A.R. Kane (sometimes AR Kane or A.R.Kane) is an English musical duo formed in 1986 by Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala. After releasing two early EPs to critical acclaim, the group topped the

UK Independent Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

with their debut album '' 69'' (1988). Their second album, '' "i"'' (1989), was also a top 10 hit. They were also part of the one-off collaboration

MARRS MARRS (stylised M, A, R, R, S) were a 1987 recording collective formed by the groups A.R. Kane and Colourbox, which only released one commercial disc. It became "a one-hit wonder of rare influence" because of their international hit "Pump Up th ...

, whose surprise

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

hit " Pump Up the Volume" was released in 1987. Ayuli is believed to have coined the term " dreampop" in the late 1980s to describe their eclectic sound, which blended elements such as

effects Effect may refer to: * A result or change of something ** List of effects ** Cause and effect, an idiom describing causality Pharmacy and pharmacology * Drug effect, a change resulting from the administration of a drug ** Therapeutic effect, ...

-laden guitars, dub production, and

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

backing. The group broke up in 1994. Though their work fell into relative obscurity in subsequent years, they have been characterised by critics as among the most innovative and underrated groups of their era, and recognized as an influence on styles such as

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

, and

post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...

. In 2012,

One Little Indian One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In t ...

released ''Complete Singles Collection'', which compiled the group's single and EP releases. Tambala briefly reformed A.R. Kane from 2016 to 2018 with Maggie Tambala and guitarist Andy Taylor but without Ayuli. This reformation was later spun-off as its own band, Jübl, which has since released two singles and a studio album.

History

Origins

Ayuli and Tambala first met as school children in an East London primary school. Ayuli is of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n descent, while Tambala was born to a

Malawian Demographic features of the population of Malawi include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Region distribution Northern regio ...

father and English mother. Both were involved in formative and culturally diverse music communities as adolescents, with Ayuli part of a dub soundsystem and Tambala part of a

jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat, electrified sounds, and analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre that ranges from ...

scene. In 1983, Ayuli became an advertising copywriter, one of few black creatives working in the London ad business. The two were both inspired by a mid-1980s

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

performance by

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock music, rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 19 ...

; Tambala explained: "They had no drummer. They used tapes and technology and

Liz Fraser Elizabeth Joan Winch (14 August 1930 – 6 September 2018), known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles. Early life Fraser was born in Southwark, London. Her year of b ...

looked completely otherworldly with those big eyes. And the noise coming out of Robin uthries guitar! That was the 'Fuck! We could do that! We could express ourselves like that!' moment." Attending a party in 1986, Tambala was asked how he and Ayuli knew each other; he lied that the two played together in a band, going on to describe their sound as "a bit

Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionist Moe Tuc ...

, a bit Cocteau Twins, a bit

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

, a bit

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

". A week later, the two were contacted by a label on the strength of Tambala's fabrication. The duo recorded their demo without a drummer, using a guitar and two cassette players.

1986–1994: Recordings

In 1986, A.R. Kane released their debut single "When You're Sad" on

. The duo were initially grouped with other "

noise pop Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative and indie rock that developed in the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom and United States. It is defined by its mixture of dissonant noise or feedback with the songcraft more often found in pop music. Shoegaz ...

" acts, and were hailed in the press as "the black

Jesus and Mary Chain Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religi ...

", despite claiming to have never heard the work of that band. The next year the group signed to

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...

to release the follow-up 1987 EP ''Lollita'', which was produced by

Robin Guthrie Robin Andrew Guthrie (born 4 January 1962) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, composer, record producer and audio engineer, best known as the co-founder of the post punk alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has ...

of Cocteau Twins and saw the duo melding dub production, guitar

feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handle ...

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

and studio experimentation. While at 4AD, label chief

Ivo Watts-Russell Ivo Watts-Russell (born 1954) is a British music producer and record label executive. He was joint-founder with Peter Kent of the independent record label 4AD. He has produced several records, although he prefers to use the term "musical director" ...

suggested that Ayuli and Tambala team with roster mates

Colourbox Colourbox were an English electronic musical group on the 4AD label, releasing a number of records between 1982 and 1987. The band was formed by brothers Martyn and Steve Young, Ian Robbins, and vocalist Debbion Currie. Currie and Robbins left ...

, champion mixer Chris "C.J." Mackintosh, and London DJ Dave Dorrell to record a one-off single. Dubbing the collaboration

M/A/R/R/S MARRS (stylised M, A, R, R, S) were a 1987 recording collective formed by the groups A.R. Kane and Colourbox, which only released one commercial disc. It became "a one-hit wonder of rare influence" because of their international hit " Pump Up ...

