Roni Size & DJ Die - 11:55 (Roll Out Mix) (Full Cycle, 1995)
A few times when selecting tracks for the DnB Advent Calendar I've thought of something only to realise I've already posted about it. That's the case here but Roni Size & DJ Die included an alternative mix of this tune on the 12" release, which is fortunate for me as there aren't exactly loads of tunes featuring the number eleven! It's also fortunate for everyone because two versions of this tune can't be a bad thing. Despite the FCY001 catalogue number, this wasn't the first release on Full Cycle but the fourth - FC 004 is even crossed out on the run-out. The label was originally called Full Circle but was renamed after just one release, though they kept the same numbering system until '11:55'.
Both versions of the tune are on YouTube but I think the mixes are the wrong way round, based on my copy and the titles of the mixes. The Roll Out Mix featured today is a more stripped down version of the track, which makes sense given the name. The Gangsta Mix features a lot more of the vocal sample from Lightnin' Rod's 'Hamhock's Hall Was Big' which gives the track its title. It's taken from the 1973 Hustlers Convention LP, a lost classic Chuck D has called "a verbal roadmap for people trying to understand the ghetto they were in".
The Roll Out Mix opens with a cut-up of the Scorpio break before bringing in the Sesame Street break with a meaty 808 bassline. The central vocal sample is limited to just "the time is 11:55" while the other elements of the track float in and out sparingly. While the other side opened with the Sport break, also taken from the Hustlers Convention LP, here it pops up briefly towards the end. Overall I prefer the Gangsta Mix (which is the one included on the Music Box LP) but there's not much in it. You can hear the Roll Out Mix in this set from Ratty at The Edge Presents The Awakening from 1995: