If the previous two singles were solid and well received, but ultimately set to languish in semi-obscurity, everything changed with the debut Mental Cube release. Not only have the opening two tracks gone on to be classics of turn-of-the-decade dance music, but the Mental Cube name was the first Dougans / Cobain alias to be reused.
Another aspect that ties the EP to later releases is its diversity: both A.S.T. and ‘I Can See for Miles‘ were fairly homogenous, compiling tracks of a particular genre together (something that would happen on many other 12″s of this era), while Chile of the Bass Generation brings together three stylistically varied tracks, from the funky breaks of the title track to the bleep techno of ‘Q’.
Credit-wise, things feature a shift here, too. The Stakker-esque cover is Buggy’s first classic, as well as his first to use the Riphead name. Humanoid is no longer present on the credits, and Yage is given a rare production role, rather than being listed as engineer. Garry is still ‘Cockbain’ at this point. The band clearly hadn’t decided on the final template they would go on to use for many years, but as with the music, everything here feels like a leap forward into more familiar territory.
The record, and ‘Q’ in particular, would go on to be huge in clubs. ‘Q’ was licensed to European labels the following year, and due to heavy demand, an updated version of the EP was reissued by FSOLDigital in 2020. The Mental Cube name would be used a few more times during the band’s tenure on Passion Music. The final track, ‘Dope Module’, would become the name of an alias used on 2007’s By Any Other Name.
Release date: 31st October 1990.
Other issues:
Mental Cube EP
Tracklist:
12″ (DEBTX 3104)
A. Chile of the Bass Generation
AA1. Q
AA2. Dope Module
Credits
Written by B. Dougans / G. Cockbain
Produced & mixed by Yage.
Front cover: Buggy G. Riphead.
Published by Skratch Music Publishing.
Fractional Difference 
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