Shamen

The Shamen were a Scottish psychedelic-influenced electronic dance music band from Aberdeen, Scotland. The founding members were Colin Angus (born 24 August 1961), Derek McKenzie (born 27 February 1964) and Keith McKenzie (born 30 August 1961). Peter Stephenson (born 1 March 1962) joined shortly after to take over on keyboards from Angus. Several other people were later in the band. Angus then teamed up with Will Sinnott, and together they found credibility as pioneers of rock/dance crossover, before moving on to international commercial success when joined by Mr. C with Ebeneezer Goode and their 1992 Boss Drum album.....(Read more) AllMusic sums up their achievement thus: "Combining swirling psychedelic rock with hardcore hip-hop rhythms, the Shamen were one of the first alternative bands to appeal to dance clubs as much as indie rockers." They were early exploiters of the Internet, being the first to have their own website, release a single and LP on the Web and pioneer webcasts. 

Links To Peel
The band garnered considerable airplay on JP's shows from their first releases, and continued to do so even when they shifted their style to incorporate dance. Initially, he was unsure of the pronunciation of their name, saying: "the ludicrous thing is that I spoke to a member of the band on the phone this very morning. I should have cleared up the pronunciation of it with him then."

Their sole Festive Fifty entry was in 1990, with an as yet unidentified mix of Progen (later known as Move Any Mountain from the lyrics therein).

Shamen recorded four sessions, two in their early indie style and two in dance mode. Only one of these has seen a commercial release, and the band were not featured in John Peel's Scottish Sessions. They have said that their music was influenced by Syd Barrett and synth player Will Sinnott recalled being energized to make music after seeing the Stranglers in Glasgow.

Sinnott drowned while swimming on 23rd May 1991: as a result, Peel repeated the 4th session in one block as a tribute. Although John played a mix of their 1992 number one UK hit Ebeneezer Goode, their music disappeared from his playlists thereafter, presumably due to the commercial direction it had taken. However in 1995, The Shamen under the name of Nemeton released a drum and bass single called Trans-Am, which Peel played on his show. It is not certain whether he knew The Shamen were behind this single.

Festive Fifty Entries

 * 1990 Festive Fifty: 'Pro-Gen' #34

Sessions

 * Four sessions. #4 available on On Air - The BBC Sessions (Strange Fruit).

1. Recorded: 1986-12-14. First broadcast: 13 January 1987. Repeated: 09 February 1987 2. Recorded: 1988-03-29. First broadcast: 12 April 1988. Repeated: 10 May 1988 3. Recorded: 1989-06-13. First broadcast: 02 August 1989. Repeated: 07 September 1989 4. Recorded: 1991-02-12. First broadcast: 23 March 1991. Repeated: 05 May 1991, 01 June 1991
 * Strange Day's Dream / Passing Away / Through My Window / Where Do You Go?
 * Knature Of A Girl / War Prayer / Nothing / Misinformation
 * Transcendental / What's Going Down / Negation State / Phorward
 * Hyperreal / Make It Mine / Possible Worlds / In The Bag

Other Shows Played

 * 19 November 1986: 'Young Till Yesterday (7")' (Moksha Recordings)
 * 19 November 1986: 'Golden Hair (7"-Young Till Yesterday / World Theatre)' (Moksha Recordings)
 * 01 December 1986: 'Young Till Yesterday (7")' (Moksha Recordings)
 * 29 September 1987: 'Christopher Mayhew Says (12")' (Moksha Recordings)
 * 04 March 1988 (BFBS): 'Knature Of A Girl (12")' (Moksha Recordings)
 * 15 June 1988: 'Jesus Loves Amerika (12")' (Ediesta)
 * 01 August 1988: 'Grim Reaper Of Love (LP-Strange Day Dreams)' (Materiali Sonori)
 * August 1988 (BBC World Service): 'Grim Reaper Of Love (LP-Strange Day Dreams)' (Materiali Sonori)
 * 31 January 1989: 'In Gorbachev We Trust (LP-In Gorbachev We Trust)' (Demon)
 * 22 February 1989: 'Raspberry Infundibulum (LP-In Gorbachev We Trust)' (Demon)
 * 27 April 1989: 'You Me & Everything (Evil Edit) (LP-Phorward)' (Moksha)
 * 06 November 1989: 'Omega Amigo (single)' (One Little Indian)
 * 24 December 1989 (BBC Radio East Anglia): 'Omega Amigo (12")' (One Little Indian)
 * 04 April 1990: 'Pro>gen (single)' (One Little Indian)
 * 29 May 1990: 'Purple Haze (Compilation LP-If 6 Was 9: A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix)' (Imaginary)
 * 05 June 1990: 'Ultimate Irony (Compilation LP-Justice Is Our Conviction)' (State Injustice)
 * Mostly Peel June 1990: 'Ultimate Irony (Compilation LP-Justice Is Our Conviction)' (State Injustice)
 * 23 August 1990: 'Make It Mine (LP-En Tact)' (One Little Indian)
 * 14 October 1990: 'Human NRG (Remix) (LP-En-Tact)' (DJ edition, limited to 200 copies)
 * 21 October 1990: 'Lightspan-Renegade Soundwave Remix (LP-En-Tact)' (DJ edition, limited to 200 copies)
 * 23 December 1990: ' 'Pro-Gen (12 inch)' (One Little Indian) unknown remix: length approximately 05:28 (1990 Festive Fifty #34)
 * 16 February 1991: 'Hyperreal (12")' (One Little Indian)
 * 17 March 1991: 'Hyperreal (William Orbit Mix) (12")' (One Little Indian)
 * 16 June 1991: 'Hear Me Oh My People (Compilation CD-Give Peace A Dance)' (CND)
 * 07 July 1991: 'Purple Haze (CD-Out Of Time: The Very Best Of The Imaginary Tribute Series)' (Imaginary)
 * 22 June 1991: 'Move Any Mountain (Progen 91)' (One Little Indian)
 * 28 June 1991 (BFBS): Move Any Mountain (Landslide) (12") One Little Indian
 * 01 July 1991 (BBC World Service): 'Move Any Mountain (12")' (One Little Indian)
 * 05 June 1992: 'LSI (Well Hung Parliament Dub Mix) (12")' (One Little Indian)
 * 13 June 1992: 'LSI (12")' (One Little Indian)
 * 14 June 1992 (BFBS): 'LSI'
 * 19 June 1992: 'LSI (7")' (One Little Indian) (JP: 'You have probably been wondering as I was what the Shamen’s LSI stood for when the dub mixes came round. Love sex and indigestion? Well, you’re not far off.')
 * 18 July 1992: 'LSI (Love Sex Intelligence)'
 * 31 July 1992: 'Ebeneezer Goode (South Of Detroit Instrumental Mix) (promo 12")' (One Little Indian)
 * 10 August 1992 (BFBS): 'Ebeneezer Goode (South Of Detroit Instrumental Mix) (promo 12")' (One Little Indian)
 * 03 November 1995: 'Trans Am (10 inch)' (One Little Indian) (Under the name of Nemeton)

Compilation Plays

 * Best Of 1991 Vol 2: 'Move Any Mountain (Progen 91)' (One Little Indian)
 * Best Of 1992 Vol 4: 'LSI (Well Hung Parliament Dub Mix) (12")' (One Little Indian)
 * Best Of Peel Vol 6: 'Ultimate Irony (Compilation LP-Justice Is Our Conviction)' (State Injustice)
 * Best Of Peel Vol 15: 'Lightspan-Renegade Soundwave Remix (LP-En-Tact)' (DJ edition, limited to 200 copies)
 * Best Of Peel Vol 30: 'Hear Me Oh My People (Orbital Mix) (2xCD compilation-Give Peace A Dance)' (Beechwood Music)
 * Best Of Peel Vol 32: 'Purple Haze (Compilation LP-If 6 Was 9: A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix)' (Imaginary)
 * Best Of Peel Vol 42: 'Jesus Loves Amerika (12")' (Ediesta)
 * JP Dance 91 L060: 'Human NRG (LP-En Tact)' (One Little Indian)
 * JP Dance 91 L060: 'Hear Me Oh My People (LP-En Tact)' (One Little Indian)
 * Mainly Peel March 1991: Session #4
 * Peel 080 (BFBS): 'Knature Of A Girl (12")' (Moksha Recordings)