M/A/R/R/S
Pump Up the Volume

Sometimes, it just takes one single to make history. This is what happened to MARRS in August 1987, with the release of their only record, "Pump Up the Volume". A track born from what was supposed to be a collaboration - dance-oriented - between two bands from the dark 4AD label: Colourbox and A R Kane (MARRS is the acronym of the project members' names). But in the studio, the first disagreements arise, so the two groups record a track each and then pass it on to the other for further reworking. The result is "Pump Up the Volume" by Colourbox, and "Anitina" by A R Kane. We all know how it turned out.

"Pump Up the Volume" becomes a milestone of the nascent British house genre, and is one of the first examples of a song that heavily relies on sampling, i.e., the use of pre-existing sound fragments that are embedded into the target musical fabric. There are about twenty samples sprinkled throughout the track, from Public Enemy shouting “You’re gonna get yours!” to the hit "Im Nin'Alu" by Israeli singer Ofra Haza, from the refrain “Put the needle on the record,” taken from a dance hit of the period, to Kool And The Gang, Run DMC, and many others.

The massive use of sampling will be found throughout the '90s and beyond, just as the most diverse phenomena and stylistic offsprings of the period originate here: house, as mentioned, and its gradual affirmation; hip-hop, particularly the one that uses samples; acid house, a less artisanal and more techno offshoot of the parent genre; the rave scene, which will have more sociological than musical reflections; drum and bass, and more.

All of this is contained in embryonic form in "Pump Up the Volume," of which just tracing the chronology of the various versions would suffice to understand its mutant nature: first a lacquer destined for discos, then a 12-inch, then its remix (which will become the most well-known version), then the 7-inch version derived from the remix, and finally the cd-single. Get yourself a copy if you don't have one: it's a piece of history to add to your record collection, one of those rare highlights for which no encore is expected.