808 State – Prebuild

Prebuild is a 2004 album apparently comprised of unreleased cassette recordings from the 1980s in Gerald Simpson's attic. The timeline is roughly before Newbuild's release in 1988. That makes this an insanely innovative and unique experimental album, Particularly for the time it was supposedly originally produced. Prebuild is full of totally out-there and experimental Acid House and Techno from the founding fathers of Electronica. Some tracks like Cosacosa are insanely raw to the point of just being a 303 over a drum machine.

A lot of moaning about how some of these tracks can't be played in clubs, no wonder electronic music hasn't progressed forward in the past 20 years when everyone demands everything is optimised for the superclub sound system. learn to exploit the lo fi sound quality on this album and you'll have people asking you what the hell was that? 5/5, just like newbuild.

IMO the sound quality adds something to this release, lo fi and old school....perfect for these type of tracks. A lovely record of when Gerald was still in the gang...

Of the tracks here that are of reasonable quality, the best would be the bookends, "Automatic" and "Thermo Kings". With their epic lengths, they take you on extended journeys into dance music. "Automatic" is very true to the "Newbuild" acid house aesthetic and is a superb supplement to that album. "Thermo Kings", on the other hand, is somewhere in the middle of the "Newbuild" sound and that pursued on "90". Both tracks serve to further highlight 808 State at their very finest, and are perhaps the strongest selling points for this collection of early works.

Cosacosa, Johnnycab and Clonezone would be the best tracks on this album. Unfortunately the sound quality is equivalent to a low bitrate RealAudio file. What was the point in pressing these tracks up, as they are totally unplayable?!

What Rephlex should have done (which would of course have involved more work and money) is reproduce the tracks the tracks from scratch using the original as guidelines.

For hardcore 808 state fans only.

This release is both frustrating and ultimately very disappointing.....as IMHO the best tracks on the album Cosacosa and Clonezone are let down badly by the sound quality of the recordings (they are from old analog cassettes)....these records are unplayable in a club situation and make me regret ever buying this record....the other tracks (which ittedly are better sound recordings) are IMHO nowhere near as good as the original 'New Build' tracks....I would recommended that people check out the vastly superior ‘New Build’ LP and the ‘Acid House Mixes By 808 State’ to hear the true genius of 808 state....

Excellent doubler on Rephlex.
Only disturbing thing is the poor quality of some tracks.
Whith today's technology they could have cleaned up these tracks.
But nevertheless, BIG UP !!
Their sound is still competitive with a lot of todays productions.

It takes Rephlex to dig up one of the classic albums of the year. 808 States Prebuild is compiled from tapes taken from before their seminal first release Newbuild.

The first track Automatic sounds just like A Guy Called Gerald stuff from the same era. Ride isn't bad and neither is Johnnycab although Ride is the weaker track of the two.

The two Lounge Jays tracks sound more like US house tracks especially Sex Mechanic with that overdriven sample and seedy 303 bassline.

Clonezone and Cosacosa are two great acid tracks and its a shame that they end suddenly after just five minutes or so.

The real highlights of course are at the end of the album. K.Narcosa which later surfaced on Newbuild and C.I.S which is just insane. The last track Thermo Kings is taken from a rave held at a Swimming Baths in Manchester and is one of my favourite acid tracks. Sounding like Phutures Acid tracks mixed with Xrays Lets Lets Dance, its 14 minutes of acid that rival anything the U.S produced at that time.

Overall 5/5