When Faze Action released ‘In The Trees’ in 1996, it bore all the hallmarks of an instant classic. With its resplendent strings and summery feel, it marked an early high point for the new school of disco revivalism that fellow contemporaries like Idjut Boys and later Metro Area would lay the foundations for. MN2S asked Robin from the duo to take us through the genesis and timeline of this stunning track.
Myself and Simon had given each other our first 12” (‘Original Disco Motion’) in May of 1995 when it got picked up by the fledgling Nuphonic label, headed up by Dave Hill and Sav Remzi. Although not a massive hit, it got some radio play by the likes of Gilles Peterson and caused enough interest for Nuphonic to request a follow up single. The problem was that I was now living and working in Japan and Simon was in London and technology back then wasn’t what it is these days. We didn’t have email addresses, or mobile phones for that matter. In fact, it’s always seemed that we were the last to make use of the latest technology, even growing up as kids. We didn’t even own a CD player until 1987 or a VCR until 1988.
Fast forward to the Autumn of 1995 and Simon had been working at Can Can Studios with engineer Ben Mitchell, the result of which was sent to me by snail mail on a TDK tape cassette (yes, it was a C90). What arrived was the signature bass and drum track with express instructions that I should write an arrangement for cello to go with it.
At that time I was living in an apartment block called Suido Kaikan (sort of translated as ‘The Water Tower’) and I had no musical technology to hand whatsoever. With the studio date for the recording looming, the pressure was starting to mount.
The only instrument I had in my small apartment was an old Aria Pro II CTB active bass guitar – the one I had used on ‘Original Disco Motion’) but no amplifier to hear what it was that I was playing. I found that if I rested the neck of the instrument on something semi-solid such as a table or a chair, then I could get the bass to resonate acoustically. After a bit of experimenting it, was actually the water tower that formed part of the building itself that provided the best sound.
I armed myself with some manuscript paper and set to work, eventually faxing the score to Can Can Studios the next morning whilst my boss at the school where I worked was otherwise occupied. Simon hired Tessa Kuhles (my cello teacher) for the recording session, as I was on the other side of the planet with no access to a cello or a studio at the time. It wouldn’t be until three years later, whilst working on our second album, that I would get the chance to play cello on one of our own records.
Simon and Ben used Cubase on an Atari ST for the heart of the MIDI arrangement, synced to half-inch tape machine. The cello was recorded and tracked to tape and then thrown in the sampler for arranging. The huge resonant sweep heard throughout the track was a Roland SH-101 with some pads, and sound FX from a Korg M1, also used on ‘Original Disco Motion’. The distinctive conga pattern was played and recorded by Ben Mitchell, who also happens to be a talented drummer. I believe that the title was taken from the name of a patch on one of the synths in Ben’s studio at the time, but with the mists of time and excess, I can’t remember which one Simon told me it was – and I haven’t been able to find it.
I don’t think that any of us realised how successful the track was going to be, and we certainly created it with no agenda in mind. It was only our second single, so we didn’t have any expectations and no expectations were made of us. We just made the music that we wanted to listen to. Around that time Simon had been turning me on to amazing records like Rinder and Lewis ‘Lust’, MFSB ‘Mysteries Of The World’ and Miroslav Vitous’ ‘Magical Shepherd’ LP.
I think that we will always be grateful for ‘In The Trees’ and what it has done for us. A lot of doors have been opened and opportunities have come our way because of it and as such it will always have a place in our hearts. We are also immensely proud to have had it remixed so skilfully by Carl Craig when Juno Records reissued it. To this day it still seems to get a fair amount of attention and this year Defected Records have featured the original mix of it in their ‘For The Love Of House’ collection. Its continued success is really down to the music lovers that have just discovered it, or those that remember it the first time around. For some reason it has this knack of bringing people together and we can’t really ask for more than that.
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