Union Jack
Back in the mid 90's Union Jack (Simon Berry and Claudio Giussani) and label Platipus Records (owned by Simon Berry) formed a corner stone of the trance scene, with seminal anthem '2 Full Moons and a Trout' paving the way for trance classics such as 'Cactus' and 'Red Herring', and Union Jacks debut album, 'There Will Be No Armageddon'. Following a short sabbatical of eleven years, founder Union Jack member Simon Berry is back, joined this time by long time Platipus collaborator Paul Brogden (formally POB on Seismic Records and Granny with Claudio Guissani) with their latest album Pylon Pigs.
Album: There Will Be No Armageddon
[PLAT15]
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After the classic Two Full Moons and a Trout it promised to be excellent, but unfortunately failed to meet my expectations. With only four tracks worth a mention, this debut album from Union Jack is a bit of a half-hearted effort. First a mention for the trance epic 'Two full moons and a trout', which has been around for ages, but I love to bits. Its dreamy flowing chants and massive build-ups make this track a true corker, resulting in it being a big hit at Whirl-Y-Gig. 'Red Herring' and 'Cactus' stand-out as potential crowd pleasers (more big build ups and dreamy break-downs) while 'Water-Drums' is a more ambient affair, flowing water samples and tribal drums, as the title suggests. Check out the 'Red herring' single, the CD version includes a bonus track of a remix of 'Two Full Moons and a Trout' by Casper Pound.
12": Cactus
[PLAT9]
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This was the second release ('94) from Union Jack (the first was the Two Full Moons and a Trout / Lollipop Man 12" [Plat6]). Cactus features on the album There will be no Armageddon, whilst on the AA side features Morning Glory, which sounds nothing like any of Union Jacks other material, but is non-the-less rather a good melodic trancer.
Single: 2 Full Moons and a Trout
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Released on 'Rising High' records in '94, this single is brilliant. Including the amazing Casper Pound remix along with a stomping FLF remix, this single is a true gem. The 14" remix which features on the album does not appear on this single, but i'm not complaining since the two Union Jack mixes both offer new angles on this classic track, with the original mix sounding similar to the 14" mix. The 14" mix of Two Full Moons & a Trout was released as a 12" on Platipus Records [PLAT6] with the B-side track Lollipop Man.
Single: Red Herring
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Released on 'Rising High' records in '96, Red Herring gets the full-monty from some big names. The original version of
Red Herring will always be the best in my books, but all of the remixes are worthy competition. Red Herring was also released as a 12" on Platipus Records [PLAT14]. The bonus track of Casper Pounds remix of Two Full Moons is a corker of a remix, coming in three separate chunks that build and build until the final stomping explosion. Unfortunately, this bonus track is only on the CD single and not on the vinyl 12" version of this single.
Single: CockRoach/Yeti
[PLAT36]
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The first release (1/98) from Union Jack in absolute ages! This is the promo 12" that I've got, but there aren't any other mixes included on the formal release.
So, what's it like? Well, it's a lot harder trance than the previous Union Jack material, and it sounds like Claudio Giussani (otherwise known as Terra Ferma) has had more influence on this than Simon Berry. But is it any good? Well, I'm sure this one will go down well in the clubs - both tracks will be real dance floor stormers, with all the usual big build-ups and breakdowns. But I'm not so sure that these two tracks will have the same appeal for home listening that the previous more melodic tracks have. To be honest, I'm a little disappointed, as I was expecting something truly ground breaking, when at the end of the day, both tracks are pretty average. Yeti also appears on the excellent Platipus Compilation Vol3.
Single: Two Full Moons and a Trout (Remixes)
[PLAT42]
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Released 7/99 on Platipus Records. The quality Casper Pound remix that originally featured on the Rising High Records release gets a long overdue release on Platipus. In contrast, the Friends, Lovers & Family Remix can't keep up the pace and proves to be a rather weak remix when compared to the original 14" mix or the Casper Pound remix. However, if you're missing the Casper Pound remix from your collection then this is another chance to grab this gem.
Album: Pylon Pigs
[PLAT220]
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Release date: October 5th 2009 on Platipus Records.
Its been a while (eleven years to be exact) since Union Jack released their last single, CockRoach / Yeti, on Platipus Records. In that time the trance scene has become somewhat lost, so much so that its a rare treat when anything original or inspirational lands in my CD deck. So you can imagine my surprise when I heard the news that founder Union Jack member and Platipus label boss Simon Berry was planning a comeback with a new album in the pipeline, joined this time by long time Platipus collaborator Paul Brogden (formally POB on Seismic Records and Granny with Claudio Guissani).
So, after their extended sabbatical, it relieves me to say that you won't be disappointed with this new material, with Pylon Pigs serving up a dynamic selection of up and downbeat numbers for on and off the dancefloor alike.The two pre-album singles, Papillon and Funnelweb, released electronically prior to the release of Pylon Pigs, form the bookends to the new album. Both of these tracks are solid, no-nonsense, driving, rolling trancers which set high expectations for the rest of the album.
Following the deep rolling beats, dramatic strings and vocoder spoken vocals of Papillion is the first of the down-tempo tracks, Submerge, which is a deeply hypnotic and moving, if not slightly melancholic. Triclops picks the pace back up again, with deep growling 303's and powerful dramatic chords, leading into the twisted pounding depths of Longhorn, with dark undercurrents driven by Eastern sounding horns. Mainlining provides a second breather, with a seven minute audio steam train journey across Europe, before arriving at my favourite track on the new album, Blink. Summer feel-good vibes, bouncy housey beats, smile inducing chords and the same vocoder spoken vocals that feature on Papillion all add to this infectious number. Sample spotters will delight at the short (if not sinister) interlude of Lifeblood, before the bouncy minimalistic beats of Vowel gradually build with layers of analogue electronica. The Dark Major is the last of the downbeat selections, meandering into playful jazzy lounge territory with a hint of twisted electronica (although far from dark, as the title suggests), before the deep rolling beats and cascading strings of Funnelweb kick arse to close the album.
As comback albums go, Pylon Pigs is an unresounding success and gets a big thumbs up from myself. No doubt former fans of Union Jack will take sanctuary in this new material, where the sound is undoubtedly that of the old Union Jack that we all knew and loved from the 90’s, just with a bit of a naughties polish. Welcome back.
