Classic Album Review: Bomb The Bass - Clear (1995)

Bomb The Bass is essentially uber-producer Tim Simenon, who is perhaps best known for the sample-infused early techno classic ‘Beat Dis’, which was a massive global dancefloor hit back in 1987. Eight years later, Simenon had evidently moved on from that “smiley face” heyday, and on Clear we find him in a far more contemplative and, dare I say it, a somewhat more mature and sombre mood.

On Clear, Simenon gathers together an eclectic set of luminaries such as Justin Warfield, Bim Sherman, Will Self, Sinead O’Connor, and Benjamin Zephaniah (to name just a few) to produce and mix an assortment of tunes that are for the most part pretty mellow, and certainly slower in tempo than most of his earlier works.

Yet it is also an album very much tinged with a strong political undercurrent, and Clear generally has a more subversive flavour than the lightweight techno/pop crossover stuff that initially championed Simenon’s breakthrough into the mainstream. On Clear we find a far more world-weary Simenon laying down a wide variety of beats and rhythms for his many guest vocalists; some hip hop, a few ambient spacey grooves, but in general, much of this album has a predominantly dub/reggae-lite feel to it.

Aside from one or two tracks that could best be described as ordinary, Clear is consistently good, and it does contain a couple of truly essential cuts - such as Justin Warfield’s outstanding ‘Bug Powder Dust’ (the first single off the album, subsequently immortalised by Kruder & Dorfmeister’s excellent “Sessions” remix) and the extraordinary Sinead O’Connor duet with contemporary Beat Poet and part-time revolutionary Benjamin Zephaniah, titled ‘Empire’, which finds her (in fact, both vocalists) in fine voice and unrepentantly prepared to expose her anti-colonialism Irish republican roots for all to marvel at:

"Vampire, you feed on the life of a pure heart/ Vampire, you suck the life of goodness/ Yes Vampire, you feed on the life of a pure heart/ Vampire you suck the life of goodness … from now on I'll call you England."

A fitting album closer, and for me, it just about represents a career highpoint for the divine Ms O’Connor. Even if you don’t buy into the sentiments behind this politically-charged masterpiece, the electro-dub layers lurking beneath the brooding words are still very hard to resist, and I’d even go so far as to say that this track alone is worth the price of the album.

Simenon, O’Connor, and Zephaniah evoke the outright anger and sense of betrayal felt by many of those touched or affected by the so-called “Empire” just perfectly.

But I digress, and I’ll leave it there lest I go off on a rant. On the whole, Clear is an enjoyable and thoroughly listenable body of work. Simenon’s production is excellent throughout, ably assisted in parts by Doug Wimbish and Keith Le Blanc, and this album demonstrates that there was far more to Bomb The Bass/Simenon than dance music, samples, and one-hit wonders.

Strongly recommended.