sidelined, to the discount baskets of record stores, in favour of harder, faster though invariably lesser groups. However, fans of the band will know that this could never have been the case. Their songs were pure pop genius, and even though the album didn’t fare well in the charts, they had captured the hearts of many a muso.

Besides, thanks to the rising popularity of DJ culture during the 80s, clubbers ears had been opened to an array of genres, and tracks like Saint Etienne’s dub version of Neil Young’s Only Love Can Break your Heart and their anthemic Nothing Can Stop Us quickly became firm favourites at get-downs across Britain and beyond (insert your own depiction of smiling clubbers with hands in the air here).

They fused the softer side of dance music with full length 60s-style songs

Nineteen ninety-one, the year of Saint Etienne’s debut release, and a peak year in dance music history also brought us such landmark albums as Orbital (otherwise known as the green album) by Britain’s revered electronic sibling duo Orbital. They’re similarly doing the rounds, of summer gigs and festivals, to celebrate their 20 years in the music industry (they formed in 1989). At the start of June, they released a collection of some of their most popular tracks titled Orbital 20 which like Saint Etienne’s re-mastered release, of Foxbase Alpha, features some new mixes. The reissue of Foxbase Alpha comes with a second disc featuring b-sides and five previously unreleased tracks. That same year (1991) The KLF shouted at us to board the Last Train to Trancentral from their album The White Room. While 808 State were pushing electronic music into the mainstream with, album number five, Ex:el which reached number four in the UK album charts.

Luckily, Saint Etienne was forming a niche sound. They fused the softer side of dance music with full length 60s-style songs, and thus became key players in defining the indie-dance genre. They impressed the house and indie fans, of the time, with their acid-house meets 60s soul-tinged pop songs. Plus, Foxbase Alpa stood out because the songs were cleverly bound by interesting samples from films and songs. As a band, they certainly weren’t offering the angst of the emerging grunge scene of ’91, but they were providing us with classic pop songs that would stand the test of time. They were doing their thing, and they did it in a dignified nonchalance and a consummated coolness that made them stand out from the crowd. It helped, to get the band noticed that they had a cracking front woman and a playful songstress in, Essex girl, Sarah Cracknell.

Named after the French football team A.S. Saint-Étienne, the group was initially formed in North London by music journalist (and now pitchfork contributor) Bob Stanley who plays keyboards/ xylophone/ synthesisers, and his childhood friend Pete Wiggs who also handles keyboards and programming. Cracknell (the daughter of Stanley Kubrick‘s first assistant director Derek Cracknell) was later recruited as a full time vocalist. Initially, the band was intent on using a variety of vocalists: Moira Lambert sang on their 1990 single Only Love Can Break Your Heart, and Donna Savage performed on the single Kiss and Make Up. Cracknell lent her vocals to Nothing Can Stop Us and ended up doing the rest of the vocals on Foxbase Alpha, becoming their permanent vocalist from there on. The band was judged, by music critics, for being heavily stylised and a concept band – clearly intent on fusing rare 60s sounds with modern music. The view of some music-media being that the band was overly pretentious. Regardless of this, Saint Etienne continued to unashamedly indulge in their love of popular culture: referencing Lord of the Flies and the Beach Boys in their second album, So Tough. They also continued to make hits including: He’s on the Phone and You’re in a Bad Way, and a variety of films about London.

The choice of venue seems a bit off kilter given the bands dictum that they had picked: “non seated venues so you can rock your socks off like it’s 1991”

Now almost twenty years on, to celebrate the 18^th birthday of Foxbase Alpha, this hugely significant band, who have produced seven studio albums and countless hit singles (including releases under the guise of Cola Boy) are about to take to the stage in Cork’s sparsely packed, all seated, Opera House. The choice of venue seems a bit off kilter given the bands dictum that they had picked: “non seated venues so you can rock your socks off like it’s 1991”. Seated gigs are odd at the best of times – after all music is designed to make you dance, but when you know you are definitely going to dance they tend to become a little bit awkward. It also seems a pity that in a city with such a vibrant clubbing history that too few people have come to witness what will be a very memorable gig, and a step back in time for many – given that every DJ has a Saint Etienne vinyl (or at least an Andrew Weatherall’s superb dub heavy 1990 mix of Only Love Can Break Your Heart [A Mix of Two Halves].

There is nothing showy about the stage tonight: mixing desk/keyboards/mike/ table and chairs with an ominous box of roses on top? It looks like it’s – half set up for the gig – half arranged for a rural Irish play. When the band emerges, it seems that two decades on their sense of style is as sharp as ever. Sarah in a French-chic tweed suit and Bob in a shiny silver one: both cut striking figures. Sarah flings the chocolates into the crowd before they launch into the songs off the classic Foxbase Alpha album. The backdrop of architecture/dancers/icons in the retro visuals are slick, and the songs have clearly stood the test of time. There is only about forty of us in the crowd, but we’re all having a ball. The crowd scream and roar at every lull. When Nothing Can Stop Us is played everyone gets up off their seats and prances around. This Is Radio Etienne and This Is Tomorrow (Richard X Mix) are greeted with an equal reaction. The blissed-out sound, of Stoned to Say the Least, provides a real sense of just how ambient Saint Etienne can be.

The band is amusingly relaxed on stage: a Daffy Duck cartoon runs during the interval. Then they play 1993’s Who Do you Think you Are and their most recent release Method of Modern Love as well as a finale encore, to a delighted audience, of He’s on the Phone. And although I have been a fan since childhood, I get the sneaking suspicion, during the last few songs, that this gig isn’t entirely aimed at the likes of me. It’s more for the 50- year-olds beside me, giving it socks 18 years on, hands still firmly in the air: a fitting tribute to an unstoppable album.

Photos by Aoibheann Maguire

Saint Etienne Site

Saint Etienne on MySpace

Tags: Bob Stanley, Foxbase Alpha, Orbital, Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell