Words & Photo by Ben Cardew

For underground musicians, chart success can be a double-edged sword, which brings in money and fame as it destroys your experimental credentials. Few bands know this as much as The Shamen, the Scottish psychedelic indie band turned rave pop stars, who are best known these days as the jokers who smuggled a pro-ecstasy song to the top of the UK charts via the leaden punning of Ebeneezer Goode.

There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. There was undoubtedly something subversive in what The Shamen achieved with Ebeneezer Goode and when people think of the band it is generally with a wry smile and a warm heart.

But this rampant chart success – and The Shamen were genuinely massive in the 90s – means that the group’s background as psychedelic warriors and dance rock crossover pioneers gets lost under a litany of naughty-naughty camera winks and nostalgic delights. Because way back before the Happy Mondays dropped the W.F.L. dance-floor mixes and The Stone Roses released Fools Gold, The Shamen were mixing up electronic sounds with guitars, rock vocals and political intent, making them a genuinely revolutionary band. As their pivotal album, In Gorbachev We Trust, turns 35, what better time to celebrate them?

“The Shamen started out as a guitar band, gorging on fungal fruits and tuning into psychedelia,” the band’s guitarist, vocalist and leader Colin Angus told The Guardian in 2012. You can hear this on their 1987 debut album, Drop, a work of elegant psychedelic rock, which suggests 60s acid trips, more than 90s acid house. “As the personnel changed,” Angus continued, “we played around Scotland and picked up a few tricks with sequencers, samplers and drum machines.”

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you can follow the shamen on spotify here…

Here’s a wee Shamen intro playlist for you: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3UYALt0TrMTBsk9Jmo4Ij4?si=E8zP5Ki4QACJ6J-Ms1O2AQ

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it’s been 25 years since the release of the shamen’s “boss drum” album, which won them a highly coveted ivor novello award for songwriters of the year, went double platinum album and of course spawned the sometimes controversial no1 Single for four ( yes count them) weeks “ebeneezer goode” alongside the hit singles “lsi”, “boss drum”, “phorever people”, ‘re-evolution’ and “comin; On” , some rather fine mixes &  more….. which seems like a good reason to mention it.

you can hear it here

or here

Follow The Shamen on Spotify

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25 years after the shamen’s single release “ebeneezer goode” was banned,  then sent scurrying up the charts to no1 where it remained for 4 weeks until we deleted it.  here’s some more palaver on how it came to be, in case anyone missed it last time:

how we made … ebeneezer goode by the shamen

with some more gratuitous rug references.. especially for anyone that hated it 😉

listen links here

more carry on at the shamen’s facebook page.

Heres some of the flava it came in

ebeneezer goode – beat edit  : the shamen

ebeneezer goode – south of detroit vocal  : the shamen

ebeneezer goode – shamen dub  : the shamen

follow the shamen on spotify

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The Shamen also made experimental ambient and electronic music that was more underground than their big hits.

‘Dead Mexico’ is focusing on these tracks for this 2 hour Shamen Special.

Enjoy.

https://www.mixcloud.com/deadmexico/dead-mexico-shamen-special/

Shamen Special by “Dead Mexico” on FutureMusic Fm.

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