Jon Hassell/808 State: Voiceprint

My copy of this isn't quite the same as the one shown in the MusicBrainz link below or on Jon Hassell's web site, both of which I think refer to the 1993 release. My 12" single is from 1990, with slightly different artwork to that on the Hassell site, and has just three tracks: the 808 Mix Two - Latin In It Mix, the 808 Mix One and the original album version.

I don't really see the point of these remixes. I may be being unfair — in fact I almost certainly am — but 808 State don't seem to have taken, or been given, much licence with the original: they've mainly replaced the bassline with something more regular and danceable, and generally filled out the 'bottom end'. The cynic in me wonders if the point was just to grab some attention for the fact the Hassell was no longer just doing lush, airy, ambient music, and to help him reach a dance/electronica audience or whatever. The effect on me seems to have been that I haven't bought another Hassell recording since this.

I remember a possibly apocryphal story about Hassell leaving a floppy disk (remember them?) in 808 State's studio, and when he found out he rang up in a panic and insisted that they send it to him tout de suite. 808 State sneaked a peak at the disk first, though, and found that it contained Hassell's trademark breathy trumpet sound. That was it: the secret of his career in a few kilobytes.

MusicBrainz entry for this album