C Cat Trance: Obscure Tales From The New Wave Era (The History Of C Cat Trance)

 

C Cat Trance were a post-punk band from Nottingham, England, initially active between 1983

and 1988. Formed by John Rees Lewis after his departure from Medium Medium. They released four albums and seven EPs between 1983 and 1988 before splitting up in the mid-1990s.

                   

Medium Medium was a post-punk band from Nottingham, England, Emerging in 1978 out of the

Nottingham punk/rhythm & blues band The Press, Medium Medium's first single was "Them or Me", which was released in late 1978 and was still selling well enough in 1980 to appear in the UK Independent Chart. The second single, "Hungry, So Angry", was released in February 1981 on Cherry Red Records.
                       

One of the first records to introduce slap bass - a technique borrowed from black funk music - to

a generally white audience, "Hungry, So Angry" reached #48 in the Billboard Disco chart - the single and the album were released in 1981 on the New York-based indie label Cachalot Records - and has appeared on over a dozen compilations over the years. The duo became fascinated with Middle Eastern and Turkish instruments, and their approach to modern funk catalyzed a sound that would further morph in the 1990s into "worldbeat" (albeit a genre with more commercial sensibility than C Cat Trance).
                

After leaving Medium Medium, Rees Lewis formed C Cat Trance with original Medium Medium drummer Nigel Kingston Stone. Noticeably different from Medium Medium in its instrumentation, the

group still retained some of the density and intensity of Rees' former group, but went in a different direction.  They incorporated World music elements, releasing a self-titled debut mini-LP in 1983 on the Red Flame label. C Cat Trance relied heavily on world-music instrumentation, scales and time signatures to develop their sound. The results are dark and moody, with a little bit of pop sensibility thrown in for good measure. Their music is a fusion of Middle Eastern/Turkish influences with modern funk.
              

Subsequent releases were on the Red Flame sub-label Ink, starting with the "Dreams of Leaving" 12-

inch single. They released one album a year between 1985 and 1987 and another in 1992 before splitting up. John Rees Lewis later returned to a reformed Medium Medium.

ALBUMS
                           

C Cat Trance (1983), Red Flame
Khamu (She Sleep Walks) (1984), Ink 6
Zouave (1986), Ink
Play Masenko Combo (1987), Ink
Les Invisibles (1992), Ink

COMPILATIONS

Les Invisibles (1997), Ink Records
Karadara: The Cream of C Cat Trance (2005), Cherry Red

C CAT TRANCE - C CAT TRANCE 1983

                   

The album highlights a project that stood out from the post-punk haze with striking scales and time

signatures to develop a unique sound. All the songs together they perfectly showcase a dark and moody world music with a shamanic spiritual underbelly that has gained admirers from collectors and latter-day producers."

C Cat Trance – C Cat Trance
Label: Red Flame – RFM 19
Format: Vinyl, LP, Mini-Album, Stereo
Country: UK
Released: 1983
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Tribal, Art Rock

SIDE A.

                  

A1. Hypnotised   5:26
Bass – Mark Walker
Written-By – B. Midney, S. Linze
A2. My Tattoo   2:47
Bass – Mark Walker
Written-By – Rees Lewis

SIDE B.

                            

B1. Railway Magazine   4:26
Written-By – Rees Lewis
B2. Let Me Sleep   5:15
Written-By – Rees Lewis
B3. Untitled    2:24
B4. Dangling On A String   5:27
Written-By – Wayne, Dunbar

LINE - UP

Drums, Percussion – Nigel Kingston Stone
Performer, All Instruments – Rees Lewis

NOTES

Recorded at Yew Tree Farm Studios near Newark Notts and Olgay Hotel Topkapi Istabul.
The A-side plays at 45 RPM, the B-side at 33 ⅓ RPM.

Flac Size: 173 MB

C CAT TRANCE - KHAMU (SHE SLEEP WALKS) 1084

                       

I remember seeing C Cat Trance live at Rock City Nottingham in the early 80s. The "drummer" had

about 50 percussive things dangling down on a string and hit them with the intricacy of a brain surgeon. The singer alternated from sax to vocals and I think funky bass.
Sometimes music is too forward thinking for even the music intelligentsia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

C Cat Trance – Khamu (She Sleep Walks)
Label: Ink Records – INK 6
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Tribal, Art Rock

SIDE A.

