One Two Three

In 1993 Sabres Of Paradise remixed Wrexham dance music outfit K- Klass. In 1991, following a tour as support for 808 State, K- Klass had a hit single with the magnificent house tune Rhythm Is A Mystery. The following year they signed to Deconstruction, a record label with Mike Pickering on board that was home to Bassheads and Kylie Minogue after she left PWL. Andy Carroll (not the long- haired former Newcastle and Liverpool striker) and James Barton were the residents at Cream, Liverpool's soon to be superclub, and Carroll was involved with K- Klass (who he helped sign to DeConstruction)). Andrew Weatherall DJed in The Annexe at Cream regularly (we were often there) and I'm making the assumption that at some point pre or post- club night, Andy or some one from K- Klass asked Weatherall if he and Sabres would do a remix for them. 

By 1993 Weatherall had moved from Balearic dance into techno, mining the darker seam deeper and deeper. His sets at Cream were techno with a dash of house. By '93 the remixes were usually more techno- oriented too, partly because that's where his head and listening habits were at, and partly so he could produce remixes that he could play out to a crowd. The two Sabres remixes of K- Klass are a little overlooked but both a stunning pieces of work, very 1993 and all the better for it. 

The Sabres of Paradise Mix # starts out with cowbell and hi hats, some hissing percussion sounds and then after about a minute of intro the kick drum begins thudding away, industrial techno ahoy, and a gorgeous squiggly synth topline appears. The snares begin crashing away. The synthlines oscillate and at just under four minutes, some long, descending synth strings chords hit- there's some melancholy in there among the driving rhythms, some of ambient techno's ability to tug at the heartstrings seeping in. On and on it goes, ten minutes of 1993 splendour. 

One Two Three (Sabres Of Paradise Mix #1)

Sabres Mix #2 steps up a notch, opening with blaring sirens- a call when in a club to throw your hands in the air, for the whistlers to whistle and the whoopers to whoop- and then the kick drum, much more distorted this time, threatening your speakers. The squiggles and synths are even wiggier, everything pushed a little further, the knobs turned further to the right and the needles further into the red. There's a breakdown at three and a half minutes, those descending synths chords and an echo- laden hiss, before the drums re- enter and a piano melody starts to tinkle away on top- we're not even at the halfway point yet, there are six minutes still to go- and some classic Sabres percussion and drum sounds brought in (the Sabresonic album was released a month earlier and many of the same sounds are all over that record). More sirens at eight minutes. More drums. That delightful, slightly mournful piano line. Sleek, modern sounds made for dancing to but three decades later still sounding pretty perfect for home and for headphones.

One Two Three (Sabres Of Paradise Mix #2)

If you're looking for the remixes on vinyl, they can be picked up second hand. Sabres Mix #1 of One Two Three (or 1, 2, 3) can be found fairly easily and cheaply on the 12" and CD single of K- Klass' Let Me Show You (itself a good slice of 1993 house)- there are copies of this release on Discogs from £3.37 upwards. If you want the vinyl release that includes the Sabres Mix #2 you'll need the white label release which will set you back a bit more. It's currently for sale on Discogs for £250 (I'd be surprised if the seller gets that for it but who knows, Weatherall related vinyl prices have skyrocket in the last two years. Copies have sold for anywhere between £20 and £50 in the past).