by Elysa Gardner
REQUEST magazine
Bloke
Deconstruction/US/2X12
Mick Cole at Deconstruction USA has got a real doosey on his hands with this new release from Republica. "Bloke" the A-side has great intro chords, smooth vocals and ultra-friendly breaks and builds, making it a very appealing record for just about any house-oriented DJ. On the floor, the track is a real motivator bringing the energy on hard and giving people the prime chance only once in a while to wipe themselves off. Personal fave mixes include Blakkat's "Instrumental Mix" and Republica's own "Original Mix." Both will work well for either West Coast melodies, East coast vocals, or Chicago-style hard house. SON
-xlr8r
"A lot of our stuff comes straight out of the clubs but Republica offer a big potential for crossover, whether it be dance, indie, alternative or whatever," says marketing director Del O'Brien.
Built around a songwriting nucleus of Tim Dorney and erstwhile Flowered Up keyboardist and engineer Andy Todd, the band formed in 1993. Dorney and Todd met originally during recording sessions for Soul Family Sensation and found the opportunity to pair up when Camden's baggy chancers disintegrated.
"It all fell to pieces," says Dorney, recalling the drug-fuelled chaos of the times. "We struggled to get people together and we ran out of money. One day the singer, Liam, just walked out and that was it. I haven't spoken to any of them since."
Dorney and Todd reconvened with the aim of doing "something underground and dancey". The result was Out Of This World, an instrumental friends suggested would benefit from a vocal. Enter Saffron, former singer with N-Joi, who topped it off perfectly and completed the line-up.
That one track persuaded Pete Hadfield, joint managing director of Deconstruction, Saffron's former label, to offer them a deal. The songs they brought back convinced the label to make them a priority act this summer. "We feel the material they've delivered to us is so outstanding that we have to go for it," explains O'Brien. "We've had a fantastic reaction internationally to it as well - in particular RCA in the States who, it should be remembered, passed on M People and Take That."
Part of the band's appeal lies in the ability to weld hooklines to sharp lyrics. Their debut single Bloke, released last March, was a swipe at wide boys driving flash motors - underlining the band's desire to steer clear of hands-in-the-air dancefloor vacuousness. "Our intention from the start was to avoid that 'I'll take you higher' bollocks that persists in dance music," agrees Dorney. "We decided if we were going to have lyrics they might as well say something."
In Republica's case it's not just what they say, but the way they say it - in particular Saffron, with her bobbed hair and oriental looks. M People's Mike Pickering has described her as "Siouxsie meets techno" and her strident delivery and bouncy attitude make it easy to see what he means.
The band have toured extensively, supporting The Grid, The Shamen and M People and building a significant grassroots fanbase - not least in Scotland, with appearances at T In The Park and Coatbridge's club Universe. "The last time we went up there, we had fans turning up in homemade T-shirts with pictures of the band and the name stencilled on them," says Dorney.
Now augmented to a six-piece live outfit, including ex-Bow Wow Wow sticksman Dave Barbarossa on live drums, the band embark on a month-long Wednesday residency at London tranny club Madame JoJo's, starting on March 27. They head out to America in the summer to play several gigs, before appearing in June at the BMG worldwide MDs conference in LA. To give an idea of the faith placed in them, the other artist selected by the company to appear is ex-Take That mainman Gary Barlow, making his solo debut.
Republica's debut album is scheduled for release in May/June. Recorded and self-produced in the band's Hoxton home studio, it lacks only one thing - a title. "We're terrible at coming up with names," confesses Dorney. "It took us months to come up with the name Republica, so long in fact that it held up the contract signing." Suggestions so far include Top Banana, a title suggested for that abortive second Flowered Up album. "Well it's only a suggestion," adds Dorney hastily.
Next, we have the first release from the band Republica. Their self-titled release (RCA Records). With the a name like that, their promo material ("Vote Republica") falls in perfect sync with the upcoming November elections. This album is decent, but like the elections, it's definitely a mixed bag of nuts. Their first release from the album, Ready to Go (Which is, at least, a cool-looking CD single), while a great track, is not indicative of the rest of the album. The album reverts back and forth, between a Garbage-esque motif and Euro-Dance/House music, which, at times made me a bit dizzy. Picture Me is an interesting addition to the album, a safari mix of bongos and pipes... intertwined with what's probably .wav-translated-MIDI or something. In all, if you want to experiment, or if you want an electronic soundscape that's more than just a glorified Casio keyboard, I'll recommend the album. However, I'll leave this one up to the ravers, dance clubs, the DJs to decide its true virtue.
by Corey Welton