, the resulting single, " Pump Up the Volume" was a breakthrough effort heralding sampling's gradual absorption from

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

into

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

and ultimately the pop mainstream, reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1987. A.R. Kane followed with their highly anticipated debut album, '' 69'' (1988), which topped the independent charts and received rave critical reviews from the UK music press. Writing for ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'', critic

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his career at ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He subsequently worked as a freelancer and published a number of books on music and popular culture. Reynold ...

described ''69'' as "''the'' outstanding record of '88." A.R Kane's next release was 1989's ''Love-Sick'' EP, followed later that year by their second studio album, '' "i"'', in which they engaged more overtly with pop, dance and electronic styles. The duo, dismissive of the wildly disparate attempts by journalists to categorize their unique sound, eventually began referring to their music as " dreampop"; the term was widely adopted by music critics thereafter. Like its predecessor, ''"i"'' was released to moderate sales figures and topped the independent charts. Also in 1989, Rough Trade released the ''Pop'' EP. In the early 1990s, the band went on hiatus. During this time, Ayuli and Tambala founded the label H.ark and released EPs by acts such as Papa Sprain and Butterfly Child. Rough Trade went bankrupt in 1991. In 1992, US label

Luaka Bop Luaka Bop is a New York–based record label founded by musician David Byrne, former lead singer and guitarist for the art rock– new wave band Talking Heads. What began with Byrne making cassettes of his favorite Tropicália tracks for his fr ...

released a 15-song US retrospective of the band's work, titled ''Americana''.

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

of ''

The Chicago Times The ''Chicago Times'' was a newspaper in Chicago from 1854 to 1895, when it merged with the ''Chicago Herald'', to become the ''Chicago Times-Herald''. The ''Times-Herald'' effectively disappeared in 1901 when it merged with the ''Chicago Recor ...

'' described the compilation as "a chronicle of sonic innovation in which the boundary between melody and noise, pop and the avant-garde, is blurred continually." The duo ended their hiatus thereafter to record a follow-up album, ''New Clear Child'' (1994), and then dissolved following its release.

1994–2014: Post-breakup

Following the dissolution of A.R. Kane, Tambala made ambient- and dub-based music with his sister Maggie under the alias Sufi and released the 1995 album ''Life's Rising'' on

Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label that was founded in 1973. Founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976 and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. The label rel ...

. Tambala serves as head of new media for

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...

, and previously worked for Virgin Digital in non-musical roles. He has also recorded as MusicOne. Ayuli was known to be a museum curator in the US. He put out releases under the name Alex!. In 2006, Ayuli contributed vocals to two tracks ("Soulsong" and "Passage") on the album ''Primario'' by the Static Discos artist Fax, and also appeared on Fax's album ''Zig Zag''. Ayuli appeared in ''Beautiful Noise'', a documentary on the

shoegazing Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volum ...

music scene of the 1990s A.R. Kane's first two albums were reissued in the US by One Little Indian in 2004, and ''New Clear Child'' was reissued by 3rd Stone in 2000. ''Complete Singles Collection'', a compilation of the group's EPs and singles, was released in 2012.

2015-present: Reformation and spinoff as Jübl

In 2015, it was announced by Tambala that a quasi-reformation of A.R. Kane, bringing together new and old collaborators, would be taking place that year under the name #A.R.Kane and without the involvement of Ayuli. In 2018, the revived band (featuring Rudi and Maggie Tambala plus guitarist Andy Taylor) renamed itself Jübl as part of a "forward-thinking rebrand". Rudi commented "I wanted to do something for the 30th anniversary (of ''69''), to give back to people some of the feeling they have shared with us, and to mark the moment. We discussed remasters, t-shirts, box-sets, re-recording some of the tracks, concerts, re-mixing the entire LP, and so on, but there were ownership and rights issues that became impenetrable barriers, so I just kinda gave up. Then one morning in May I just thought "Fuck it, it's a month away, just get the fuck out of bed and do something." Over coffee I realised that we could only move forward and be free from the nonsense by renaming the band, hence "Jübl". From that moment on everything just clicked into place. The three of us have been performing as A.R. Kane since 2016, and writing new songs too, so the material was there, we just had to make that final push."'Song Premiere: "Thinking About You" by Jübl'
''The Big Takeover'', 5 June 2018 Following the name change, Jübl issued two singles - "Thinking Sweet" (in June 2018) and "Quiet Sun Slips Over" (in June 2019), both of which would later appear on their first album under the new name, ''DNA Cowboys'', released independently on 1 September 2019. In 2023 A.R. Kane released a limited-edition vinyl boxset ''A.R. Kive'' containing remastered versions of the ''69'' and ''"i"'' LPs and the ''Up Home!'' EP (all originally released by Rough Trade from 1988–89) plus new remixes by artists including Slowdive. Coinciding with this release, Tambala played two live dates as A.R. Kane at The Social and

Cafe Oto Cafe Oto is a venue for free jazz, experimental and free improvisation performances located in the Dalston district of London, England. Founded in 2008 Cafe Oto (''sound'' or ''noise'' in Japanese) is located in the heart of Dalston and provide ...

in London. The lineup for these shows included Maggie Tambala and Budgie on clarinet, credited by Tambala as the player on 'The Sun Falls Into The Sea'.

