Smart Systems – Tingler (Meltram Mix)

Released on:
The Tingler – Remix

Runtime: 4:59

Removing the breakbeats and stabs from the original, the Meltram Mix of Tingler reinvents the track as a piece of intense industrial techno. Many of the hardcore staples are still there – whistles, crowds, vocal samples (“Go! Go! Go!”) and of course the hoover synths, which lead the track on this version – but the resulting track is very different in feel. It was, for some time, the version of the track that many FSOL fans new best, due to a very similar version – featuring an additional rap verse – appearing on Earthbeat. The rap, by friend and occasional collaborator Hamish McDonald, includes some fairly rudimentary cyberpunk imagery – “techno overload in a city of the future decode” – as well as invitation for listeners to “come down to the future sound of London”, and has probably dated as badly as anything the group have ever worked on. The track is loaded with other vocal samples, including the forementioned “Go! Go! Go!” chant, a wailing diva, someone yelling “London!” and an electronic voice stating “Smart Systems – Tingler, reactivated”. Cheesy as it all may sound, it gives an idea of just how many ideas are in the track. The ‘Meltram Mix’, like its rap-less cousin, the ‘Mingler Mix’, is an incredibly dense slab of sound, with just tons of stuff happening throughout, another testament to the pair’s increasing skills in arranging and production.

The main synth riff would go on to be sampled many times over the following year: check out N.A.M.’s ‘Recycler‘, Venom’s ‘Total Recall‘, and ‘Lost in Hell‘ by Adam X. As with all versions of the track, the track samples the “from my dreams… so beautiful” dialogue from the movie Dune.

Credits
Written by Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain (Sleeve).
Written by Brian Dougans / Garry Cockbain (Labels).
Recorded and mixed at Earthbeat Studios – London 1991.
Engineered and produced by The Future Sound of London (Sleeve).
Produced by Mental Cube (Labels).
Engineered by Yage (Labels).
Rap by “H”.
Executive producer Tim Jones.