Description
1986, a couple of days before the end of the year. A band no one heard of before stepped onto a small stage in their hometown Utrecht, The Netherlands, during a small festival and blew everyone in the room away. They called themselves Urban Dance Squad. That night brought about a whole new sound and style in music no one ever heard before. It would change the way people listen to music forever. Some people called their music Rock, others heard more of Hip Hop and Funk, another group of people heard Ska rhythms or even Heavy Metal, Grunge and Rock & Roll. One thing is for sure, there would never be such a crossover band as this group of extraordinary guys giving it their all and bringing together such a diverse group of fans into one room. Strangely enough Urban Dance Squad was over-looked by the media. Even though they had a growing and faithful fan-base, they werenít able to take their music to the next level. It is not like they didn’t do everything they could to make it work! Touring in Europe and the US, getting raving reviews. Some of their songs were used in Big Motion Pictures, and appear on several soundtracks. The world wasn’t ready for them is the only plausible conclusion. Years after UDS recorded their first album, bands like Fishbone, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage against the Machine emerged. Openly admitting their inspiration source being UDS. “Artantica” was originally released in 1999. The band had decided to record this album with two old friends, Theo Van Rock (bass player of Nasmak and “fifth member” and engineer/ producer of the Rollins Band) and Peer Rave (producer of Jeffrey Lee Pierce / Gunclub and also the Rollins Band). Rudeboy adds his raps and melodies to the rich instrumental textures. Afterwards Theo and Peer kicked in the final part of the project. In their studio all recorded tracks were mixed all into powerful, transparent and highly original songs. And so UDS had come full circle. “Artantica” is the true product of that extraordinary musical chemistry between the five individuals that made up UDS, and in its uncompromising diversity bears resemblance to their early groundbreaking albums. This MOCD release included a bonus disc containing a live concert May 18,1999 at Elysee Montmartre, Paris.
