Only for Lovers

„You made a few albums under The Love Corporation banner in the early 90’s. I really loved the ‘Tones’ album which I still regularly listen to. when did you first get into dance music? Do you think you’ll ever release anything else by The Love Corporation?

Thank you for saying that about ‘Tones’. Listening to it now, it sounds like a Quentin Tarantino film soundtrack – ’60s inspired themes interpreted by Kraftwerk on a ’70s porn film set, the whole sweetmeat produced by Giorgio Moroder. Not bad for 1989. The first of its kind on Creation. even though I’d dabbled with pop electronics on “Hello Europe” 1984, I couldn’t put my hand on my heart and say I was into dance music, more the pirate concept of sampling, half melodies, noise, the deconstruction and the excuse for another disguise.

Having to programme drum machines, grab the latest loops, blah de blah, was a bore and mostly got in the way of the really exciting stuff; stealing dialogue from films, lifting ‘grabbable’ voices and riffs from records . . . rather like bringing a graveyard back to life! Me and Dan could probably make a brilliant dance record. Maybe we will!!“

Reading this part of the Creation interview with Ed Ball, it seems surprising that it

albums like “Tones” & “Lovers” ever existed. Mister Ball was not only a musician, but also had to take on considerable tasks in the Creation Record offices. The production of the second My Bloody Valentine album continued to be postponed and cost enormous amounts of money.

To keep the label going and money into the U.K. coffers. Rinse, records were produced in record time, most reliably by, you guessed it, Edward Ball. Acid house and ecstasy conquered the island and also the Creation Records office, which had previously been noticed more by guitar-oriented rock / pop. And Edward Ball, the good soul, right hand man and tireless help to Alan McGee, delivered. Legend has it that “Tones”, the first album as Love Corporation, was created at the same time as The Times’ second album “E for Edward”. It is considered an acid house album, I never understood or heard it as an acid house album. At that time. It's definitely a pretty interesting & well-aged album though, with "Palatial", which was later remixed by Shoom co-founder Danny Rampling & being something of a hit on the album.

„Creation's headlong plunge into the world of acid house in reality took some time to work its way into the release schedule, with the first offering in the new genre only coming out in January 1990 despite the influence of the ecstasy culture having gripped the label for some months. Ironically, the first album to take the plunge was another release from Ed Ball, recorded at the other side of the studio while he was making The Times' E For Edward album. Acid house had first appeared in the nation at the end of 1987 when clubs began to open up that attempted to reproduce the ecstasy-fuelled Summer highs of Ibiza, and the grip it soon gained over the nation was startling, mirroring the impact of the punk revolution of the late 1970s. To the indie kids who had supported the label from the early days, Creation's change of tack flew in the face of everything in which they believed. A six-track mini-album lasting 33 minutes, a third of this was taken up by the last track 'Palatial' that was remixed for a single release by Danny Rampling, founder of one of the original acid house clubs, Shoom. This has a relaxtion tape narrative played over plenty of 'dap-dap-dapping' and seems to last for ever.“

If you listen to the second album “Lovers” from 1991, the differences to “Tones” are obvious.

It's a completely different, deeper soundscape, just through the basslines (listen to "Crystals"), the sound is more humorous and happy. “Lovers” is definitely the sound of the summer and probably the reason why it’s closer to me than “Tones.” Afterwards, it makes sense to play “Madstock” by Candy Flip or the Beloved. In any case, Ed Ball appeared for me with the two Love Corporation where I didn't expect it, even if the three The Times albums from the years 89 - 91 showed certain signs.

„Following Hypnotone's initial offering, Ed Ball returns with the second album from Love Corporation, this time a full-blooded, 37-minute offering. The differences between the two releases are immediately apparent. Ball's work is less seriously focused with his sense of humour often encroaching into the tracks which themselves are so stuffed with samples you feel they might explode. They also go on a bit. The opener 'Love' is six minutes of a cackling rhythm over piano with a nice organ solo in the middle, and 'Warm' has a hymn-like opening with barking dogs, oriental chanting and a female vocal ……“

( & recovered as beautiful guitar „Ballad of Georgie Best“ on „Alternative Commercial Crossover“ by the Times in 1993) 

„….'Crystal' is full of Captain Scarlet samples with dancing keyboards and a bubbling back beat, whilst 'Sun' opens with David Bowie's 'Diamond Dogs'“ 

(& could have been left over from “Tones”. - I think)

„Three shorter tracks end the album, with 'Lovers' again dense and heavy going and 'Smile' being all the better for being more of a straightforward dance tune leaving you with some room to breathe.“

Interview passages from creation record site

Review passages in Apostrophe from -isolationrecords-