Two Tribes 30 years on!

Today being the 30th anniversary of the UK release of Frankie's Two Tribes, it has made me think back in time (again!).

As part of the class of '84, I can honestly say that it was on hearing Two Tribes for the first time that edged me towards record production rather than just being in a band......?

I have always listened to tracks in detail, hearing hidden riffs and percussion parts, etc, rather than just "the song".

Two Tribes has tons of depth, and hits you like a sledghammer: It leaves me feeling exhausted after listening to the original 7" radio mix!

This experience made me aware of the impact a song can have, and the role of the producer in this process.

The art of the 12" started with TT, as well: amazing to think, I bought a copy of Two Tribes every week for 2 months...! Happy days.....

My pitiful attempts back in the 80's to create songs / music on a par with the tracks I was hearing around that time resulted in immense frustration!

Thats why I simply gave up, realising I could never get where I wanted to be: I had neither the time nor the money to acquire the necessary equipment to produce such a sound.

A decent desk (£50k), a Fairlight (£50k), various synths/outboard, etc (£50k)...and of course, the environment to use it in (...erm, £50k?)...was never going to happen anytime soon....!

HOWEVER.....roll forward 30 years, and I now have the necessary equipment in my relatively modest studio environment...for a fraction of the cost, and 10 times more flexible.....

So...my mission now is simply to carry on where I left off: I'm attempting to create what I yearned to create IN THE 80's, and kinda "finish the job", so to speak....?

I'm trying to only use sounds / effects, etc, that would have been available then, rather than splattering my creations with 21st century plug-ins, and modern sounds......Dubstep doesn't really interest me, you know.....! :-)

I DO use VSTi's / plug-ins, and dont believe in using vintage for vintage's sake...the modern plug-ins are REALLY good: you'd need to A-B them with the real thing solo to tell any significant difference...and in the mix?  Forget it!

I have to blame Trevor Horn for getting me here today.......the seeds were sown back in the day, and I reckon Two Tribes was the deal maker for me........?

So many thanks, Trev..! :-)

I hold Trevor Horm personally responsible for me spending the last 30 years (on and off)