"Feel the Sunshine" is a 1995 song by British

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub- ...

producer

Alex Reece Alex Reece (born Alexander Reece, Barnet, England) is a drum and bass musician. He popularized the use of two-step breaks in drum and bass, and was an influence of the jazzstep sound, a mix of drum and bass and jazz. Reece was one of the musi ...

featuring vocals by singer

Deborah Anderson Deborah Leigh Anderson (born 16 December 1970) is an English musician, photographer, and film director. Her early music work was as a vocalist on her father Jon Anderson's albums. Her 1995 single " Feel the Sunshine" was her first song that cha ...

, who also co-wrote the lyrics. It was included on Reece's debut album, ''So Far'', which was released in September 1996. The song peaked at number 69 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1995. A re-release in May 1996 containing remixes charted higher, peaking at number 26. On the

UK Dance Singles Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record ...

, the song was more successful, peaking at number two. It is now widely regarded as one of the most classic

songs.

Background and release

Reece began DJing in the late 1980s. In 1992, Jack Smooth offered Reece a trainee

studio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...

job, and Reece went on to engineer for Smooth on many of the early Basement Records releases. Reece first tried

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

( recording with his brother, Oscar, under the name of Exodus), but graduated to drum and bass. Though his preferred genres were

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthes ...

and Detroit

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

, Reece would become known for

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

and drum 'n' bass in the mid-1990s. "Feel the Sunshine" was released on December 4, 1995 by Blunted and

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...

. It was made available as a 10", 12" and

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any s ...

, and became successful in clubs. The track was A-listed by

BBC Radio One BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

and, at one stage, was getting 26 plays a week. In 1996, it was re-released and this time even more successful. Featured vocalist on the track, Deborah Anderson's vocals were recorded at London's Eden studio on to Dat from which Reece then sampled the vocals.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' wrote that "with the

drum'n'bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

revolution raging to mainstream heights, the time is right for Reece to break out of the underground. This is one of numerous highlights on the U.K. producer/composer's sterling stateside debut." He added that his "ambient keyboards and staccato beats are warmed by the presence of guest vocalist

, who has a quality not unlike Bjork, but smoother and far more mainstream-friendly." Tim Haslett from '' CMJ'' called the song "blissful". A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' gave it three out of five, saying, "There have been some varying takes on

recently and Reece's understated, melodic drum and bass excursions with a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

tinge will find him a wider audience in the near future." Brad Beatnik from the magazine's ''RM'' Dance Update rated it four out of five, adding that the producer "makes his Blunted debut with a rich, atmospheric tune. The remix makes the most of the strings and organ feel, the original uses less of the Bjork-like vocal over more minimal drum and bass beats." Upon the 1996 re-release, the magazine's Sarah Davis said, "It was an astute choice as a single, encapsulating Reece's warm sound, and its hints of house and use of vocals made it radio-friendly." Calvin Bush from ''

Muzik ''Muzik'' was a British dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003. ''Muzik'' was created by two former '' Melody Maker'' journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of ''Muzik'' from its launch until h ...

'' commented, "YES, he really is worth all the purple prose and exaggerated metaphors! After what seems like eons, Reece finally delivers his major label debut and the phrases "bloody essential" and "stick this in your jazz pipe and smoke it, son" spring to mind." John Perry from '' NME'' noted "the divine summer breeze" of the song, stating that Reece "breakbeats his insistently over low-rent electro squiggles and honey-dripping vocals drape like velvet over a chaise longue. Reece has rubbed all the dirt from the surface of harcore and polished it until it reflects the sun."

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

was produced to promote the single. It takes place at an underground party. Singer Deborah Anderson sings as she makes her way through dark passages in the underground. She wears dark make up on her eyelids and has feathers in her hair. A DJ spins records and people dances around her. Towards the end, Anderson reaches the surface and comes out into the daylight.

Track listing

* 12" single (1995) #"Feel the Sunshine" (Vocal Mix) #"Feel the Sunshine" (Original Mix) #"Jazz Master" (Alex's Funky Mix) * CD single (1995) #"Feel the Sunshine" (Vocal Mix) – 6:18 #"Feel the Sunshine" (Original Mix) – 5:42 #"Jazz Master" (Original Mix) – 5:36 #"Jazz Master" (Alex's Funky Mix) – 4:49 * 12" single (Remixes) (1996) #"Feel the Sunshine" (DJ Pulse Remix) – 5:44 #"Jazz Master" (DJ Krust Remix) – 6:50 #"Jazz Master" (Kruder & Dorfmeister Remix) – 8:23 * CD single (Remixes) (1996) #"Feel the Sunshine" (Original Radio Edit) – 3:53 #"Feel the Sunshine" (DJ Pulse Remix) – 5:46 #"Jazz Master" (DJ Krust Remix) – 6:51 #"Jazz Master" (Kruder and Dorfmeister Remix) – 8:24

Charts

References

{{authority control 1995 songs 1995 singles 1996 singles Drum and bass songs Island Records singles