* En anglais uniquement
Skylab is the combined efforts of U.K. DJ/experimentalist
Mat Ducasse, producer
Howie "B." Bernstein, and Japanese Major Force recording artists
Tosh and
Kudo, aka Love TKO. Beginning as a post office project between
Ducasse and
Bernstein (with
Ducasse shipping tape after weirded-out tape of obscure samples and tape-loop experiments to the intrepid
Bjork/
U2 producer),
Skylab become one of the more celebrated of the crossover trip-hop/ambient breakbeat set. Wedding
Ducasse's affectation for '60s experimental jazz, funk, and soul with Bernstein's penchant for making connections and
Tosh and
Kudo's tight, solid hip-hop moorings, the group generated much of the raw material for their L'Attitude debut and subsequent EP in the studio (as opposed to the sampler). Fifth member Debbie Sanders' interesting, often wordless vocal contributions added novelty and texture. Although all the members released solo material outside of the group,
Skylab's shifty, off-beat flavor remained a unique collaborative product. In 1994, Astralwerks released the full-length #1 in America. While
Howie B went on to a fertile solo career, the remaining quartet converged again five years later for 1999 (Large as Life and Twice as Natural). ~ Sean Cooper