On May 27 One Little Indian unleash Before During After (artwork above), a three-disc collection of remasters, remixes and rarities from south London band The Woodentops. Including their remastered output from 1982-1992, the retrospective also explores some rather interesting adaptations such as Tony Johns & Dave Boreham’s Balearic re-edit of ‘Why Why Why’, Arthur Baker’s unheard dub of ‘Give It Time’ and Adrian Sherwood’s dub mix of ‘Keep a Knockin’ which is lovingly previewed below:
First sounding like an apocalyptic carnival, the track then descends into pounding industrial hammering before the gradual reintroduction of chopped, frantic, danceable rhythms – not an entirely unanticipated direction, given that Ibiza’s nascent Balearic scene fully embraced the band in the eighties.
The Woodentops frontman Rolo McGinty explains: "I wanted to fuse hi energy old school rock and roll with futuristic block beat. I asked Keith LeBlanc from Sugarhill Gang and Tackhead if he would reprogramme my drum track in his NYC hip hop style knowing the high tempo was not his comfort zone. ‘Mix it all up a bit!’ Keith copied my cassette bar by bar into his Dmx. His style leaps out. Adrian’s mix had the studio walls shaking in Tottenham Court with that helicopter bass. This much deeper mix has never been released previously.” Rolo provides further commentaries for the tracklisting, included in the collection’s liner notes.
Before During After encompasses re-mastered versions of their two albums, Giant and Wooden Foot Cops On The Highway, as well as a plethora of live, alternate and remixed takes plus an array of tracks that give an alluring glimpse into how a third album could have sounded.
To catch the band live, their only UK date is a set at London’s Dingwalls on June 23 – get hold of tickets here.
