by Alias

It seems as if new labels are forming everyday. Dedicated to the 'hottest new talent', the most 'progressive' new producers, the 'freshest new sounds', these new labels frequently fail to deliver the goods. Some will release records which are at best patchy attempts at replicating the current sound of the moment, whilst others will inform the world of their boundary-pushing intentions, before proceeding to do little but flood mail boxes with self-congratulatory press releases, forgetting that the actual recorded product is what really matters. Thus it would be easy to dismiss Jive Electro as one such label. A label with ties to the Backstreet Boys, Steps, and Britney Spears has nothing to offer the world of electronica, does it? As a matter of fact, it does.

The world of electronic music is nothing new to Jive. During the 1980s Jive was a different beast to what it is commonly perceived as today. It was an influential mover in the electro scene -- releasing artists such as Whodini, as well as the Jive Rhythm Tracks compilations -- and it also put out an abundant amount of classic hip hop -- artists such as KRS-1, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool Moe Dee, and DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince seeing the light of day through Jive affiliated releases.

Neil Harris and Jennifer Ryan aim to bring back innovation to the Jive label, and it is these two that are the brains behind the new venture. Harris, as well as being a DJ for over fifteen years, was formerly involved with Pete Tong's ffrr label -- home to Goldie, Orbital, Armand Van Helden, All Seeing I, Lucid and Asian Dub Foundation -- running their operations out of London Records. He has also contributed to such publications as "The Source", "Request", and "Hits". Ryan comes to Jive Electro from Concrete Marketing, where she helped set up their electronic music division as well as working on marketing campaigns for artists ranging from the abstract blips and beats of the Aphex Twin, to the more commercial friendly sounds of Fatboy Slim and the Crystal Method.

It was the new breed of electronic producers that inspired both Harris and Ryan to set up Jive Electro, and their debut release sees such luminaries of the new school -- Freestylers, Grooverider, Norman Cook, Rabbit In The Moon, Doc Martin, Aphrodite and Bassbin Twins -- go head to head with the kings of the old school, putting a new spin on undeniably classic tunes. It all makes perfect sense, the compilation emphasising hip hop and electronic music's common roots in the early sounds of electro funk. One could dismiss the concept as a cunning exercise in marketing but, as Harris explains, it could not be further from the truth.

'There were two reasons why we did it. One was to tie in what we are doing with this new division of Jive with what they did in the past; and show that what we do isn't a million miles away from what they do, and we have some very common roots with Jive -- whether it be on the alternative side with people such as the Stone Roses, or on the hip hop side. Secondly, I had all these people calling me up saying 'Hey I'd really love to remix a Tribe track, or a BDP track, or a Whodini track', so I was like 'Ok, let's do this.' I went to Jive and asked if I could open their vaults, and asked whether there be any restrictions, and they said that there wouldn't be. So we called people up that we liked and asked if they would like to remix anything in the vaults, and they gave us their first three preferences and basically went ahead and did it!'

The results are mighty fine indeed. The Freestylers continue their fine tradition of enhancing timeless old school electro classics (see their essential remix of "Breakers Revenge" by Arthur Baker) with their remix of Whodini's "Magic's Wand", Pimp Juice transform A Tribe Called Quest's "Go Ahead In The Rain" into a filtered house treat, Bassbin Twins mash together Boogie Down Productions finest moments into "A Crate Of BDP", while Hybrid turns Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's "Summertime" into an orchestral breakbeat monster. The only dubious inclusion's are the reworkings of the Stone Roses's baggy anthem "Fools Gold", by Grooverider and Rabbit In The Moon respectively, which have received a mixed reaction amongst critics and fans alike.

'I was a little wary of it,' is Harris's assessment of the situation, 'it's a little like repainting the Mona Lisa. It's one of my favourite tracks ever, I used to play it like crazy! I used to DJ this bootleg of it that had this fucked up big horn riff on top of it which made it even better than the original, so I guess I always played a version of it that was fucked up already. People could even say the same thing about A Tribe Called Quest, y'know, why bother changing the original? I personally think both people did a great job, and if I didn't I wouldn't have put them out!'

Jive Electro also plan to release other artists. Their first signing, Groove Armada, have already hit the airwaves in a big way with their infectious "If Everybody Looked The Same", while there are soon to be released records from newcomers Dub Tribe Sound System and Hardknox. 'Dub Tribe Sound System are an American version of travelers,' Harris explains. 'They tour around American playing raves, and they are very eclectic. They move from deep house, to Latin house, to breakbeat, and they play marathon three-hour live sets where everything is mixed together. It's very unique, when they play live they are something else!'

Hardknox, on the other hand, are a harder more breakbeat oriented outfit, with some releases on Damien Harris' Skint label under their belt. 'Their record is extremely aggressive, with a lot of hip hop influences. It has a rock influence too, but they don't have any rock influences, y'know what I mean. The way they program can sometimes sound like Black Sabbath or Killing Joke, and when I tell them that they're always like 'Who?'!'

Harris has already started planning the second instalment of the Old School Vs. New School series, set to feature The Propellerheads' Alex Gifford and Carl Craig, yet he is especially keen on establishing Jive Electro as a major player in the electronic music world. 'We're taking our shot,' he asserts, 'we are concentrating on artists -- we are an artist-oriented label.'

"Old School Vs New School" is out now on Jive Electro.