THEY DON'T HOLD BACK.THEY LET IT GO, LET IT FLOW, COMIC RELIEF & ALL. WITH 14 NEW TRACKS TO RESUSCITATE YOUR DEAD BRAIN CELLS, THE HERBALISER RETURNS WITH THEIR 3rd LP, FREAKIN THAT PSEUDO-INTERNATIONAL ESPIONAGE AGENT FEEL TO THE FULLEST. WITH INSTRUMENTAL TRACKS LIKE "MISSING SUITCASE" & "GOLDRUSH", (IMPLEMENTING THE FULL 7 PIECE CREW), IT'S DIFFICULT TO TELL WHAT'S LIVE & WHAT'S LOOPED.

"SIT BACK, RELAX & BE COOL , RECLINE" ROOTS MANUVA OF NINJA TUNE AFFILIATED LABEL BIG DADA, WILL HELP YOU TO UNWIND WITH "STARLIGHT". FLOATING IN MID AIR, BALLROOM STYLE, EYEBROW RAISING VIBRAPHONE LINES DESCEND THEN ASCEND TO A SMILE. AND THERE'S NOTHING BETTER THAN AN EMCEE WHO SHEDS LIGHT WITH THEIR WORDS & CAN SING SOULFULLY IN TUNE.

"LIFE IS LIKE A ROAD WITH MANY SIGNS, WITH MANY TURNS, MANY STOPS, MANY LINES." WORDS TO LIVE BY WOVEN THROUGH A BEAT SO MELANCHOLIC YOU COULD CRY YET SUPRISINGLY OPTOMISTIC. NO WONDER THIS UPLIFTING TRACK FEATURING THE DREAM WARRIORS IS THE SINGLE. PHILOSOPHY CAN BE QUITE WEIGHTY THOUGH, & THANKS TO THE HERBALISER'S SENSE OF BALANCE, VERSATILITY & GOOD TIMING, THAT LAUGH YOU NEEDED ALL DAY IS ONLY BREATHS & STEPS AWAY.

IN "THE SENSUAL WOMAN", A TRACK INSPIRED BY A SCENE IN "DIRTY HARRY", YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF IMMEDIATELY ARROUSED(OR JUST PLAIN EMBARRASSED). SUBTLEY SCANDALOUS FLUTE PROGRESSIONS OF SEXUAL INNUENDO SLITHER SEDUCTIVELY AS HYPNOTIC BEATS OF RYTHMIC CHILD BEARING HIPS PULSATE LASCIVIOUSLY SIDE TO SIDE. (I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE JELLO THOUGH...).

"SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE I NEED A LITTLE SOUL" HOW ABOUT YOU? TRACK 11, "SHATTERED SOUL" IS A QUICK FIX. NO WORDS COULD CONVEY THE VELOCITY OF THIS INSTRUMENTAL MASTERPIECE.

THE LAST 2 TRACKS ARE MILESTONES FOR THE CREW. THEY NEVER ANTICIPATED COLLABORATION WITH "QUEEN ORDER IN THE PHYSICAL" BAHAMADIA (ONE OF THEIR FAVORITE FEMALE WORDSMITHS), OR MAVERICK UNDERGROUND UK RAPPER, BLADE. IN "WHEN I SHINE", BAHAMADIA FLOWS FLUIDLY, FLUENTLY ALONGSIDE A FUNKY GUITAR PROCESSION ENVELOPED BY MYSTERIOUS KAMITIAN UNDERTONES. BITTEN BY THE MILLINIUM BUG, BLADE'S LYRICS ARE FEVERISH WITH DENSITY & CONVICTION IN "MIND IN THE FRAME", A REFRESHING CHANGE COMPARED TO TYPICAL HIP HOP BRAGGERY. BUT WHAT'S SO TYPICAL ABOUT A CREW THAT LET'S HIP HOP BE: COMPOSITIONALLY BEAUTIFUL YET BRUTALLY HONEST?

WELL.......WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR........?????

THE HERBALISER

SAMPLE DRIVEN HIP HOP BEATS CAREFULLY COMBINED WITH LIVE FUNK GROOVES & SCRATCHING AT A THOUROUGHLY ORCHESTRATED LEVEL.

A CREW OF 7 MUSICIANS LEAD BY JAKE WHERRY & OLLIE TEEBA, THE HERBALISER MAKES IT ALL SOUND SO SIMPLE. WHATEVER YOUR MOOD, WHATEVER YOUR MOMENT, THEY'VE MANIFESTED IT. LET INSPIRATIONAL INSTRUMENTALS ELEVATE YOUR SOUL WHILE LYRICAL TRACKS FEATURING: ROOTS MANUVA(UK), DREAM WARRIORS (CANADA), BLADE(UK), WHAT WHAT(US), & BAHAMADIA(US), MOTIVATE YOUR GOALS. AND YOU DIDN'T THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE. WELL, IT ALL STARTED WITH...

