Reprinted with permission from DMA (Dance Music Authority) Magazine

With a penchant for sixties spy-movie soundtracks and an even greater liking of hammond-organ inflicted breakbeats and a strong bassline, UK's Will White and Alex Gifford (aka Propellerheads) are prepared to finally turn their buzz with alternative club and mixshow DJs as well as import hounds into a mass-exposure phenomena, not seen since last year's explosion of the Chemical Brothers, with the release of their Dreamworks debut album Decksanddrumsandrockandroll.


With the initial single "History Repeating," Propellerheads' chance meeting with 60's singer Shirley Bassey being well-receieved by MTV and modern rock radio in America, their stateside future couldn't look brighter. Working together since since 1994 the two have done some unusual breakbeat house records which have definitely gone beyond the boundaries of what is expected of that genre. In fact, their pre-"History Repeating" output in the form of songs like "Dive," "Take California" and "Spybreak" as well as a cover of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (with David Arnold) were the catalyst for the huge major label interest. In fact the bidding was so heated at one point, several majors were willing to sign the label to which they were signed (Wall Of Sound) to a deal just so they could have the Propellerheads. Even Addidas thought they were hot early on, using "Dive" as the background music to a major advertising campaign in 1996. But the Propellerheads stuck to their guns and it's paying dividends now; and Wall Of Sound is still a happy UK indie.

Today the Propellerheads seem very at ease with their chances for success in the USA. Knowing that us Yanks usually turn up our noses to Brit-beats en masse, a recent promotional trek across the country has proven otherwise to the lads. Big crowds in all the major cities they've played thus far have gone down well with a diverse group of people showing up to the gigs. "It not all just club-heads" explains Alex. "You've got your indie-rockers and hip hop kids both getting into the sound." And that's what these beer-swilling boys like to see; a broad range of folks getting down to their sounds. Just as it was back when they started doing live gigs down the road from their homes in Bath.

"When we started out, it was mad." Alex offers. "We were just doing one-off gigs down the local pub. It was a house night and the promoter Paddy asked us if we wanted to do a live one, in fact he kept bugging us," he continues. As it turns out, the crowd who came expecting a 4/4 groove loved their breakbeat-influenced music and they were asked back. The initial debut-gig setup of Will on drums and turntables and Alex on keyboards and turntables still holds true today. Will wouldn't have it any other way. "We find ourselves running back between the two all night; but not as much as we used to," he mentions, adding, "we just wanted to do something different, we had no idea that it would ever go as far as it has." As far as turning 'em out on a nightly basis all over the good ole US of A.

Sticking with Wall Of Sound allowed them to do their music as they wished and carry on with the same mentality that brought them together in the first place; to make music that nobody else was. "We are a dance band, and that means that we release 12-inch singles. We were not even thinking of a full album at that time," Alex notes. But these aren't your average faceless studio producers. When they play live, they play live; when they look for a vocalist, they aren't looking for someone who has big hair and can belt it out like she chews gum.