In the mid-1980s, Neneh Cherry recorded "Dead Come Alive", a one-off track with On-U Sound founder Adrian Sherwood's group the Circuit. It didn't see the light of day, but Sherwood has unearthed the track for Science Fiction Dancehall Classics, a new On-U Sound compilation curated by Trevor Jackson. Listen to the track above. Below, watch a video mix for the compilation created by Jackson.
In a statement to Pitchfork, Sherwood talked about the song:
This is one of the first tunes I did with a drum machine, working with Steve Beresford. I think it was a LinnDrum, which they'd just got in at Berry Street studios in 83, they were really expensive at the time.
I met Neneh in 1979 because the band I was working with, Creation Rebel, got invited on this 'Simply What's Happening' tour, which was pretty groundbreaking in the way it mixed up different styles of music. It was Don Cherry, Happy House (Lou Reed's backing band at the time), The Slits, and Prince Hammer. After that me and Neneh ended up squatting a place together in Battersea in 1980, and we're still friends to this day.
The liner notes give some background on "Dead Come Alive":
In some ways predicting the electro-fied sound of Neneh’s worldwide pop success with the Raw Like Sushi album, “Dead Come Alive” stems from a mid-80s period when Adrian took a production hiatus from his beloved reggae, deeply upset by the murder of his friend Prince Far I (he would later rekindle the dub flame when the opportunity arose in 1986 to work with hero Lee “Scratch” Perry). Instead he explored the possibilities of new studio technology. Early samplers and drum machines were put through their paces on work for the Tommy Boy label and remixes for the likes of Depeche Mode. Discovered in a dusty corner of the On-U tape archive, this unreleased recording is presented for the first time on this album.
Trevor Jackson Presents: Science Fiction Dancehall Classics compiles classics, rarities, and unreleased tracks from On-U Sound. It comes out October 2.
Read our Update with Neneh Cherry.
Watch Neneh Cherry perform "Spit Three Times" at Pitchfork Music Festival:
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