Various - We Are I.E. FLAC download

This is one of the 'big' landmark records that popped up in 1991 to start the journey into what became jungle & drum & bass. NO its not the first rave record to make use of the Winston Brothers 'Amen' break. Im sure that quite a few discogs train spotters will point this out. What it was though was one of the records that lit the fires that propelled the UK rave sound into dominance. Around the time this record came out, the UK rave scene didnt really have its sound or identity. Europe dominated & producers tended to mimick whatever was going on over there. Belgian Techno & Italian Piano house were the big sounds of the time. UK producers were trying to find something that could be British and push back against Europe. This record then came out & stamped its foot in the minds of UK ravers and producers. Finally the British had their own unique sound. As already stated it wasnt the first record to use the amen break but its use of the 'let me hear ya scream' sample and chopped up amens immediatley set the benchmark. British producers finally had the 'British' sound and boy, did europe know it!!

You can find a much earlier use of the classic sample 'we are ie' on C&C Music factory's Seduction 12" - check the Vocal Club Mixhttps://www.discogs.com/master/view/175340

Picked this particular pressing up many years ago in Reckless Records on Berwick Street in Soho, London. Written on the sticker that the people behind the counter had affixed to the sleeve was the artist, title plus "Original Mix & Pointless Remixes". So true, made me chukkle at the time and since. Worth picking up if you want to get hold of the original mix, which is the only mix worth having, cheaply rather than having to dig deeper into your pockets for a copy of the original pressing.Let me hear you scream.

Ahhhhh, the Reckless day's.... What a great crew, both shops (Soho and Angel) still see zaf occasionally, his 'Love Vinyl' shop in Shoreditch still doing well. Those guys knew their sh*t & the label you mention is a typical example. Golden moments!

The 'original' version is an edit with a chopped down intro.

In an Interview with Cool Hand Flex (http://www.friedmylittlebrain.com/cool-hand-flex-interview/) he states that 'Feel The Rhythm' was his tune, We R i.e. was by Lennie De Ice, and the other two tunes were by Uncle 22 & A-Sides.Notes on the tune from Lennie De Ice:"We Are IE" means we are an example to everyone, black, white, Indian, Chinese. I done it in a home studio on a 6-track mixing desk. It was made in 1988 but came out in 1991 on IE Records. I was listening to a lot of Mantronix for the futuristic beats, the way he used to sandwich stuff. A lot of people were using breaks combined with the progressive feel of the house music and drum machines. We started merging things. From there it progressed. We played it at Living Dream, East Way Cycling Centre to 17,000 people in an open-air tent. It was July 1991, it was a lovely, lovely buzz."Bryan Gee also turned down signing this for the Outer Rhythm label. In an interview with Danielle (10) she stated that this tune was engineered by Timmi Magic.

I always get 'Timmi Magic' mixed up with 'Timmy Mallet' from Wackaday. Bad Air Jordan's ;-)

2 blacks and & bubbles was Top Buzz (Jason Kaye, Mikee B & Mad P). Timmi Magic was later in The Dreem Team.

...as above...Bryan must be pissed, but no worries as he made nuff good tracks after. Was Timmi the same guy as 2 blacks and a bubble?

Proud to own the exact copy used for the above label scan. I don't feel I need to comment on the significance of this release in relation to UK breakbeat, hardcore, jungle & D&B, but I guess I just did ;) Absolutely seminal (We i.e).

just play side b at 33,3rpm. i actually think it is meant to be played at this speed ^^

Both the 'Hijack Remix' and the 'Drums Of Death remix' are terrible, both following the current 2008 trends respectively, and trying to place the track into something it's clearly not. Especially with a track that has already gone through the rounds of updating a few times. No, the one to cop this for is the Caspa & Rusko mix which also has top billing on this piece of wax. Reinterpreting this classic into Dubstep would not proven hard since the original already shared the aesthetics of modern day dubstep. Caspa & Rusko laced the rough original drums onto a fierce wobblebass and worked the original pads & vocal sample onto the track. The track packs heat and will probably go down hard on a dancefloor

We are ie set a landmark in UK rave history! Certainly not the first to sample the amen but this tune combined the break with gunshot + vocal samples, a simple but very effective reggae style bassline and was pitched up to the pace of the breakbeat hardcore emerging at that time. Dropped by major name DJ's at London raves in the summer of 91, it was extremely well received by an audience that wasn't entirely happy with the dominating techno sound. This style perfectly captured the vibe of the scene and quickly established the musical form that later became known as jungle.. Allegedly first put together in 88 it has a raw feel and basic production typical of the era. While changing the sound of London clubs and uniting a new breed of raver - in typical fashion was completely ignored by mainstream media and labels, which further secures it's lengendary status. Anyone interested in the roots of real Jungle Drum n Bass should check this piece of vinyl - in my opinion it's the most important release for this style of music.

Legendary release this, most DJs point to this as the first Jungle drum and bass track. With the fat reggae style sub-bass bassline, sampled gunshot and the 'we are i.e.' sample taken off Coldcut's first album 'What's That Noise?', the vocal is in fact an arabian call-to-prayer type chant, which, if you get the album, you'll hear in full.

Adrenalin M.O.D. probably sampled it first, on this 1988 12" - https://www.discogs.com/Adrenalin-MOD-Four-Tunes-EP/release/88477

Coldcut sampled the same track, 2 years after it's original release : http://www.discogs.com/Fadela-NSel-Fik/release/103521

This massive tune that blew up raves up and down the UK in 1991 was certainly a ground breaking track that opened the door to a whole new style of hardcore rave music. It is also often cited as the first hardcore dance track to incorporate the amen breakbeat. This is in fact wrong as the amen was being used in other tracks at the time and the first hardcore tune to feature the amen was 'Father Forgive Them' by Holy Noise (Hithouse) which was released in 1990. Saying that We Are Ie is still one of the greatest tunes of a great era.

and what about NWA's 'Straight Outa Compton', speed that sucka up and you got the ones you mentioned above and that was probably made around 1987, released 1988

These proto-hardcore tunes used the Amen Brother break before Father Forgive Them:Success N Effect - Roll It Up (Bass Kickin Beats) (1989) Frankie Bones - Janet's Revenge (1989)

The track "We Are IE" on this record is often cited as being the first proto-jungle tune. It was the first tune to really incorporate a heavy ragga bassline with a breakbeat and was an indicator of what was to come. It was a huge tune played by every dj and still gets played today by the likes of MJ Cole as his closing tune.