at a glance...

Hometown: Liverpool, England
First Recordings: 1993

Members:
Trevor Gray -keyboards, vocals
Howard Gray -backing vocals
Noko -vocals, guitar, keyboards

Related artists:
Luxuria, EMF, U2, Shabba Ranks

Notes:
Apollo 440 were formed in 1990 by brothers Trevor and Howard Gray with their schoolmate Niko, formerly the guitarist for Luxuria. The band initially began to create a name for themselves on their own Stealth label in '93 with the singles "Blackout," "Destiny" and "Lolita," but became widely recognized for their remix collaborations with artists such as Shabba Ranks, Liz Francis ("Rhythm of Life"), U2 and EMF. They continued recording on Stealth records using snippets of musical classics from the past to amplify their own sound, producing club singles such as "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and "Krupa." The band finally released their debut album Millennium Fever in '95 followed closely by their '97 Sony release Electro Glide In Blue featuring the single "Ain't Talking Bout Dub" which earned them a spot in the UK's Top Ten and paved the way for future psychedelic smashes to come.

A monsoon has just arrived. It pours down relentlessly in a sweaty mix of synthesizer, breakbeat and spastic electronica. But with this rain also comes the thundering of horns, piano, bongo and bass, fun-loving free-styling and what might be considered the eerie transient blips and beeps of some distant UFO. But I assure you, it's all quite human. The sound is that of Apollo 440's latest aural assault - appropriately entitled Gettin' High On Your Own Supply - an impressive addition to a growing assembly of modern techno.

Gettin' High is Apollo 440's latest release and the follow-up to '97's Electro Glide In Blue featuring the wonderfully abrasive single "Ain't Talkin' Bout Dub" which incorporated musical samples from Van Halen. But Gettin' High boasts its own set of promising singles such as the time-warp trippy "Stop The Rock" as well as the theme song for 1998's "Lost In Space." And then the disc sweeps on - zigging from "The Machine In The Ghost's" sultry sonic slide to a rockin' power punch of industrial breakbeat in "Blackbeat."

Unafraid to stray outside of the realm of modular percussion that classifies most techno, Apollo 440 seem to have created a new facet for themselves. Gettin' High is a perfect example of a band blazing their own trail, and having a hell of a good time doing so.

If you like Apollo 440, check out:
Death In Vegas The Contino Sessions
Orb Orblivion
Future Sound Of London Dead Cities
Orbital In Sides
Everything But The Girl Walking Wounded

-- Johanna Ravich

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