A1. Puritaines
A2. Barefoot Doctor
A3. The New Hassan
A4. (Screaming) To Be With You

SIDE B.

                  

B1. Rattling Ghosts
B2. The Old Man
B3. Simple Helen
B4. Miss Manners

LINE - UP

Instruments, Vocals – John Rees
Lyrics By – Rees Lewis
Percussion, Vocals – Nigel Kingston Stone

NOTES

Additional material on
'Miss Manners' - 'Bhounru': Laq Village from festivals of the Hymalayas (Nonesuch H-72079)
and on
'Simple Helen' - 'Serüün Sahian Hangai' sung by Sumya Morinxuur played by Orchirbat (Tangent TGN 126)

Flac Size: 264 MB

C CAT TRANCE - ZOUAVE 1986

                      

The band are seen as members of the post-punk movement, but that's not all that is to say about their sound. C Cat Trance incorporated ethnic music into their compositions before world music became a popular genre. Their influences come mainly from Northern Africa and the Middle East. A lot of people

have played with the band, creating a unique mix of pop, new wave, club and world music. Zouave was the band's third album and completes the Klanggalerie re-issue programme. It came out in 1986 on UK label Ink Records. For this re-issue we have included the 12" singles Ishta Bil Habul and Jinniyya. Recorded and mixed at Square Dance Studios, Derby, September/October 1986. Track B4 remixed at Livingston Studios, London.
℗ + © Ink Record 1986. Distributed in the UK by Nine Mile and The Cartel and in Germany by Rough Trade Deutschland. Ink is a division of Red Flame.

C Cat Trance – Zouave
Label: Ink Records – INK 20
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: UK & Europe
Released: 1986
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Tribal, Art Rock

SIDE A.

                        

A1. Wind Howl   3:39
Written-By – Kingston Stone
A2. Betty 2:59
A3.He's Crazy    4:25
A4. Taksim   4:53
Engineer [Sound] – Rob Hodgkinson
Guitar – Wynn D'Il Michelin
Written-By – Traditional
A5. Ishta Bil Habul   4:04
Guitar – Wynn D'Il Michelin

SIDE B.

                     

B1. If You Steal   3:43
B2. Take Me To The Beach   3:48
B3. You've Lost That Loving Feeling   4:07
Written-By – Mann/Weil, Spector
B4. Shake The Mind   5:26
Engineer [Remix] – Tony Harris

LINE - UP

Performer [Instruments], Percussion – Rees Lewis, Kingston Stone
Guitar – The Hysteria (tracks: A1, A4 to B1)
Backing Vocals – John Croix, Jorele, N. Kingston Stone, The K-Kittens
Written-By – Rees Lewis (tracks: A1 to A3, A5 to B2, B4)

Flac Size: 232 MB

C CAT TRANCE - PLAY MASENCO COMBO 1987

Play Masenko Combo was the band's fourth and last album, originally released on Ink Records in 1987.

For this re-issue, we have added rare tracks and the remaster was once more created by Martin Bowes of Attrition.

C Cat Trance – Play Masenko Combo
Label: Ink Records – INK CD 003
Format: CD, Album
Country: UK
Released: 1988
Genre: Rock
Style: Tribal, New Wave, Art Rock

TRAXS

                  
                           

01. Dalbouka    4:09
02. They Made Them Up   8:54
Music By – Stone
03. She Ever Does    9:02
04. Jamais    9:03
05. I Looked For You    4:29
06. Cold    7:05
07. Two Words    7:37

ADDITIONAL TRAXS       
    
08. My Tattoo    2:50
09. Railway Magazine    4:29
10. Let Me Sleep    5:13
11. Untitled    2:28
12. Dangling On A String   5:29
Written-By – Wayne, Dunbar

LINE - UP

                                      

