A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray (12" Penthouse Mix)

A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray (Penthouse Mix) / 12 Inch Extended Remix (HQ Audio)

Gerald Simpson was born in Manchester in 1967. By the age of 18, he'd assembled a sound system in the attic of his auntie's house in Moss Side, where he invited friends over for scratch battles.

Some of those friends would go on to become well-known in their own right, including Andy Barker and Darren Price, aka Spinmasters, who later joined 808 State, as well as MC Tunes, who recorded with 808 State, and MC Shine.

Simpson later added a Roland 808 drum machine to his setup, along with two Roland SH-101 analog synths, and finally a TB-303 bass synth - which provides the signature squelch sound of acid house.

He became friendly with Graham Massey and Martin Price, who ran Eastern Bloc records in Manchester city centre, and formed 808 State with them, working on their debut album Newbuild and signature track Pacific State before leaving in 1988 to concentrate on his solo work.

(Footage from this period can be found online, including a fabulous and unique live performance at Manchester's Victoria Baths, where an early version of Voodoo Ray was performed to an audience floating on inflatable toys.)

Simpson describes his typical day in the late 1980s as walking around Manchester with headphones on, listening to Detroit techno by the likes of Kevin Saunderson (who later formed Inner City with Paris Grey) and Derrick May (aka Rhythm Is Rhythm), and feeling as though it matched the decaying industrial landscapes he saw around him.

Indeed, Saunderson's track The Sound had a "hollowy bass sound," as Simpson describes it, which intrigued him enough to try to create something like it with his own equipment, hence the unusual bass sound on Voodoo Ray.

His curiosity also led him to discover that he could trigger his synthesizers using a pulse from the 808 drum machine. Wiring the machines this way enabled him to craft the distinctive mechanical acid synth sounds of Voodoo Ray.

"Suddenly I had an orchestra," he says. "Everything I can do to push the technology, I’m going to do it. I want it to be special and different. That was my aim."

As was often the case in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the rapid evolution of sound was influenced by technological limitations, as well as technnological progress. For Voodoo Ray, Simpson had planned to include many spoken-word samples, but the time-consuming process with the sampler led him to use just a couple, triggering them back rhythmically.

Such happy accidents happen less often in the 21st century with virtually unlimited technology, and computing power at our fingertips, along with the ability to easily edit and refine our work.

Voodoo Ray was recorded in a day after a friend played Simpson's demos to the owner of Rham Records in New Brighton. The label offered him studio time to record an EP, to include Voodoo Ray.

Simpson brought along a singer friend from his estate, Nicola Collier. Her vocal was played forwards and in reverse, adding to the hypnotic groove of the track.

Simpson, a fan of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's Derek & Clive sketches, also sampled a line from one of these, where Moore shouts, "voodoo rage!" Famously, the limited memory of the AKAI sampler meant the clip cut off before the final consonant sound, and this particular technological limitation gives the track the name Voodoo Ray, instead of Voodoo Rage.

Notably, the track features extraordinarily crisp drum sounds. Simpson went further than many of his contemporaries, painstakingly recording each drum sound from the drum machine to tape before treating them with noise gates, compressors, and - on Voodoo Ray - perhaps the most lush reverb treatment of any acid house record.

The initial press of 500 copies sold out instantly, and the track became a club hit in 1988. In 1989, a longer run was released, and Voodoo Ray climbed to number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, making A Guy Called Gerald a household name. Later that same year, Pacific State, which he had also worked on, reached number 10.

Quite the journey from his auntie's loft.

Simpson says he learned a lot about ownership and litigation from these tracks. He explains that many records were simply ripped off at the time, so he posted all his demos to himself to have them in date-stamped envelopes.

He has gone on to have a remarkable career, switching in the early 90s to embrace breakbeats and sampling. He formed his own record label, Juice Box, which became hugely influential in the early jungle scene. This led to collaborations with Goldie and Finlay Quaye, amongst others.

Simpson's track 28 Gun Bad Boy, regularly played in 1991 by DJs Fabio and Grooverider, was a blueprint for the jungle sound. His 1993 album of the same name is regarded by many as the first full-length jungle album.

The mix shared here is the Penthouse Mix, appearing on a release of Voodoo Ray licensed to Warlock Records.

The remix is by Frankie Knuckles, who plays piano on the track, with his friend David Morales providing additional drums.

Year: 1989 Label: Warlock Cat no: WAR038