"Whatever happened to Renegade Soundwave?" is one of the more frequent questions you'll hear from the dance cognoscenti. Producers of classics like 'Biting My Nails,' 'Phantom,' 'Thunder' (all essentially the same song, but let's not hold it against them), dub enthusiasts and remixers extraordinaire, the ground-breaking trio simply disappeared in the mid-nineties and let others make the most of their considerable influence..
Formed in London during the late '80s, Renegade Soundwave applied the punk and industrial ethic to both dub and dancefloor electronica, in good company with fellow sound terrorists throughout the decade, from Cabaret Voltaire to Skinny Puppy and Meat Beat Manifesto. The trio of Gary Asquith, Danny Briottet and Carl Bonnie debuted on Rhythm King with the 1987 single "Kray Twins," and moved to Mute one year later for an EP, Biting My Nails. Though Renegade Soundwave spent two years recording material for an album, the release of Soundclash and In Dub within six months vindicated them somewhat. The group's only hit, "Probably a Robbery" (from Soundclash), made the British Top 40 early in 1990, but Bonnie left later that year, after releasing the single "Renegade Soundwave", for a solo career. Asquith and Briottet spent several years in isolation before emerging in 1994 with the "Renegade Soundwave" single and the album How You Doin? After playing their first live date in history during late 1994, the duo released Brixton and The Next Chapter of Dub the following year. The compilation RSW 87-95 emerged in 1996.
What can I say about this album ! With''In Dub'' they paved the way for many modern dance acts, and even listening today, still shows them how it should be done. The production quality on this album is incredible, with almost fetishistic attention to detail. Superb.
Thunder
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