Liquid Liquid - Slip In and Out of the Phenomenon (Domino)
5/5
By: Sam Crawford
With a band like Liquid Liquid, it's important to highlight the context in which this material came to be, and the impact it has had on modern music.
In the early 80's, the great post punk scene was emerging, with bands such as Public Image Ltd. and Magazine championing this stripped down, art based sound with more challenging musical structures than those delivered in the punk scene. While the U.K. was at the forefront of this movement, New York at that time was also a melting pot for creativity, with artists in the underground scene really branching out and embracing everything that was around them into their music. New York led the No Wave movement, which tied in with post punk but focused greatly on raw and improvised performances, creating music which often followed along very loosely coherent structures.
99 Records was a small indie label at the forefront of this hugely influential underground scene and contained renowned artists like Glenn Branca, who was very instrumental to Sonic Youth's sound. Liquid Liquid were another band on this label, and though they only released three EP's, all on 99 records, they have had a massive yet often forgotten impact on music. 99 Records crashed and burned long ago, with its story making interesting reading, but its legacy lives on, and the highly expensive prices with which original 99 records go for now is testament to the importance of the label and the artists which it featured, with new wave dance punk and DFA releases owing much to 99 and Liquid Liquid, who were also responsible for one of the most famous and heavily sampled bass riffs of all time.
Slip In and Out of the Phenomenon is a retrospective collection of the three EP's that Liquid Liquid created under 99 records, and also contains previously unreleased and live tracks.
The sound is heavily percussive, with the elements following the loosest of structures; giving the sound a very raw and improvised feel. Drums, bongos, marimbas and more all magically flow through the music, with the bass delivering repetitive catchy riffs which hold the songs together. Vocals howl incomprehensibly over the top, being completely devoid of pretension and holding captivating spirit.
Songs like 'Groupmegroup' contain unprocessed samba style sounds, and you can also see the early hip hop releases at that time were influential to the beat of this track, and others. The percussion on 'Lub Dope' travels in sporadic rambling bursts like a drunken man stumbling his way down the street and has a brilliant melting feeling to it.
'Bellhead' has a real danceable element to it, with the marimba beating out cheerful sounds while bells and drums whack out over it, the vocals entering with monosyllabic yelps, and 'Optimo' is an absolutely legendary tune, racing along with quick tempo and awash with huge amounts of percussive wonder alongside a pulsing bass riff and vocals that wail out with gleeful ululation. You can really see how this has been used as a template for so many dance tracks, and DFA records and LCD Soundsystem have definitely been influenced heavily by this.
'Cavern' is the holy grail of this CD and Liquid Liquid's most recognisable and lasting memory in music. The immensely catchy bass line that runs through this song is a classic, and was sampled by Sugarhill Gang on 'White Lines'; yes, you know the one. It's gone on to be sampled countless times; Duran Duran and Big Audio Dynamite also utilising this monumental riff.
Slip In and Out of the Phenomenon is a blueprint for many modern dance and punk tracks, its release by Domino is a timely reminder for us to delve deep into the roots of the music that we hold dear, and thanks bands like Liquid Liquid for the deep impression they have left all around us.
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