Opus III
Encyclopedia
Opus III were a techno
and house music
group
from England
who had success on the UK Singles Chart
and on the U.S.
Dance
charts
. The group consisted of vocalist
Kirsty Hawkshaw
and producers
/musicians Kevin 'The Fly' Dodds, Ian Munro and Nigel 'Spider' Walton. The group members promoted a strong environmental
message through their lyrics
, album liner notes
and photo and video
imagery.
Their debut album
, Mind Fruit
, produced the track "It's a Fine Day
", a cover
of a 1983 single by Jane, which topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1992 and reached number five on the UK Singles Chart.
The song, now considered a house music
classic, is the basis of Orbital
's 1992 track "Halcyon
" and its album version "Halcyon + On + On" included in their second eponymous album
; the "la la la" section of the "It's A Fine Day" chorus was backmasked
and sampled
throughout the song. Norwegian artist Erlend Øye
also covered
the song on his album that was part of the DJ-Kicks
series.
Hawkshaw returned the favour by appearing in the video for "Halcyon" playing a housewife who was 'under the influence'. The other single release from Mind Fruit, was "I Talk To The Wind
" a cover of the 1969 song by King Crimson
. This was not a big chart success in the UK, only reaching number 52.
Opus III's second album Guru Mother
surfaced in 1994 and produced another U.S. number-one dance song "When You Made The Mountain
". A third dance chart entry, "Hand in Hand (Looking for Sweet Inspiration)" hit number 14.
The group disbanded after their second album. Hawkshaw is still a major presence in dance music, lending her vocals to a number of electronic
and dance music
artists and tracks into the opening years of the 21st century, including Delerium
, Silent Poets
, DJ Tiësto
and again with Orbital.
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
who had success on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and on the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Dance
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. The group consisted of vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
Kirsty Hawkshaw
Kirsty Hawkshaw
Kirsty Hawkshaw is a British dance/electronica/house/trance musician and songwriter. She is known for her participation as lead vocalist for the group Opus III, and her collaborative work with other musicians and producers....
and producers
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
/musicians Kevin 'The Fly' Dodds, Ian Munro and Nigel 'Spider' Walton. The group members promoted a strong environmental
Environmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
message through their lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
, album liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
and photo and video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
imagery.
Their debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Mind Fruit
Mind Fruit
Mind Fruit is a 1992 album by Opus III."It's a Fine Day" is a cover of a 1983 single by Jane & Barton, and "I Talk to the Wind" is a cover of a King Crimson song from their 1969 debut album In the Court of the Crimson King.-Track listing:...
, produced the track "It's a Fine Day
It's a Fine Day
"It's a Fine Day" is a song written by English poet and musician Edward Barton. It was originally recorded in 1983 by Jane, and later by Opus III for whom it was a major international hit in 1992.-Original recording by Jane:...
", a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of a 1983 single by Jane, which topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1992 and reached number five on the UK Singles Chart.
The song, now considered a house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
classic, is the basis of Orbital
Orbital (band)
Orbital are a British electronic dance music duo from Sevenoaks, England consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. Their career initially ran from 1989 until 2004, but in 2009 they announced that they would be reforming and headlining The Big Chill, in addition to a number of other live shows...
's 1992 track "Halcyon
Halcyon (Orbital song)
"Halcyon" is a song written and performed by Orbital. The song features a backmasked vocal sample by Kirsty Hawkshaw from "It's a Fine Day" by Opus III . Ed Barton, the composer of "It's a Fine Day", receives a co-writing credit for the track...
" and its album version "Halcyon + On + On" included in their second eponymous album
Orbital (brown album)
Orbital 2 is the second album from British electronica duo Orbital. It is also known as the Brown Album to differentiate it from Orbital's 1991 debut album, which had a green cover...
; the "la la la" section of the "It's A Fine Day" chorus was backmasked
Backmasking
Backmasking is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward on to a track that is meant to be played forward...
and sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
throughout the song. Norwegian artist Erlend Øye
Erlend Øye
Erlend Øye is a Norwegian musician from Bergen, best known for being part of the indie folk duo Kings of Convenience together with Eirik Glambek Bøe. He has released one solo album, Unrest, in 2003 and a mix-CD in the DJ-Kicks series in 2004....
also covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
the song on his album that was part of the DJ-Kicks
DJ-Kicks
DJ-Kicks is a series of DJ mix albums, mixed by various artists for the independent record label !K7 Records.-History:...
series.
Hawkshaw returned the favour by appearing in the video for "Halcyon" playing a housewife who was 'under the influence'. The other single release from Mind Fruit, was "I Talk To The Wind
I Talk to the Wind
"I Talk to the Wind" is the second track from the British progressive rock band King Crimson's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King....
" a cover of the 1969 song by King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
. This was not a big chart success in the UK, only reaching number 52.
Opus III's second album Guru Mother
Guru Mother
Guru Mother is a 1994 album by Opus III. It features the dance club hit "When You Made The Mountain". The album contains positive lyrics including one track that is a Sanskrit prayer . It integrates strands of Eastern spirituality with ecology...
surfaced in 1994 and produced another U.S. number-one dance song "When You Made The Mountain
When You Made The Mountain
"When You Made The Mountain" is an "environmentally-themed" electronica/dance single recorded by Opus III with vocals by Kirsty Hawkshaw released in 1994 as the lead single from their second album, Guru Mother...
". A third dance chart entry, "Hand in Hand (Looking for Sweet Inspiration)" hit number 14.
The group disbanded after their second album. Hawkshaw is still a major presence in dance music, lending her vocals to a number of electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
artists and tracks into the opening years of the 21st century, including Delerium
Delerium
Delerium is a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, formed in 1987, originally as a side project of the influential industrial music act, Front Line Assembly...
, 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...
, DJ Tiësto
Tiësto
Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...
and again with Orbital.
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart