Hi everyone! Just thought I’d post the first tracklists & copy of the Press Release for my big restrospective album project “Timelines” which is coming out at the end of the month.
It feels wierd to be doing a ‘Greatest Hits’ album now as there’s a gazillion more tunes to come & I’ve just built a new studio for the next wave of work - but hey it’s been 25 years, and lots of this stuff isn’t available or very organised on Spotify & Apple Music so why not. In a way it will be nice to draw a line under all the older & unreleased stuff so I can focus clearly on all the new releases...
The album is in 3 parts - it’s been a beast to put together as there was so much stuff to go through & catalogue properly, and then remaster! There’s a ‘Best of’ (Part 1 - 30 tracks) and then “The Lost Tapes” (Part 2) which is 52 tracks, all remastered off the original DATS, most of which have never been available digitally, or EVER. The 3rd part is a big ‘Lost Tapes’ Soundcloud dump of even more stuff that never got released either, mainly from the early days - some if it pretty embarrasing, but think it’s nice to show where I came from and in some cases tracks where ideas were developed into better tracks later in my career. Part 1 & 2 will be available everywhere digitally as usual but Part 3 just on soundcloud, and I’ll make it available on Bandcamp too - just didn’t want potential new fans to hop on my spotify artist profile, find a load of my random old stuff and think that was where I’m at now lol!
Also a big thank you is owed to the DJs & Artists that have supported me & put so much time & effort in to help me over the years, especially in the early days. I’ll write more about this another time in the future & maybe in a podcast too but wanted to mention a couple while it’s on my mind:
Leroy Small aka DJ SS at Formation Records deserves a special mention for putting up with my probably superannoying nerdy overeagerness back then & put out almost all of my early stuff, including my first album ‘Visions’ & introduced me to all the important people in the scene right from the start - took me on tour to the USA for the first time with the World of Drum & Bass, and always put me on where he could at DJ gigs up in Leicester & label nights around the world. When you listen to the ‘Lost Tapes’ and the Soundcloud dump stuff you start to understand what a big part quality A&R like that goes in to sorting out what came out and what didn’t - which is very important when trying to build a name for yourself as an artist. Big up. Also to Tania at UMC my first DJ bookings agent who looked after me for many many years back then & sent me all over the world!
Also big up to Raymond Augustus Bingham (Grooverider) as always for the general epic inspiration & huge support that putting ‘Secrets’ out meant - and being cool with including it on this album! Same goes for Fitzroy George Heslop (Fabio) for the support & inspiration as a DJ & label boss at Creative Source - and also putting up with me probably babbling on over-enthusiastically when the lights came on at Swerve every week back in the day lol. Most of the music I made back when I was starting out, and still now was done aimed with their sets in mind. Respect.
Big thanks & huge respect also to Goldie at Metalheadz for the support, inspiration & overseeing guiding force on D&B. Such a huge honour to have signed anything to Headz, and thanks for letting me include ‘Up All Night’ on this release, think my ‘Best of’ album would have a huge hole in it otherwise! Big up Ant Crook for all the help on that too. Also big love to Jayne Conneely DJ Storm for the always honest feedback & support too, again from the early days up to today - her help in opening doors at Headz to get ‘Diversify’ on Platinum Breaks and linking with Up All Night was huge for me. Bailey too absolutely. Thank you all!
Finally another mention behind the scenes has to go to Adrian Lloyd & Kelly Humphreys at Shoe Box Records who also put up with a lot from me in the very early days too & put out some of my very first stuff. Adrian worked at the local record shop ‘Hard Edge’ in Maidenhead at the time & put up with me coming in almost every day on the way from home and playing him (casette) demos of whatever wierd stuff I’d been working on, but then helped school me on what decent D&B was about at the time, and then went on to be a great help when I started DJing, and was away at Uni, playing promos down the phone & posting records up to Durham to me every week! There’s quite a few of my releases from Shoe Box on the ‘Lost Tapes’ here, as they were only ever released on Vinyl, so it’s been great to remaster those & hear them properly again - some of my best work from that time IMO.
Loads more people to mention but I’d be here all day! Only meant to really post a quick press release about the project here... My Dad (and Mum) certainly deserve a shout too but think I’ll save that for another time - actually planning to get my dad in on a podcast to interview him on camera about our times when I managed to get him out to DNB nights, and even a few raves back in the day :-)
Anyway - here’s the tracklist for the first 2 parts, and the standard PR blurb:
John B - TIMELINES (1995-2020) Part I: The Best Of
1. John B - Up All Night (Epic Mix) (Remastered)
2. John B - Pressure 2019 (Remastered)
3. John B - Blandwagon Poos (Remastered)
4. John B - Secrets (Remastered)
5. John B - We Like The Music (Latino Mix) (Remastered)
6. John B - Jazz Session 1 (Remastered)
7. John B, MC Fats - Drop That Rhythm (Remastered)
8. John B, Shaz Sparks - Red Sky (Acoustic Intro Version) (Remastered)
9. John B - Numbers (Camo & Krooked Remix - Remastered)
10. John B - Take Me Home (Remastered)
11. John B, Tiarum, Xenturion Prime - Approaching Zero (Radio Mix) (Remastered)
12. John B - Ay Caramba! (Remastered)
13. John B - Take Me To La Cinta (Remastered)
14. John B, Kirsty Hawkshaw - Connected (Remastered)
15. John B - When I'm Close 2 U (Remastered)
16. John B - Sight Beyond (Remix) (Remastered)
17. John B - Prowler (Remastered)
18. John B - LAVA (Remastered)
19. John B, Libby Picken - Electrofreek! (Epic Mix) (Remastered)
20. John B - American Girls (Electric Boobies Mix) (Remastered)
21. John B - I've Been Stalking You On Myspace (Radio Mix) (Remastered)
22. John B - Robot Lover (Remastered)
23. John B - When The Time Comes (Remastered)
24. John B, Code 64 - The Journey (Metrik Remix) (Remastered)
25. John B - Starburst 2016 (Remastered)
26. John B - Evolve (Remastered)
27. John B - Mercury Skies (Album Mix) (Remastered)
28. John B, Shaz Sparks - Damages (Live Mix) (Remastered)
29. John B - Get Stuffed (Remastered)
30. John B, Code 64, Undersound - The Journey (Acoustic Mix) (Remastered)
John B - TIMELINES (1995-2020) PART II: The Lost Tapes
1. John B - Electrelasia (Remastered)
2. John B - Ole (Remastered)
3. John B - ECG (Flatline Mix) (Remastered)
4. John B - Subroutine A (Remastered)
5. John B - The Depths (Remastered)
6. John B - In Vitro (Remastered)
7. John B - Sheep Dip (Remastered)
8. John B - Equinox (Remastered)
9. John B - Pheonix (Remastered)
10. John B - The Prophecy (Remastered)
11. John B - Rolla (Remastered)
12. John B - Critical Point (Remastered)
13. John B - Acid Clamp (Remastered)
14. John B - Braindrain (Remastered)
15. John B - Crystal Wind (Remastered)
16. John B - Cyborg (Remastered)
17. John B - USA (Remastered)
18. John B - Gatekeeper (Remastered)
19. John B - Classical 1 (Remastered)
20. John B - Classical 2 (Remastered)
21. John B - Apollo (Remastered)
22. John B - Initiator (Remastered)
23. John B - Jungle Drums (Remastered)
24. John B - Pressure (Remastered)
25. John B - Pressure VIP (Remastered)
26. John B - Ole (Remix) (Remastered)
27. John B - Digital Dreams (Remastered)
28. John B - Eternity (Remastered)
29. John B - Translocation (Remastered)
30. John B - Time Zone (Remastered)
31. John B - Hi Band (Remastered)
32. John B - Pathfinder 1 (Remastered)
33. John B - Pathfinder 2 (Remastered)
34. John B - The Sky's The Limit (Remastered)
35. John B - Bonjour Mes Amis (Remastered)
36. John B - Move Your Body (Remastered)
37. John B - Move Your Body (Ambient Mix) (Remastered)
38. IC1 - Presence (Remastered)
39. John B - Conspiracy (Remastered)
40. John B - Feelings (Remastered)
41. John B - Mellow-D (Remastered)
42. IC1 - Tight As (Remastered)
43. IC1 - The Basics (Remastered)
44. John B - Cool As Funk (Remastered)
45. John B - Feeling Freeky (Remastered)
46. John B - You Gave Me (Remastered)
47. John B - The Chihuahua Theme (Remastered)
48. John B - Trance & Bass Experiment (Remastered)
49. John B - 5 Times In 1 Night (Remastered)
50. John B - Blue Eyeshadow (Remastered)
51. John B - Electric Asia (Remastered)
52. John B - Dream On (Remastered)
JOHN B –TIMELINES (1995-2020) [RELEASE DATE: FEB 28 2020]
PART I: TIMELINES (1995-2020): The Best Of
PART II: TIMELINES (1995-2005): The Lost Tapes
PART III: The Lost Tapes Soundcloud Dump
“John B opens the vaults on a remarkable career in a typically over-the-top style… A truly unique retrospective.” MIXMAG – Album of the Month Feb 2020.
