Ultra-Obscene

Ultra-Obscene
Studio album by
Breakbeat Era
Released1999 (1999)
StudioStudio Drum, Bristol
GenreDrum and bass
Length74:10
LabelXL
ProducerRoni Size, DJ Die
Singles from Ultra-Obscene
  1. "Breakbeat Era"
    Released: 1998
  2. "Ultra-Obscene"
    Released: 1999
  3. "Bullitproof"
    Released: 2000

Ultra-Obscene is the debut studio album by Breakbeat Era, a collaborative project consisting of Roni Size, DJ Die, and Leonie Laws.[1] It was released on XL Recordings in 1999. It peaked at number 31 on the UK Albums Chart.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
CMJ New Music Monthlyfavorable[4]
CMJ New Music Reportfavorable[5]
Vibefavorable[6]

Rick Anderson of AllMusic says, "Leonie Laws is not a tuneless singer, by any means, but her approach is more punk than pop, and the instrumental accompaniment is straight out of the 'darkcore' subgenre of drum'n'bass, a style typified by minor chords and creepy, robotic basslines."[3] Laurence Phelan of The Independent called it "the first successful vocal d'n'b album."[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Roni Size, DJ Die, and Leonie Laws

No.TitleLength
1."Past Life"5:24
2."Rancid"5:07
3."Ultra-Obscene"5:03
4."Bullitproof"4:33
5."Breakbeat Era"5:23
6."Time 4 Breaks"4:20
7."Late Morning"6:11
8."Anti-Everything"5:24
9."Animal Machine"3:03
10."Our Disease"5:52
11."Max"0:48
12."Control Freak"5:43
13."Terrible Funk"5:39
14."Sex Change"3:42
15."Life Is My Friend"7:59

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

  • Roni Size – production, mixing
  • DJ Die – production, mixing
  • Leonie Laws – vocals
  • Roger Beaujolais – vibraphone (3, 15)
  • Rob Chant – guitar (3)
  • Jeff Rose – guitar (4, 12, 13)
  • Adrian Utley – guitar (7)
  • Richard Glover – bass guitar (4, 13)
  • Toby Pascoe – drums (8)
  • Max Sedgeley – drums (11)
  • Dave Amso – engineering
  • Andy Henderson – additional engineering
  • Absolute – additional mixing
  • Alex Jenkins – art direction, design, photography

Charts

Chart Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[2] 31

References

  1. ^ Comer, M. Tye (November 1999). "Dawning of a New Era". CMJ New Music Monthly: 26–28.
  2. ^ a b "Breakbeat Era". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b Anderson, Rick. "Ultra-Obscene - Breakbeat Era". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  4. ^ Pratt, Sarah (October 1999). "Breakbeat Era: Ultra Obscene". CMJ New Music Monthly: 19.
  5. ^ Comer, M. Tye (13 September 1999). "Breakbeat Era: Ultra Obscene". CMJ New Music Report: 3.
  6. ^ Vaziri, Aidin (October 1999). "Breakbeat Era: Ultra Obscene". Vibe: 191.
  7. ^ Phelan, Laurence (28 August 1999). "Music: CD Reviews - Dance". The Independent. Retrieved 26 March 2018.