"Last Train to Trancentral" is a song released, in different mixes, as a series of singles by British electronic band

The KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...

, including "Last Train to Trancentral (Live from the Lost Continent)". A commercially successful single of April 1991, it reached number two 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 ...

, number one 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 ...

and achieved international top ten placings. It is a central song within The KLF's work, and is distinctive for an uplifting string-synthesiser break.

Origins and versions

"Last Train to Trancentral" is related to The KLF's unreleased earlier tracks "E-Train to Trancentral" and, from the 1989 soundtrack to their film ''

The White Room ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'', "Go to Sleep". Both the film and the soundtrack were abandoned in 1989, due to spiralling costs and the commercial failure of the soundtrack single "Kylie Said to Jason". However, much of the musical material was salvaged and substantially remodelled to form the basis of their later, commercially successful work. In particular, bootlegged copies of "Go to Sleep" reveal many

chord sequence In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

s and melodies later used in "Last Train to Trancentral". One month prior to the "Pure Trance" single release, many of the same core elements were also used in ambient form during the tracks "Wichita Lineman was a Song I Once Heard" and "Trancentral Lost in My Mind" on the KLF's third album, '' Chill Out'' (1990).

Pure Trance version

The original March 1990

12" single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

constituted the third of The KLF's "Pure Trance" series. The sleeve, emblazoned with the number 5, reflects The KLF's prior intention that this be the fifth contribution to the series, but two titles ("Love Trance" and "Turn up the Strobe") were never released despite the sleeves having been printed. The "Pure Trance" version of "Last Train to Trancentral" is a

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

ambient house Ambient house is a downtempo subgenre of house music that first emerged in the late 1980s, combining elements of acid house and ambient music. The genre developed in chill-out rooms and specialist clubs as part of the UK's dance music scene. It ...

reworking of "Go to Sleep", stripped of the female vocals and all but one line ("And from somewhere, I hear") of The KLF co-founder

Bill Drummond William Ernest Drummond (born 29 April 1953) is a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. He was a co-founder of the late-1980s avant-garde pop group the KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with ...

's narration. It features a strained, chordless synthesiser melody and a progressive instrumental build-up into a string-orchestrated break. Some parts of the track are purely percussive, punctuated by the bleats of

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...

. The track was incorporated into The KLF's February 1990 album, '' Chill Out'' (most prominently on the track "Wichita Lineman Was a Song I Once Heard"), an album for which they have been credited as pioneers of the ambient house genre. Indeed, upon its release, "Last Train to Trancentral (Pure Trance version)" was not easily categorised, with ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the '' NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in '' ...

'' claiming that "it isn't a dance track".

LP version

In March 1991, a version of "Last Train to Trancentral" appeared on The KLF LP ''

''. Featuring vocals by

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

musician Black Steel and a rap by Ricardo Da Force, this

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 ...

reworking follows a conventional song structure, with a rhythm that mimics the sound of a train in motion along its tracks. It uses the theme of a journey to bridge the two sides of the LP, from uptempo pop-house music to a

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

collection of songs.

Stadium House version

In April 1991, some elements of the "LP Version" were further reworked into a commercially minded single release. Entitled "Last Train to Trancentral (Live from the Lost Continent)", this was the third and final instalment of The KLF's so-called "Stadium House Trilogy" of singles, following up " What Time Is Love?" and " 3 a.m. Eternal" during the peak of the band's mainstream popularity. This version reached number two on the

, and found top ten chart success internationally. The track preserves the

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

and string break of previous versions, placed in the context of a relentless, sample-filled rave

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

. Unlike the prior Stadium House offerings, Ricardo Da Force's rap was removed, except for "This is what The KLF is about, also known as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, furthermore known as The JAMs...", but the trilogy is consolidated by the presence of distinctive samples from both "What Time Is Love?" and "3 a.m. Eternal". As with much of The KLF's output, the track is jubilant and highly

self-referential Self-reference occurs in natural or formal languages when a sentence, idea or formula refers to itself. The reference may be expressed either directly—through some intermediate sentence or formula—or by means of some encoding. In philos ...

