Way Out West

Titans: a term that’s been fading from public consciousness since the film with the gold fleece and Argonauts. The rise of UK dance music in the early 90′s saw the word in mass circulation, however: ‘titans’ flowered like the Fibonacci sequence, a string of formidable double-acts helping generations choose their own pulse rate. Massive Attack, Leftfield, Underworld, Orbital, all rolled boulders across the plains of electronica; all gave the 90′s a hypo. On the prow of some serious Pete Tong time came twelve-bore Bristolites Way Out West: the concord of Nick Warren and Jody Wisternoff, two DJ’s crackling with invention. See: the shimmering breaks of club hit ‘The Gift’, a rebirth of ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ that sired an alleged four hundred remixes (eat that, ‘Born Slippy’). See: ‘UB Devoid’s tectonic lusciousness, soaring like a runaway hoverboard when the rest of the scene seemed content to animate eighteen-year-olds. The albums that spawned them, Way Out West (1997) and Intensify (2001), were replete with commercial potential–so much so that the duo cut loose for 2004′s ‘Don’t Look Now’, galvanizing hordes at a sunkissed Glastonbury when they hit them with the airbrakes of ‘Anything But You’. The appointment of vocalist Omi left a lot of guest singers biting dust–to chip in on a Way Out West recording meant either instant dancefloor celebrity or worship from the gold-wired audiophiles. A place in the Top 40 was always a likelihood too–the boys have been there and back four times, hitting the Dance #1 spot with ‘Mindcircus’ (2002) and touching the indie crowd with ‘Don’t Forget Me’(2005).

Four years later, the present day. Messrs Warren and Wisternoff lie poised for the unveiling of We Love Machine: their fourth full album in sixteen years of partnership. The Way Out West LPs come slowly, like comets, but when they hit it with the impact of alien technology: Nick’s marriage to his beloved Global Underground line keeps him pinned to a factory of innovators, and Jody’s nu disco sidestep with ‘Starstrings’ this year showed he can dish out the hits like a cruiserweight. If last Summer’s ‘Spaceman EP’ got your neck hairs prickling as it took Glastonbury’s Dance East by storm, you can expect stars to fall come this September when we get to experience fresh WOW. It’s been a long time coming but you can bet your last breath that the prize will be fast and shiny.