FM|CLASSIC ALBUM
Deconstruction, 1993
What a time to pull a rewind on a dance album from the UK golden era. This K-Klass classic, featuring tracks that dominated pop charts and helped define the template for acts that followed, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
Full of catchy hooks, deep beats, soaring vocals, and arrangements ahead of the curve, this one holds a special place in the hearts of misty-eyed ravers, and clubbers their kids’ age, getting hooked on house music history.
The duo of Paul Roberts and Russ Morgan fly the flag for K-Klass today. But, the act started life with extra players: Andy Williams and Carl Thomas having helped kickstart the music making at the very beginning.
In classic fashion they all bonded over a love of clubbing, and started tinkering with bits of kit after late nights bopping.
Bitten by the bug, Paul began assembling his own hardware setup, putting his British Telecom redundancy money to good use in the process.
“I used the payout to buy myself a Roland TR-505 keyboard that wasn’t even MIDI,” he says. “My dad virtually kicked me out the house after that! He only apologised, later, when we had a record in the charts [laughs].”
That record was the bonafide smash hit Rhythm Is A Mystery. An obvious highpoint on this debut album, and a jam that continues to make “Greatest Dance Singles Of All-Time” lists today.
Surprisingly, for the era, the vocals weren’t a sample. Careerspanning K-Klass singer (and Paul’s wife), Bobbi Depasois, provided the timeless topline.
“We thought everybody was doing it,” says Russ. “Bassheads, N-Joi, and Bizarre Inc…It wasn’t until later that you realised all those acts were just a pile of samples. And we were literally one of the only ones taking the time to write our own original vocals, and be successful with it. Looking back, that’s something we’re very proud of.”
There’s plenty of other sources of pride to be found on this LP, matey. So, sit back as Paul and Russ break down the career-starting album that’s kept them filling clubs since it first dropped way back in 1993.
Track by track with Paul Roberts and Russ Morgan
1, 2, 3
Russ Morgan: “This track was started in Blueprint Studios in Manchester. But, we came away with nothing at the end of that session. There ended up being some great sounds on that track, though.
“All the saw-tooth sounds and stuff like that came off the Kurzweil [K2000]. There’s also a siren at the beginning that was a preset on the [Korg] Wavestation that was just one of a series of really interesting arpeggiated effects that were new to us on that machine.
“And it was around that time as well that dance music in general was getting a little bit tougher and a little bit more linear in its production. And I think t