JAKE, THE COMPUTER WHIZZING BOOKWORM OF BOTH JAZZ/FUNK/SOUL BANDS THE "PROPHETEERS" & THE "MEATEATERS", HAD HIS EARS ACCUSTOMED TO ARTISTS SUCH AS JOHN COLTRANE, QUINCEY JONES, CANNONBALL ADDERLY, LEROY HUTSON & JAMES BROWN AT AN EARLY AGE. NATURALLY, HIS INTRESTS PROGRESSED INTO RARE GROOVE & HIP HOP, & DREAMS OF A GROUP SEEMED OH SO TANTALIZING. ALTHOUGH MUCH OF HIS TIME IN THE STUDIO IS CONSUMED BY PRODUCTION, YOU CAN ALWAYS CATCH HIM ON STAGE PLAYING BASS AT AN HERBALISER SHOW. THEN THERES OLLIE, THE TRAINER OBSESSING, FILM BUFFING DJ, INSPIRED BY THE LIKES OF MILES DAVIS, RAMSEY LEWIS, JIMMY SMITH & LALO SCHIFFRIN. HAD HIS FATHER ALLOWED HIM TO EXPERIMENT WITH HIS OWN PERSONAL TURNTABLE, OLLIE MIGHT HAVE NEVER BEEN COMPELLED TO BUY THE 1 UNIT, NEOLITHIC, YARD SALE PHONOGRAPH THAT TRULY INITIATED HIM INTO THE ART OF TURNTABLISM. THANKS DAD! IN ADDITION TO HIS WORK WITH THE HERBALISER, HE HAS ALSO COMPILED THE SERIES FOR BEECHWOOD "CLASSIC HIP HOP MASTERCUTS".

IN 1984 WHILE OLLIE WAS LACING UP HIS LATEST PUMAS TO PREP FOR A CRATE DIGGIN EXCURSION, JAKE & P.C.(OF DJ FOOD) WERE PLAYING GUITAR IN THEIR FIRST SCHOOL BAND. THIS IS WHEN THE HERBALISER BECAME A GLIMMER IN AN EYE. EIGHT YEARS LATER JAKE DECIDED TO BUILD A STUDIO,TRAINTRAX HE APPROPRIATELY NAMED IT(YOU MIGHT EVEN HEAR ONE IN THE BACKGROUND IF YOU LISTEN FOR IT). A SHORT TIME AFTER, OLLIE & MALACHI(FELLOW HERBALISER DJ) DRIFTED INTO TRAINTRAX TO RECORD A DEMO. A MUTUAL LOVE FOR HIP HOP & "DUSTY" GROOVES GAVE BIRTH TO A SERIES OF COLLABORATIONS WHICH THEN EVOLVED INTO THE HERBALISER.TAKEN FROM PETER HERBOLZEIMER THE SWISS JAZZ COMPOSER, THEIR MUSIC PUTS YOU ON HIGH, REMEDIES ANY AILMENTS & LEAVES YOU LEVITATING. IN ADDITION TO OLLIE & JAKE DJING GLOBALLY, THE HERBALISER IN IT'S ENTIRITY TOURS AS WELL. FROM PRAGUE TO MONTREAL, OVER 200 LIVE PERFORMANCES & THEY DONT STOP. THEY'RE CONSTANTLY REINVENTING THEMSELVES. NO, THEY'RE NOT TRYING TO SAVE THE WORLD FROM POVERTY OR STARVATION...YET, OR PROVE THAT THEY SURPASS THE REST. THEY'RE SIMPLE,JUST TRYIN TO MAKE GOOD MUSIC THAT REFLECTS THE QUALITY & VERSATILITY OF THEIR TASTE.WHAT COULD BE BETTER?

THE PLAYERS: KAIDI TATHAM (RHODES/CLAVINET/MOOG), RALPH LAMB(TRUMPET/FLUGLE HORN), ANDY ROSS (FLUTE, TENOR/BARITONE SAX), CHRIS BOWDEN (ALTO/SOPRANO SAX), PATRICK DAWES (PERCUSSION), MICKY MOODY (DRUMS) JAKE WHERRY (BASS+BEATS). OLLIE TEEBA (SCRATCHING)

PREVIOUS PERFORMANCES:GLASTONBURY '97, LUX CINEMA, ROTTERDAM FILM FESTIVAL, RONNIE SCOTTS & MONTREUX & MONTREAL JAZZ FESTIVALS

DISCOGRAPHY: 'THE REAL KILLER'/'BLOWIN IT' 12"(JAN.95), 'REPETIVE
LOOP'/'SCRATCHY NOISE' 12"(MAY'95), 'REMEDIES' CD/2LP(OCT.95), 'THE FLAWED HIP HOP EP' 12"CDS(NOV.96) 'BLOW YOUR HEADPHONES' CD/2LP(MAR.97), 'NEW & IMPROVED'/'CONTROL CENTRE' 12"/CDS(FEB.97), 'THE BLEND' 12"CDS(MAY'97), 'WALL CRAWLING GIANT INSECT BREAKS' 12"/CDS(JULY'98)

REMIXES INCLUDE: "EAST FLATBUSH PROJECT" (TRIED BY 12), "LAMB" (BASSLINE), "MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO" (PRIME AUDIO SOUP)