Finitribe

Finitribe were a Scottish electronic dance music group, sometimes also referred to as Fini Tribe, formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1984, by Chris Connelly, John Vick, Andy McGregor, Philip Pinsky, David Miller and Simon McGlynn. Initially a post-punk guitar outfit, the band released a debut EP 'Curling and Stretching' on their own Finiflex label in the summer of 1984, graduating to their first John Peel session in 1985, before rethinking their whole approach in the mid 1980s.
Tired of the conventional drums, bass and guitar set up, they acquired a sampler and began experimenting with electronic music. The result was ‘Let The Tribe Grow’, an EP released on the Glasgow label Cathexis and featuring ‘De Testimony’, a seminal dance floor anthem for the original Balearic/Acid House generation. A series of remix EP's proved their electronic and dance floor credentials and brought indie chart success. Andrew Weatherall produced and remixed the single ‘101’ (1991) along with Graham Massey from 808 State.
The band's fifth album ‘Sleazy Listening’ (1998) was launched with a sell out gig at The Shooting Gallery, Edinburgh with Davy Henderson's Nectarine No. 9. The band toured the UK with their most successful gigs for several years, headlining the ICA in London. They recorded the first ever John Peel live session and released three further singles for Infectious. This was the band's last album and tour.
(Read more at Wikipedia.)
== Links to Peel ==
Peel was a long-term supporter of Finitribe, who recorded three sessions between 1985 and 1998, the first of which quickly followed plays for their DIY debut single and an appearance with the John Peel roadshow in Edinburgh.
The DJ closely followed their early move to a more electronic sound, publicly stating that landmark single 'De Testimony’ ("that record with the bells in it") had deserved a place in the Smiths-dominated 1986 Festive Fifty. Unlike many fellow session artists of the era, however, Finitribe failed to gain wider commercial success, despite working with the likes of remix maestro Andrew Weatherall. Along with unhappy dealings with the major label music business, the single 'Animal Farm' prompted threats of legal action from a well-known hamburger chain, although it did get multiple plays by Peel. In early 1998, the band's final session was broadcast live from Maida Vale.
After Peel's death, David Miller fondly recalled a lost world of radio in an online interview:
"We were so lucky to have John, he was a one off. I think it unfair to compare anyone to him really."
== Festive Fifty Entries ==
*None
== Sessions ==
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Three sessions. #1 available on John Peel Session 12/5/85 (cassette, 1985, Finiflex), #2 on Noise, Lust & Fun CD, 1989 (One Little Indian ‎– TPLP21CD).
1. Recorded 1985-05-12. First broadcast 22 May 1985. Repeated 11 June 1985.
*Goose Duplicates / An Evening With Clavichords / We're Interested / Splash Care
2. Recorded 1989-02-14. First broadcast 22 February 1989. Repeated 13 April 1989.
*Electrolux / Swans / Disturb
3. Live at Maida Vale 05 March 1998.
*Mind My Makeup / The Electrician / Frantic / Waltzer / Theme
== Other Shows Played ==
;1980s
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*26 August 1984 (BFBS): Cathedral (12" - Curling And Stretching) Finiflex
*27 August 1984 (BBC World Service): Cathedral (12" - Curling And Stretching) Finiflex
*27 September 1984: Cathedral (12" - Curling And Stretching) Finiflex
*10 December 1986: De Testimony (EP - Let The Tribe Grow) Cathexis
*16 December 1986: De Testimony (12") Finiflex
*06 January 1987: De Testimony (Collapsing Edit) (12" - Let The Tribe Grow) Cathexis
*07 January 1987 (Radio Bremen): De Testimony (Collapsing Edit) (12" - Let The Tribe Grow) Cathexis
*26 January 1987: De Testimony (Collapsing Edit) (12" - Let The Tribe Grow) Cathexis (Peel wishes the Finitribe track he played on the programme had been in the 1986 Festive Fifty.)
*03 February 1987: ("This is a record which a lot of people write to me about and they always say, 'can you play that record with the bells in it again'. And I keep explaining what it actually is, it's Finitribe and it's called 'De Testimony' and it's on Cathexis Records.)- De Testimony ('Let The Tribe Grow' 12") Cathexis
*05 August 1987: I Want More (12") Wax Trax!
*11 July 1988: Make It Internal (12" - Make It Internal (Detestimony Revisited)) Wax Trax!
*07 December 1988: Swans (album - Noise, Lust & Fun) Finiflex
*04 January 1989: Disturb (LP - Noise, Lust & Fun) Finiflex
*08 November 1989: Animal Farm (12") One Little Indian
*23 November 1989: Animal Farm (12") Finiflex
*25 November 1989 (BFBS): Animal Farm (12") One Little Indian
;1990s
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*25 January 1990: Put Your Trunk In It (album - Grossing 10K) One Little Indian
*03 May 1990: Monster In The Wireless (12" - Monster In The House) One Little Indian
*20 July 1991: 101 (Backflip) (12") One Little Indian
*11 August 1991: 101 (Sonic Shuffle Edit) (12") One Little Indian
*01 August 1992: 101 (Sonic Shuffle Edit) (album - An Unexpected Groovy Treat) One Little Indian
*07 August 1992: Come And Get It (LP – An Unexpected Groovy Treat) One Little Indian
*23 July 1997: Flying Peppers (12 inch ) Infectious Records
*30 July 1997: Flying Peppers (12 inch single) Infectious
*14 August 1997 (BFBS): Flying Peppers (12"-Flying Peppers 1) Infectious
*21 August 1997: Chiller (12" - Flying Peppers) Infectious
*03 February 1998: Sleazy Rider (album - Sleazy Listening) Infectious
*04 February 1998: The Electrician (album - Sleazy Listening) Infectious
*11 February 1998: Mind My Make-Up (album - Sleazy Listening) Infectious
== See Also ==
*Dale Griffin: Peel Sessions produced
*Gigography 1985
*Maida Vale: Live Sessions
*Peel Sessions Releases
*Scotland: Sessions
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
Category:Artists