Orchestra JB - Tambourine Fever (1991)

Orchestra JB was an alias of Jimmy Brown, a British DJ and musician. In the late 1980s he recorded a few house tracks, such as "On A Love Groove", for indie labels under the moniker. The track "Free Spirit", which was based on samples from various sources, became a fave of the rave crowd. It's follow-up, "Come Alive", garnered even more attention and praise, even though it was a downtempo track. It was favoured as a chillout track at the end of raves, along with tracks by the likes of The Orb and Massive Attack. A remix featuring the same hip hop baseline utilized by Madonna that same year in "Justify My Love" was it's most popular mix. On the track, Miss Bliss (better known as Sister Bliss from Faithless) spits a smooth rap, while singer Lydia Steinman provides soulful vocals. The song utilized a lot of harmonica, as well as other horns and acoustic elements. This song would serve as the blueprint for the whole album, which is mostly down-or-mid-tempo and utilizes actual instruments (most prevalently harmonica and, of course, tambourine) as well as electronics, with Steinman providing most of the vocals. A major label, EastWest, snatched the act up and wanted more of the same over an entire album. If you're looking for something to chill out to, look no further. But it can wear thin, and the rave crew didn't exactly embrace the album, which would be the only one from Orchestra JB. There is no sign of Jimmy Brown or Lydia Steinman anywhere on the internet, though, as with most of the acts on the Isle, we can assume they are still working in music to some degree.

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1		Greetings To The Riptide Moon
2		Come Alive
3		This Is Frightening
4		Drowse
5		Burn The Sky
6		Free Spirit
7		Lunar Beach
8		Pleasure Head
9		Up Before Dawn
10		Wide Open Space Cowboy
11		Blow Your Head Forever