Legacy and influence

Critic Jason Ankeny described A.R. Kane as "arguably the most criminally under-recognized band of their era" and an important progenitor of such musical developments as shoegazing,

ambient dub Dub is a musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p.&nb ...

and

. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' has called their work "some of the 80s' most extraordinary music" and noted their influence on subsequent artists such as My Bloody Valentine. The group have been recognized for breaking stereotypes about the styles accessible to black musicians at a time when most popular black artists were relegated to

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

. Critic

tentatively referred to A.R. Kane as "the great lost group of the 80s," while pointing out that the group in fact enjoyed fervent support in certain circles of the press and surrounding music scenes during the period. Reynolds later wrote that "A.R. Kane weren't a rock band in the conventional sense ..theywere more like an experimental guitar pop unit who loved to push the recording studio to its limits." Their work was characterized by ''

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

'' as "dreamy

experimental pop Experimental pop is pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas. It may incorporate experimental music, experimental techniques such as m ...

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

wrote that, "embracing dub, soul and paisley pop, A.R. Kane pushed boundaries most of their contemporaries completely ignored." Bands such as

Seefeel Seefeel is a British electronic and post-rock band formed in the early 1990s by Mark Clifford (guitar, programming), Daren Seymour (bass), Justin Fletcher (drums, programming), and Sarah Peacock (vocals, guitar). Their work became known for f ...

Slowdive Slowdive (stylized in lowercase) are an English people, English rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Neil Halstead (vocals, guitars), Rachel Goswell (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Christian Savill (guitars) ...

Long Fin Killie Long Fin Killie were a Scottish experimental rock/ post-rock band, which released three albums and several EPs on the British avant-rock label Too Pure in the 1990s. History Long Fin Killie's core lineup consisted of Luke Sutherland (vocals ...

Dubstar Dubstar are an English indie-dance duo,Note: An American indie hip hop artist has released some tracks and video via the Internet under the name "Dubstar", but is not connected to the band in any way. performing songs with hints of Britpop, dre ...

, and the Veldt/ Apollo Heights have cited A.R. Kane as an influence.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' 69'' (July 1988,

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade Records, a record label from the stores *Rough Trade Books, a publishing house from the label *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''Am ...

; reissued 2004,

) * '' "i"'' (October 1989, Rough Trade; reissued 2004, One Little Indian) * '' New Clear Child'' (September 1994,

; reissued 2000, 3rd Stone)

EPs

* ''Lollita'' 12-inch EP (July 1987,

) * ''Up Home!'' 12-inch EP (April 1988, Rough Trade) * ''Love-Sick'' 12-inch/7" EP (October 1988, Rough Trade) * ''rem"i"xes'' CD/12" EP (1990, Rough Trade Deutschland) * ''A Love from Outer Space'' CD/12" EP (1992, Luaka Bop/

Sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...

)

Singles

* "When You're Sad" 12-inch single (August 1986, One Little Indian) * "Baby Milk Snatcher" 7-inch single (June 1988, Rough Trade) * "Listen Up!" 12-inch single (October 1988, Rough Trade) * "Pop" CD/12"/7" single (July 1989, Rough Trade) * "Crack Up" 12-inch single (1990, Rough Trade France/Virgin) * "Sea Like a Child" CD single (1994, 3rd Stone)

Compilation albums

* ''Americana'' CD/LP (1992, Luaka Bop/Sire) * ''Complete Singles Collection'' 2CD (2012, One Little Indian) * ''A.R. Kive'' 2xLP and 12-inch EP boxset (2023, Rocket Girl)

References

External links

Whatever Happened To... A R Kane
(from January 1999 issue of ''Q'' magazine)
A.R. Kane entry on Discogs.comJübl Facebook pageJübl Bandcamp page
{{DEFAULTSORT:A.R. Kane 4AD artists Black British musical groups Black British rock musicians British dream pop musical groups English dance music groups English experimental rock groups English musical duos Experimental pop musicians Luaka Bop artists Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1994 Musical groups reestablished in 2016 Musical groups disestablished in 2018 Rock music groups from London British dub musical groups