Bomb the Bass

Tim Simenon, the one-man electronica wiz kid behind Bomb the Bass, is a sampladelic British hip-hop producer who also co-produced a pair of massive international hits: Neneh Cherry's "Buffalo Stance" and Seal's "Crazy." Born in Brixton of Malaysian and Scottish parentage, Simenon became interested in dance production after studying studio engineering and DJing at London's Wag Club, a Mecca for fellow breakbeat mavens like S-Express' Mark Moore and Coldcut's Jonathan More and Matt Black. In 1987, Simenon constructed a pastiche of a DJ record titled "Beat Dis," which incorporated samples from Public Enemy, Ennio Morricone, and the classic television shows Dragnet and The Thunderbirds. Packaged to resemble a white-label import from America, the track became an underground hit and, after its reissue on Rhythm King, a surprising number two smash on the British charts in early 1988. (Coldcut's "Doctorin' the House" and S-Express' "Theme From S-Express" both followed "Beat Dis" into the Top Ten.) Later that year, Simenon returned with an LP (Into the Dragon) that featured an expanded Bomb the Bass lineup: producer Jonathan Saul Kane (who later recorded as Depth Charge) and vocalists Maureen Walsh and Lauraine Macintosh. Two singles from the album, "Megablast" and an inventive cover of the Burt Bacharach-Dionne Warwick classic "Say a Little Prayer," hit the British Top Ten as well. Also in 1988, Simenon co-produced two tracks for the debut of Neneh Cherry, step-daughter of the free jazz trumpeter Don Cherry. Both singles, "Buffalo Stance" and "Manchild," became British Top Ten hits. After completing work on his own studio, he also produced a track for Adamski ("Killer") and mixed a single named "Crazy" for an Adamski protégé, Seal. "Crazy" soon became a Top 10 single on both...