UK collection. 1989 had been a long hot summer, but 1990 felt longer and hotter. Since the house music explosion of 1987, Britain had had a whistle in it’s mouth, and it needed a lie down. February 1990 brought two records that were made to accompany the sunrise and would shape the immediate future: The KLF’s “Chill Out” was a continuous journey, a woozy, reverb-laden mix; and Andrew Weatherall’s drastic remix of a Primal Scream album track – ‘Loaded’ – slowed down the pace on the dancefloor itself, right down to 98 beats per minute. Within weeks of ‘Loaded’ and “Chill Out” emerging, a whole wave of similarly chilled, floaty, mid-tempo records appeared. The charts were full of chugging Soul II Soul knock-offs, but further out were amazingly atmospheric records such as the Grid’s ‘Floatation’, which married the new-age relaxation method du jour with Jane Birkin-like breathy sighs; BBG’s ‘Snappiness’, which was all sad synth pads and Eric Satie piano; and the Aloof’s ‘Never Get Out Of The Boat’, which re-imagined Apocalypse Now as if it had been shot in Uxbridge. This was a modernist sound, grabbing bits of the past, the feel of the immediate now, and creating something entirely new. There was a notable 90s-does-60s vibe, a neo-psychedelia that didn’t involve guitars. For a moment, or at least for a summer, it felt like the perfect future had already arrived. Fell From The Sun encapsulates that moment.

Tracklist

1. Higher Than the Sun (Higher Than the Orb) (Extended Mix) – Primal Scream
2. It Could Not Happen (Essential Trance Hall Mix) – Critical Rhythm Feat Jango Thriller & Vandal
3. Cascades (Hypnotone Mix) – Sheer Taft
4. Afrika (Love and Laughter Remix) – History Feat Q-Tee
5. Floatation (Original Version) – The Grid
6. Speedwell (Radio Edit) – Saint Etienne
7. Fallen (Album Version) – One Dove
8. Temple Head (Pacific Mix – Airwaves) – Transglobal Underground
9. Just a Little Bit More (Electro Instrumental Mix) – Massonix
10. U Make Me Feel (Running Water AKA Workhouse Mix) – Elsi Curry
11. I Dont Even Know if I Should Call You Baby (Marshall Jefferson Symphony Mix) – Soul Family Sensation
12. Snappiness (7 Edit) – Bbg
13. Never Get Out the Boat (The Flying Mix) – The Aloof
14. Spiritual High (The Moodfood Megamix) Moodswings