Described by Mixmag as “in a league of his own,” it’s undeniable that John B knows how to stand out from the crowd. With an eighties-influenced aesthetic of shocked silver hair, bright makeup and eyeliner and an attitude packed with the sheer exuberance of modern club culture, John B is a world apart from your overly edgy, run-of-the-mill, black t-shirt types.
This identity filters through into his music and you’ll know a John B tune when you hear one: playful but serious, full of energy yet still more sophisticated than most. His ability to balance a wide array of sounds, styles and influences is perhaps his defining ability as a musician – an ability that’s encapsulated on his forthcoming “TIMELINES” anthology album project.
‘Red Sky’, ‘Starburst’ and the banging 2019 remake of ‘Pressure’ are just a few of the many tracks that have been remastered & revitalised for TIMELINES, a two-part, retrospection on John B’s greatest hits (along with a huge Soundcloud dump of an extra 75 previously unreleased tracks & demos). It’s a milestone for John, a celebration of a decades-spanning career that’s seen his name spread across charts and billboards around the world from San Francisco to Siberia.
As well as some of his best-known music, John is also reaching deep into the vaults to remaster and release a cache of his own never-before-heard gems from 1995 to the mid 2000s – undeniably one of the greatest periods in the genre’s history. With these two sections, Timelines covers almost twenty years of John’s creative history and it does so with all the style and wit that we’ve come to expect. Fun party tracks like ‘Blandwagon Poos’ & ‘Ay Caramba!’ sit comfortably alongside the deadly serious ‘Secrets’ & ’LAVA’, and the ambitious trance & bass/synthwave hybrids ‘Robot Lover’ & ‘Approaching Zero’.
Alongside this release John will be touring some exclusive extended Timelines ‘History’ sets, digging deep into the Headz Blue Note-era archives and reaching for some serious classics. Timelines themed editions of the John B Podcast, rescued live mixes from the archives, original tour vlogs from the early 2000s, and maybe even a live stream from the newly finished John B DIY-mission Loft set-up (if you’ve been watching John’s Instagram stories you’ll know what we mean) are all coming as part of the project.
It’s part of a retrospective tip currently characterising John and Beta Recordings but also the scene more broadly, demonstrated well by his contribution to Spearhead’s celebration of their 100th release, as well as the upcoming remixes of ‘Up All Night’ as part of the 25 Years of Metalheadz celebrations. With several other releases in the works, including a remix for coldwave legends ‘the KVB’, a 2 track collaboration with Digital on long-time haunt Metalheadz, new singles on Beta, newly built studio and an exciting new Festival AV project John B’s music schedule is almost as packed as his DJ calendar.
Having recently hit Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, the USA & Canada, with Liquicity & Outlook on the horizon this year John B is bringing his focused yet eclectic musical selections to an ever-increasing global D&B audience.
(Words by Ben Hunter)