Baglama [Saz], Flute [Caval], Kalimba [Mbira], Woodwind [Zurna], Flute, Marimba, Sampler [Angklung & Balo Samples] – Rees Lewis (tracks: 1 to 7)
Bass – Assassinator (tracks: 1 to 7), Rees Lewis (tracks: 8 to 12), Mark Walker (tracks: 8)
Drum Programming [Rythm] – Fury Sofia (tracks: 1 to 7)
Drums, Percussion – Nigel Kinston Stone (tracks: 8 to 12), Fury Sofia (tracks: 1 to 7)
Guitar – The Hysteria (tracks: 1 to 7), Rees Lewis
Harmonium, Lute [Guinbri] – Dave Walker (tracks: 1 to 7)
Lyrics By, Music By – Rees Lewis (tracks: 1 to 10)
Oud, Percussion [Bendir] – Hassan Erraji (tracks: 1 to 7)
Performer [Dalbouka] – Hassan Erraji (tracks: 1 to 7), Steve Harvey (tracks: 1 to 7)
Sampler – Mike Newbon (tracks: 1 to 7), Tim Mold (tracks: 1 to 7)
Saxophone – Rees Lewis
Talking Drum – Steve Harvey (tracks: 1 to 7)
Vocals, Bagpipes [Pipes], Performer [Sona], Balalaika – Rees Lewis (tracks: 8 to 12)
Voice [Chants] – K-Kittens

Flac Size: 425 MB

C CAT TRANCE - LES INVISIBLES 1992

                     

Ink Records do a stellar job with anthologizing the group's career with tracks from 1984–1988. "From

the legendary 'Shake The Mind' to the percussive, ethnic meets club inspired songs like 'Jinniyya' or the 'Screaming To Be With You', the album highlights a project that stood out from the post-punk haze with striking scales and time signatures to develop a unique sound. "Exotic, dense, tribal rhythms propel a mixture of club, pop and world music, creating an atmospheric fusion that can be heard across the 16 pieces.

C Cat Trance – Les Invisibles
Label: Ink Records – INK CD006
Format: CD, Compilation
Country: UK
Released: 1992
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Tribal, Art Rock

TRAXS

                

01. Hypnotised    5:24
02. My Tattoo    2:48
03. Dreams Of Leaving    5:07
04. Shake The Mind    5:35
05. Rattling Ghosts    4:47
06. Wind Howl    3:43
07. Betty    3:00
08. If You Steal    3:49
09. Screaming To Be With You    5:52
10. She Steals Cars    4:28
11. Jinniyya    5:22
12. Let Me Sleep    5:04
13. Simple Helen    3:48
14. She Ever Does    8:44
15. Agnus    5:35
16. Miss Manners    6:07

Flac Size: 551 MB

C CAT TRANCE - KARADARA (THE CREAM OF C CAT TRANCE) 2005

                    

This Cherry Red collection samples songs from their first EP and the four subsequent full-lengths that

followed. Also included are five tracks that were designated for another album, but due to the Red Flame imprint folding, they were never issued. For casual fans of Medium Medium and Lewis' canon, it's well worth the price in picking this up and getting C Cat Trance's finest moments on one disc, and for die-hard fans it's worth the price alone for the unreleased tracks that signal a bold new direction the group was to take.
                    

                                   
In the Mid 80s, after the release of the single 'Hungry, So Angry' and the album the Glitterhouse, Rees Lewis, the front man (voice and sax) of currently obscure but hip funk-sters Medium Medium, left and

with drummer Nigel Stone started C Cat Trance. They produced World and Dance sounds ahead of their time and, with a floating membership varying between two and eight, they toured Europe and released a series of records on Red Flame/Ink Records through the late 80s. The tracks on Karadara: The Cream of are selected from the first EP and the albums Zouave, Khamu, Play Masenko Combo and Les Invisibles. Also included are five unreleased tracks recorded for an album which coincided with Red Flame's demise. Cherry Red. 2005.

C Cat Trance – Karadara - The Cream Of C Cat Trance
Label: Cherry Red – CDM RED 280
Format: CD, Compilation, Stereo
Country: UK
Released: 2005
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Tribal, Art Rock

TRAXS

                             

01. Some Day Soon (Burn Mix)    4:18
02. Dreams Of Leaving    5:07
03. Shake The Mind    5:33
04. Wind Howl    3:43
05. Theme From The Film The Hawkline Monster    5:56
06. Orange Clawhammer    4:20
07. Cold    3:25
08. Clawhammer Stomp    4:21
09. Let Me Sleep    4:56
10. Two Worlds    5:38
11. The Old Man    4:39
12. Miss Manners    5:54
13. He's Crazy    3:59
14. If You Steal    3:45
15. Screaming To Be With You    5:49
16. 7/8.    3:33

Flac Size: 513 MB 

MEDIUM MEDIUM On Urban Aspirines HERE