Eruption aka Chris Brown

Where do you start to investigate an organisation which has conquered every area of the rave scene? In an interview with Chris Brown, aka Eruption, from the organisation, United Dance, we discovered what makes United Dance and it’s sister companies some of the most successful within the scene. In the green countryside of Essex, Chelmsford is the home of the United Dance organisation. The focal point of the Happy Hardcore rave scene, the nerve centre of the infamous rave promoter, who’s events over the past two years have earned United Dance, the position of number one.

United Dance Recordings was Chris Brown’s first label which he started off in 1993 to produce and put out his own quality Hardcore music. Who would realise that a few years later this label would be producing the anthems which exist today. ‘Party Time’, by Eruption and Dougal, was possibly the most successful track produced on the label – one of the most successful track of the last two years. Chris Brown strongly feels that the music is getting better, “one hundred per cent, compared to a few years ago”, indicating that the producers are putting more time into making the music, using original vocalists, instruments and so on.

“If you look at it two years ago, it had it’s own sound, but that was a lot more primitive, I suppose, it has become a lost less sample orientated, not so many rip-offs, and the music which is ripped off is still re-done by a new vocalist. There are a lot more creative aspects in the music”.

There are quite a few new tracks coming out of the United Dance stable at the moment, with top name DJ’s being brought in to remix some of the earlier classics. Brisk is doing a remix of ‘Let The Music’, slightly harder than the original. Force and Styles have done a remix of ‘All You Bastards’, Chris produces the new ones ‘Reach Out’ and ‘Fantasy’, with vocalists Katherine Wood and Nikki D. Force and Styles have also remixed ‘Surrender’ and they have also remixed one of the most successful tunes on United Dance Recordings, a track entitled ‘I’m Gonna Get Ya’ which was originally by Dougal and Eruption. ‘Don’t You Want Me’ is a more experimental track with the vocals of Katherine Wood and ‘Stay With Me’. Chris is also working on the B-side of ‘Sunshine’ with Slipmatt which should be finished and available on XL Recordings when you read this.

Chris feels that there will be a day when some of the producers will inevitably have chart success. He is quite philosophical in that he knows it is possible with the right backing.

“For a tune to chart it will require a major labels backing and to put one hundred of them into every Woolworths, HMV, Our Price etc, at £1.99. Whereas most underground label can’t even get them made for £1.99”.

It is however, not an aim for Chris, he wants to keep the music he writes as underground as possible, but if the chance came to get a track charted, it would be because the song is good enough to be in the charts – never selling out. Chris often works alone with Bradley Carter engineering, however he enjoys working with the likes of Slipmatt, Dougal and Sy. The latest release he has done with Slipmatt has gone to another label, XL Recordings. In my opinion, though, Happy Hardcore or 4-Beat as it is more fashionable to say, will appear in the chart before Christmas of this year.

United Music is the collective name for the section within United Dance which puts out the compilation albums, recently set up, United Music is accelerating from strength to strength, fast becoming the most respected compilation label in Hardcore music. ‘Up-Front’ Music might better describe these albums which are hitting the streets every three or four months.

“It’s the new company we set up to produce some artist albums. We just want to get more involved in the music side, although we started making music about six months after the first party”.

Although the first four United Dance volumes were released through Four Beat Recordings, United Music was set up to continue and improve the quality, and stature of dance music to the nation.

Their first release, entitled ‘All Over The World’, an artist album which focuses on the music of Force and Styles features twelve tracks from the promising duo from Clacton. Chris has personally nurtured Force and Styles, recognising their talent, and quickly manoeuvring them into professional studios. This album is the first of it’s kind, an artist album, where only the music made by Force and Styles will appear. Anthems such as ‘Heart of Fold’, ‘Funfair’, ‘Harmony’ and ‘Wonderland’, make this album one to watch out for on it release date of 27th August.

“I rate Force and Styles really highly, they’re massive. They’ve got their own sound together, they haven’t just found their style and are sticking to it, they constantly improve on their music”.

In a day and age where it seems that anybody with a studio thinks they can write music, Chris, and the originality of the producers he works with are taking Hardcore music into a new millennium. Working alongside the likes of Slipmatt, Brisk and Dougal, this new “original” sound has captured audiences all over the world, and has at last gained respectability amongst major record companies who are now forgetting the monotonous vibe created in the early nineties:

“Everyone thinks that a good tune nowadays has to have a right ‘cheesy’ breakdown. Sixteen months ago, everyone was scared to do a Happy track that didn’t start with a right friendly break, drop down after one minute thirty and then return to the piano after three and a half minutes. There are not as many set rules to it, people are using a wider spectrum, with more influences from other sources. It isn’t just sped up House accapellas, or sped up pianos anymore”.

Indeed, some of Chris’s latest tracks, under his artist name of Eruption, have had influences from all different styles of dance music. ‘Fantasy’ contains an excellent ‘trance’ orientated build up leading into some of the most original vocals sung by new vocalist Nikki D. ‘Surrender’ builds in a similar way with original strings, and again that ‘trance’ influence ever present.

It is because of Chris’ Happy Hardcore experience that United Dance have been producing Hardcore compilations. However, together with Marvellous Cain and DJ Hype, September 23rd sees the release of ‘The Designer Collection’. This consists of eighteen Drum ‘n’ Bass anthems which have been ripping up the dance floors at the Stevenage Art’s and Leisure Centre over the past few months:

“I would say that Hype and Mickey Finn are the most popular Jungle DJ’s at our events, and obviously Mickey will probably be mixing the next one. A lot of the Drum ‘n’ Bass albums out at the moment are concentrating on the Intelligent, because it is more fashionable, but I know a lot of people like the ‘jump-up’ stuff that the likes of Hype, or Grooverider play”.

Chris appreciates the help he got with ‘The Designer Collection’ from Marvellous Cain who compiled the album with Hype. “Hype enabled us to get some of the tracks that we wouldn’t have got”, Chris admits. ‘The Designer Collection’ was a difficult album to compile. United Dance wanted the album to be as near to one of Hype’s sets as possible, which meant getting the best tunes. Admitting that the Happy albums were easier to produce, mainly because most of the Hardcore music is coming from the United Dance stables, or from the DJ’s labels who appear on the albums:

“Because of the good relationships I have with the DJ’s like Slipmatt, and Dougal, Force and Styles, I can find it a lot easier to do the Happy albums, we’ve got the pick of the crop because a lot of the best tracks we own anyway. Because it was the first Jungle album we did, we found it hard, but everybody sorted us out, and I’m dead chuffed with it, over the moon in fact”.

Over the moon he should be, because this latest album is reminiscent of one of the greatest Hype sets, even with the sampled voice of MC MC making appearances throughout. His scratching is impeccable, and the tunes on the album make this one of the best I have heard.

It is because Chris listens to all the various styles of dance music that he can appreciated the whole spectrum, “I like listening to House, Trance, Drum ‘n’ Bass and even some Intelligent in my card, so I’m not always locked onto Happy”.

It is probably for this reason that the United Dance events cater across the board, with ravers attending for Drum ‘n’ Bass, Happy Hardcore and Bouncy Techno. Chris believes that if United Dance catered for just one style, people would get bored pretty soon:

“I’ve always enjoyed going to mixed parties, I think people like the variety. If you’re at an event that plays one style of music all night, then the top six tunes at that time are going to be heard quite a few times. Even if you’re into Happy, it will still do your heard in after ten or eleven hours”.

Even so, Chris intends to release ‘United Dance Volume 5 ‘ at the end of October, which will see the profile of the United Dance organisation increase yet again. The good that United Dance have done for the Happy Hardcore scene has been felt across the world, their album being distributed across the globe. This has led the demand to a World Tour which starts in August with a trip to Canada, via Ibiza on to Australia. Chris admits that this is due to the albums which have become the most popular Happy Hardcore compilations ever. The fact that they are United Dance is the first symbol of quality which attracts thousands to the events in Stevenage. ‘United Dance Volume 5’ will be mixed by Slipmatt, Vibes, Dougal and Seduction, bringing four of the original five back together again from Volume One of the series:

“The reason there has been a bit of a gap between United Dance Four and Five is that we thought, and I’ll think you’ll agree, they are so way ahead of their time. Volume Four is way ahead of some of the compilations coming out now, and it’s been out for three months now. It’s the only compilation with ‘Sunshine’ on it, by myself and Slipmatt. I just wanted to wait until there was enough good music about to compile an album which betters Volume Four. We don’t just make albums for the sake of it”.

It is the exclusiveness of the United Dance albums which makes them so popular. It is perhaps another advantage, that their albums are not exclusive due to large licensing budgets, but because a lot of the tracks on the album are owned by United Dance Recordings and are not released to other compilation albums until up to six months after they have appeared on one of the United Dance albums. “The fact that we make a lot of the tunes that appear on the album, and that we won’t release them to other companies is that edge which makes them better”.

Chris could easily have licensed off ‘Party Time’ and ‘Sunshine’ to a hundred other labels but because he wants his albums to be the most up-front, he resists, making them leagues ahead of the rest. The top DJ’s all well known to Chris, often commissions the likes of Dougal, and Slipmatt to produce exclusive remixes:

“It’s because we are really involved with it, we know what is going on around on Dub Plate, because we are at all the events anyway, listening to the DJ’s seeing what gets the crowd jumping”.

