Previously named Alone Again Or (after the song by Arthur Lee's Love) who had released two singles by 1985, the Shamen came into existance in 1986, in Aberdeen, Scotland. Their early sound could be described as heavy psychedelic rock, and they had a relatively normal 'drums, bass, guitar, vocals' set up for the recording of their earlier releases.
The underground hip-hop movement had enraptured band member Colin Angus by this time, and their following ventures saw them heading slowly towards the dance movement, although this was intitially less obvious in their recorded output. An early E.P., 'They May Be Right . . .' featured 'Happy Days', a scathing attack on the Conservative government policies during the 1982 Falklands war, which helped gain a single of the week award from Sounds magazine.
More psychedelia references appeared with their next release, 'Young Till Yesterday', featuring two Syd Barrett cover versions, and the debut album 'Drop' (1987), was a heady mixture of organ, disjointed guitars, that showed an inkling of the 60's 'freakbeat' sound that the band admired.
In 1987-88, a display of tendency towards revolutionary re-invention saw their sound take on hard-egded rhythms, guitar feedback, samples, overtly political rhetoric, as well as peppering live performances and videos with explicit images of sex and violence. This drew attention and anger from feminists, politicians and (after single 'Jesus Loves Amerika') religious groups. The album 'In Gorbachev We Trust' saw their first forays into trance inducing dance beats, which the band continued to explore whilst other, younger bands had taken their lead and fused indie and dance to much success (Jesus Jones, EMF).
Their next live outings with the 'Synergy' tour, featured rappers and light shows, taking the band further from their rock roots, and setting a path that was pursued for the next four years. Just as these experiments were approaching commercial success, band member Will Sinnott drowned in 1991. His family sanctioned the release of a remixed version of 'Move Any Mountain', ensuring that a positive message was left by his untimely departure from the world, with the single reaching the UK top 10.
New member Mr C. had already joined before this tragic loss, and his subsequent handling of lead vocals and rapping led many hardcore fans to desert the group believing them to be clawing for chart success rather than experimenting with new soundscapes. The album 'Boss Drum' spawned hit singles 'L.S.I.' and the no.1 single 'Ebenezer Goode', which again saw the band criticised, this time for promoting illegal drug use (something they'd been promoting all along if anyone had cared to pay attention).
Undaunted, the Shamen continued, and further releases saw them returning to the experimental path when their drug notoriety had become old news, although to be fair, they had simply been their usual inquisitive selves throughout. Top ten hits no longer forthcoming, the band were again embraced as leading forces in the transcendental dance movement, with their left-field past threatening to rear it's head again at some point in the future.
IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOU'LL LIKE THE SHAMEN: Gang of Four, The Pop Group, Wire, The Beloved, 808 State, Meat Beat Manifesto, Happy Mondays, Orbital, Primal Scream, The KLF.