, purporting that it has a message to deliver yet proceeding with deliberate ambiguity. Also typical of The KLF, it refers to '' The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' novels and the Lost Continent of Mu. The song features on The KLF's video ''

The Stadium House Trilogy The KLF released three long form videos during their career - ''Waiting'', ''The Rites of Mu'', and ''The Stadium House Trilogy''. They also worked on an ambitious road movie - ''The White Room'' - which was never released (although bootleg copies ...

''. A remix 12" credited to The Moody Boys was released alongside the Stadium House arrangement. Entitled "The KLF Meets The Moody Boys Uptown", The Moody Boys' remixes bear little resemblance to the released song, drawing on parts of "Go to Sleep" that are not common to other versions of "Last Train to Trancentral", and a sample of "Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity" from

The Planets ''The Planets'', Op. 32, is a seven- movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. In the last movement the orchestra is joined by a wordless female chorus. Each movement of the suite is named ...

suite by

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite '' The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

, which was allegedly meant to be used as an intro in "E-Train to Trancentral". The song opens with a sampled American-accented voice saying "Okay, everybody, lie down on the floor and keep calm," reportedly spoken by KLF publicist Scott Piering.

Reaction and influence

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 advertis ...

'' commented, "Matching the brilliantly kooky,

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

-fronted " Justified & Ancient" is a tall order, but the mysterious production team succeeds by sticking to an enticing combo of odd samples, funky beats, and anthemic chorus chants." A reviewer from ''

'' noted the "ethereal atmospherics" of the "Pure Trance" version, but the single was poorly received by ''

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. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'', who interpreted it as a joke: "'Look how mischievous we are', the fatheads giggle!" In comparing "Last Train to Trancentral (Live from the Lost Continent)" to the KLF single "Justified and Ancient", Simon Williams from '' NME'' called the former a "sheer frantic rush". '' NME'' also named the single as 15th best of 1991. Caroline Sullivan from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' wrote about the song, ""Last Train" follows the "3am Eternal" formula: a live feel, huge, swirlaway beat and insanely catchy chorus. "All aboard, all aboard, woh-oh," barks the singer, and you immediately want to put your hands in the air and shake them like you just don't care." Allan Harrison from ''Splendid'' Magazine said of the LP version, "The cries of "Mu Mu! Mu Mu! Mu Mu! Mu Mu!" take on a strangely liberating, mantra-like feel. It's the essence of great pop music, of great dance music, wholly compressed." In 1999, Tom Ewing of ''

Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2000 ...

'' ranked the song at number 42 in his list of the "Top 100 Singles of the 90s", saying "No band understood the possibilities for mass lunacy contained in the new music as well as did the KLF. ..Read a copy of ''

The Manual ''The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way)'' is a 1988 book by "The Timelords" (Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond), better known as The KLF. It is a step-by-step guide to achieving a No.1 single with no money or musical skills, and a case ...

'', Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty’s pricelessly cynical dissection of the process needed to have a No.1 hit, and the depth of their understanding begins to show through. For novelty scam-mongers and pranksters, they knew the public well, particularly that strain in British pop listening which likes an occasional brush with the gigantic. The KLF did to house what Jim Steinman did to rock – they turned it into a thing of tottering grand opera absurdity, pushed the excitement in the music to hysteria, traded content for ever-huger gesture. The difference being that the KLF never lost track of what made the music special in the first place. Maybe because there’s less inherent ‘meaning’ in the KLF’s music, or maybe just because the ‘meaning’ in house music is less fragile, I don’t know, but no matter how vast “Last Train To Trancentral” sounds, it never loses its happy grip on your feet and heart." "Last Train to Trancentral (Live from the Lost Continent)" is used in the finale for

Blue Man Group Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, b ...

's theatrical show. Blue Man Group produced a special 5.1 version of the song utilizing some of their invented instruments for their newer performance venues. Blue Man Group's '' The Complex'' features pieces from the so-called "Rock Concert Instruction Manual", a tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of pop music and the rock concert experience; this alludes to the KLF Communications publication ''

''. Their

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

was released as a single in 2006.