The success of United Dance has taken Chris by surprise, the only reason for this is the hard work and effort he has invested over the years, Chris explains, “It’s just evolving, we still want to keep it really underground, I’ve always had new ideas for artwork, and I want it to be quality. Instead of spending my money, I’m just re-investing it, back into packaging, to make it better quality, that’s always been my way with the events”.

Chris never stands still, he has always got new ideas for his albums, his music and his parties. It is for this reason that he never actually sits back and looks at what he’s achieved:

“I don’t get a chance to sit back and think ‘Ooh lovely’, you know what I mean? I just carry on working. It’s still not as successful as I want it to be, but I suppose at the end of the day I own it all. I haven’t sold off the rights to United Dance to a larger record company, like some of the House promoters. I’m pleased with it in that sense because it’s given me the chance to help other people, with the money I’m making, like Force and Styles and their album”.

The proposed artist albums which are in the planning stages at the moment will focus on the talents of Dougal, Hixxy, Slipmatt. There is also a planned House album to be released after Christmas, “We don’t want to be single-minded with anything, United Dance, when I started it was always going to be a mixed music company and that’s the way it’s going. Although Happy Hardcore is what we’re known for, and something that we’re doing most successfully, but we don’t want to be single-minded”.

A few years ago when I interviewed Chris, his goal with United Dance, the events, was to stage a massive outdoor party, however as he has become more experienced his thoughts have changed, “I’m really happy with the size of the parties we’re doing at the moment”, he continues, “A few years ago I told you that I wanted to do a really big outdoor party but now I’m not too bothered. I just want to do good nights that people remember. The biggest isn’t always the best”. Stevenage will hold a large capacity of hungry ravers at the next event with two massive arenas. This has taken around sixteen months of hard work and a good relationship with the councils at Stevenage to make the venue larger. Finally, they made it and the work has paid off, with Stevenage Art’s and Leisure Centre, surely, being one of the best in the country.

“It takes about three or four months to plan the parties we’re doing over here now, and to do the size of party that I would classify as big would take about eight months to plan, and after all that it could get cancelled”.

The success of the parties that Chris is putting on at Stevenage, the organisation that makes them what they are, have rewarded him with exclusive rights to the venue for six years. As we all know, there is never any trouble at Untied Dance events, the only trouble most ravers usually find is not being able to get a ticket!

If the right venue came along where United Dance could stage an event that would better the facilities offered at Stevenage, then there would be a possibility. However, as things are going at the moment, each United Dance gets better, the production increases, the now infamous stage set-ups which create that little bit more of an atmosphere. “I want to see United Dance as a progressive organisation, leading the way in music, parties and albums and I think that’s going, pretty much according to plan”.

Chris is also very lucky to have a strong team behind him at United Dance, admittedly, he couldn’t run it all himself, and probably wouldn’t even think of it. Gabbie Milligan, second in charge at UD, is the longest serving member of the team. “She does everything that I’m not very good at, paperwork, she is basically the Office Manager, and I can trust her enough to run things when I am out of the country. She’s even organised some of the smaller events for the tour, I couldn’t really do it without her”.

Darren Bolino also recently started with the team, mainly to deal with PR, making sure that all the latest promos are receiving press coverage from magazines, radio stations and so on. He is also the ‘Chief Demo Tape Listener’ which means he has the pleasure of listening to the thousands of mix-tapes pouring into the United Dance office ever year.

Chris is dedicated one hundred and ten percent to the scene, “It’s my life”, there is always something for him to do, whether it be with United Dance Recordings, United Music or the events:

“I work Monday to Friday in the office here in Chelmsford, ten in the morning until six at night. I get home and I find myself on the phone again there, it’s probably about seventeen hours a day, seven days a week”.

Despite getting this far since the days of being an electrician, Chris is never going to relax. He doesn’t see United Dance as the best, because he truly feels they can get better, “I might be successful in other peoples eyes, but I know how much further we can go. I don’t want people telling us we are the best, I just want to be up there in the top three of four”. Chris lives off the buzz that he hasn’t made everything the best, because it gives him the energy to strive on. “I always know we can do better, I don’t know if anyone else can do better, but I know we can”.

The element of surprise is a great asset to United Dance, the raver never knows what to expect from one party to the next. This may explain why ravers are scared to miss a United Dance event because they don’t know what they are going to miss. It is this fact which drives Chris on to get better and better. “We do spend far too much money on production, but that’s only because I want to give the punter value for money”.

Value for money is something that nearly 75,000 ravers have experienced at United Dance since the back end of 1993. It is also expected that quality music and quality albums are going to be released on United Dance Recordings and United Music, and as long as Chris Brown is at the helm, then the formula for quality will be achieved. The next United Dance is at the Stevenage Art’s and Leisure Centre on the 11th October 1996 – definitely not one to be missed!