MARRS
MARRS (or M/A/R/R/S or M|A|R|R|S) was a one-off recording act from 1987, which was a collaboration between the alternative/dream pop band A.R. Kane and the electro/reggae group Colourbox, with additional input from DJs CJ Mackintosh and Dave Dorrell. The result was that instead of working together, the two groups ended up recording a track each, then turning it over to the other for additional input.
Of the two pieces completed, one, "Anitina," was an A.R. Kane track with drum programming by Colourbox's Steve Young. The other, "Pump Up the Volume", was a propulsive Martyn Young track constructed largely of samples, including one of A.R. Kane's guitars.
Both A.R. Kane and Colourbox recorded on the legendary London, England alternative label 4AD.
M/A/R/R/S' sole release was the single Pump up the Volume / Anitina, which was a number-one hit in the United Kingdom and a significant milestone in the development of British house music and sampling culture.
The record was released under the alias M/A/R/R/S, an acronym derived from the forenames of the five 4AD artists involved in the project: Martyn Young (from Colourbox), Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala (from A.R. Kane), Russell Smith (an associate A.R. Kane member and founder of Terminal Cheesecake), and Steve Young (from Colourbox).
"Pump up the Volume" is considered to have been the first U.K. number one to contain samples from other songs. "Pump Up the Volume" is widely credited with giving Israeli Eurovision Song Contestant Ofra Haza a worldwide audience for her interpretive modern renditions of traditional Yemenite spirituals and folk songs. Also of note is that M/A/R/R/S were successfully sued in Great Britain by Stock Aitken Waterman for the use of a 7 second vocal element taken from the latter's "Roadblock" and used in "Pump of the Volume'"s early pressings. By the time the single saw US release in late 1987, the offending warble (and a few other sounds of dubious provenance) had been edited out or replaced with other elements. The original British version is widely considered the best by fans and collectors alike.
Only "Pump Up the Volume" gained significant attention and airplay and went on to be a #1 hit in the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand, as well as a top-ten hit in several other countries. "Anitina" was listed on the UK charts after several weeks, but a note on the actual chart explained that "Anitina" was listed at the record company's request, "without significant evidence of consumer interest" in the track.
"Pump Up the Volume" was nominated for the 1989 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, but lost out to "Close-Up" by David Sanborn. In September 1987, MARRS announced that it would not issue a follow up release.
Group member Steven Young died on July 13, 2016. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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