Trancentral

Trancentral was described as "the spiritual home of The KLF". This concept is reinforced by the "LP Version" of "Last Train to Trancentral", which describes the journey to Trancentral as a spiritual awakening, and the place itself a forum for spiritual realisation. Describing his journey, rapper Ricardo Da Force says "A brand new day is dawning, a light that will anoint me, a sign from the subconscious, an angel sent to guide me, the searchin' will be over, the call will now be gentle...". He also says, "Relax - there's only one place I'm headed now: I'm going into Trancentral where I can, you understand, liberate and free the psyche, balance my mind and my body...". The KLF's later output implied that Trancentral was analogous to "Mu Mu Land" - the Lost Continent of Mu - and that The KLF's journey "home" was ultimately unsuccessful. In reality, Trancentral was the name of The KLF's

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large en ...

Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The name S ...

, that was also The KLF co-founder Jimmy Cauty's squat. Cauty lived at Trancentral for approximately 12 years until Autumn 1991, claiming on one occasion, "I hate the place. I've no alternative but to live here". Trancentral was described in February 1991 by a visiting ''

'' journalist, who noted: Trancentral circa 1989 was described retrospectively as: Trancentral is often mentioned in The KLF's work, and is the likely motivation behind a motif of The KLF, in which speakers are arranged to form a capital T. This

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordm ...

appeared on KLF Communications recordings and

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more ...

. The name "Trancentral" lived on throughout the mid to late 90s, giving its name to a series of

psychedelic trance Psychedelic Trance, Psytrance or Psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...

and acid techno nights at the Tyssen Street studios in Hackney.

Cover versions

* In 1999,

covered this song for the finale of their theatrical performances. * An iTunes exclusive 102 compilation released by Suite 102 called ''The Ultimate Rave Party'' featured a cover of the song by Tokyo Soul. * In 2006, Slusnik Luna vs. Lowland released a remake of Last Train To Trancentral.

Personnel

"Last Train to Trancentral (Pure Trance version)" was written and performed by The KLF (

and

Jimmy Cauty James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo The KLF, co-founder of The Orb and as the man who burnt £1 million. He is married to artist and ...

). For other versions of the song, credit is given to Drummond and Cauty for production, performance and programming. Additional contributors on these versions include: * Ricardo da Force - rap and narration * Black Steel - vocals (except Moody Boys versions) *

Wanda Dee Wanda Dee (born April 12, 1963 as Lawanda McFarland) is an American hip hop artist. Career Early life Lawanda McFarland grew up in the Bronx, New York. While still a teenager, she became the first female hip hop DJ as the protégée of hip hop ...

- vocals (the sample "Come on boy, d'ya wanna ride?") ("Live from the Lost Continent") *

Maxine Harvey ''The White Room'' is the fourth and final studio album by British electronic music group The KLF, released on 3 March 1991. The album features versions of the band's hit singles, including "What Time Is Love?", "3 a.m. Eternal", and "Last Trai ...

- vocals ("LP version", Moody Boys versions) * Nick Coler - keyboards * Tony Thorpe - 'groove consultant' ("Live from the Lost Continent"), remixing (Moody Boys versions)

Formats and track listings

"Last Train to Trancentral (Pure Trance remix)" was aired as a UK

in March 1990, in an issue limited to 2000 copies. "Last Train to Trancentral (Live from the Lost Continent)" was given an international release as a single on 22 April 1991. A single of

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es by The Moody Boys was given a limited release on 6 May 1991. Key *PO - "Last Train to Trancentral (Pure Trance Original)" (6:44) *PR - "Last Train to Trancentral (Pure Trance Remix)" (5:50) *lc - "Last Train to Trancentral (Live from the Lost Continent)" (radio edit) (3:37) *LC - "Last Train to Trancentral (Live from the Lost Continent)" (5:36) *H - "Last Train to Trancentral (The Iron Horse)" (4:12) *V - "Last Train to Trancentral (Mu D. Vari-Speed Version)" (6:50) *B - "Last Train to Trancentral (808Bass Mix)" (6:15) *R - "Last Train to Trancentral (120 Rock Steady)" (6:09)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

*Author unknown (1991). "The KLF: Enigmatic dance duo" (feature and discography up to that time), ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'' Magazine, April 1991. {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Train To Trancentral 1990 songs 1990 singles 1991 singles KLF Communications singles The KLF songs Songs about trains Music Week number-one dance singles Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Greece Song recordings produced by the KLF Songs written by Jimmy Cauty Songs written by Bill Drummond