M03": PREVIEW
V LISTEN!
I Negative. paranoia-inspired rumours have been running riot around here. One breathless phone call. punctuated by ominous clicks and cut short by a strangled gurgle. revealed that both Goodbye Mr Mackenzie and The Apples had been dropped by their respective record companies. MCA and Epic. Both turn out to be made up of no more than hot air. Epic denythat they have any intention of banishing The Apples from their halls. and MCA. although unhappy with the direction that recent Mackenzies demos have been following. guaranteed the band a second album in their contract. They may not like it very much. but they‘re obliged to put one out. We mention this because. after the axings ofthe last year or two. any tales of Scottish bands being dropped are likely to be taken as gospel. Nevertheless. our paid astrologer. whose identity must be protected. predicts a purge in the next six months. though not necessarily concerning the above-named groups. I The Thinking Popster maybe gone. but the Pondering Scoutster lives on. David Belcher. indomitable pop columnist extraordinaire down Glasgow Hera/(I way. recently retired alter nine long years in the hot seat. He continues as non-writing Music Editor though. thereby ensuring that the supply offree records doesn't dry up completely. Also. keen as he is for good quality cassettes to tape his fave albums onto (only kidding). he remains the Scottish talent spotter for Dedicated Records (home ofThe Cranes. Spiritualised and Belcher finds Balloon). and is still very much in the demo tape business. So keep sending them to him at the Glasgow Herald. 95 Albion Street. (ilasgow (il.
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STOP PRESS: On the morning that we went to press. it was announced that Fini Tribe WILL be playing their scheduled dates after all. although in a scaled-down format. “We‘re going to have to go bankrupt to ensure that everyone else doesn‘t go bankrupt.‘ said David Miller. speaking ofthe financial repercussions that they had been v 'arned would follow the ‘ancellation of the tour. The following is what he had told Craig McLean a few days earlier. . .
Who said being cutting-edge. leading-light. up-to-the-minute. dancefloor renegade maverick gurus ~ was ever easy'.’ Seven years of slog. four record labels. a brace of (retrospectively) lauded 12in singles. a splash ofcontroversy. a hint of eccentricity. a bit ofenigma. and finally. summer 1991. the populist realms of ( 'lmr! Slum-«loin beckon. \Vith ' llll '. l'iini 'l‘ribe crossed over to the big time. at last making it from the l‘ringesol‘ acceptability to the glare ol centre stage. With ‘Ace
30 The List 27 September - ll) October 1991
Love Deuce‘. the spotlight will intensify and Fini Tribe's momentous momentum will be unstoppable.
‘Well. the bad news is that the tour‘s had to be cancelled.‘ says David Miller. one third ofthe band and designated Bearer of Bad Tidings. As this is why we're here in the first place. tucked away in Fini Tribe‘s Leith mission control nerve centre. we‘re both a tad disappointed. Him more than me. naturally. What galls is that all the Scottish dates — including appearances at Edinburgh (‘ollege of Art and at Saltcoats Metropolis with Botany 5 and the ()range (irove — were confirmed and set. organised by the band and ready to roll. But when the English leg of the tour fell through. everything else went with it. Economies ofscale meant that their total concept noise. light colour/art show was unworkable for a handful of dates. \"aluable promotion for the forthcoming single was therefore lost. and. as this is the single that is set to build on ‘ltll's success ( No 76 in the national chart. «Win the 12in chart) and propel the band major success-wards. it‘s obviously a considerable setback. Were it not for the longevity. resilience and tenacity that has seen Fini Tribe consistently set their own agenda while all around have been content to apportion others‘. this might have been disastrous. But. . .
‘We‘re now fairly solid. we know what we want to do. We've been
going for six or seven years. and we’ve got a really strong basis to work from. We don’t have to get drawn into the indie-dance scene. I think we’re quite separate from all that. We can build on that. And I don‘t necessarily see us just being a dance band anyway. We’re interested in much more.‘
This extends to directing their own videos (including the promo for ‘10] ': total cost £800). directing artwork and merchandise. controlling management duties. and running their own Finil‘lex label imprint. ‘At the moment. we want to retain as much control as possible.' says Miller. ‘bccause we find that the more we do ourselves. the more things happen. For instance. this tour. although it's now been cancelled. we organised the Scottish side of it so it was happening. The linglish .side we weren't organising. it didn’t happen. We seem to find this all the time.
‘lt's very important for us to have that control. In a way. that’s why we do it. we like to be involved in all the management. the artwork. We‘re not just musicians. Well. we aren‘t musicians fora start. None ol‘us can really play instruments that well.‘
‘lnstruments’. ofcoursc. in the guitary. druminy sense. Fini Tribe‘s long-standing mastery of the computer. sequencer. sampler and mixing desk. first noted with the Acid anthem ‘De 'l‘estimony‘. has elevated them to their current status as near-doyens of the club sound. And this a club sound with blood and
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