Attica Blues are a UK trip-hop band, who made their debut releases on the Mo' Wax

Mo' Wax

Mo' Wax was a UK-based record label owned by James Lavelle, who founded it in the early 1990s with Tim Goldsworthy. Steve Finan became co-owner shortly after. The label came to recognition for being at the forefront of trip hop, turntablism and alternative rap during the mid-90s...

 label. Taking their name from an Archie Shepp album

Attica Blues (album)

Attica Blues is an album by avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp. Originally released in 1972 on the Impulse! label, the album title is a direct reference to the Attica Prison riots...

, the band have also provided remixes for Ultra Naté

Ultra Naté

Ultra Naté is an American house music, Dance-pop and sometimes R&B musician who has achieved a respectable amount of success on the pop charts with songs such as "Free" and "If You Could Read My Mind" as part of Stars on 54....

, Sneaker Pimps

Sneaker Pimps

Sneaker Pimps were a British trip-hop band formed in Hartlepool, England in 1994. They are best known for their first album Becoming X and particularly the singles "6 Underground", "Spin Spin Sugar", and "Tesko Suicide" from the same album...

, Silent Poets

Silent Poets

The Silent Poets is a Japanese electronic duo . They have released six original albums and over than seven remix albums/EPs until now...

 and DJ Krush

DJ Krush

, better known as DJ Krush, is a producer and DJ. He is known for his atmospheric instrumental production which incorporates sound elements from nature and extensive use of jazz and soul samples.-Biography:...

.

History

The group began life in 1994 when producers D'Afro (born Charlie Williams) and Tony Nwachukwu first met up. D'Afro had previously founded London's Urban Poets Society collective but the duo later became Attica Blues. While trying to sell some Japanese hip-hop records, D'Afro met up with Mo'Wax founder James Lavelle

James Lavelle

James Lavelle is a DJ, electronic recording artist and record label boss.-Early years:Born into a family with a strong tradition of music, Lavelle first began by learning the cello with his grandmother in Oxford....

and was offered a spot on his Mo'Wax label. The duo began recording their first single alone but when a local student, the Egyptian-born Roba El-Essawy, visited the studio during the recording for their debut single, D'Afro and Nwachukwu decided to ask her to join them. The band released their first single in 1995 and their debut album in 1997.

Albums

• Attica Blues (Mo' Wax, 1997)
• Test. Don't Test (Columbia, 2000)
• Attica Blues Present Drum Major Instinct (Ex:treme, 2001)

Singles

• Vibes, Scribes 'N' Dusty 45's EP (Mo' Wax, 1994)
• "Blueprint" (Mo' Wax, 1995)
• "3ree (A Means to Be)" (Mo' Wax, 1997)
• "Tender" (Mo' Wax, 1997)
• "Oh La La La" (1998)
• "What Do You Want?" (2000)

External links

• Charlie Dark on Andrew Meza's BTS Radio