Last week I received my order from 2 Bad Mice's online store, which sells Moving Shadow branded products ranging from t-shirts to slipmats to backpacks. I was lucky enough to grab one of the limited edition hoodies featuring the Moving Shadow World Domination logo on the back (originally a Clashmouth exclusive before that event had to be sadly cancelled). The icing on the cake was my order being hand delivered by Si from 2 Bad Mice as he was in the area. What's more he even handed over a fiver to refund postage!
Simon Colebrooke isn't just one half of 2 Bad Mice but also helped run Moving Shadow as A&R Director, so no doubt played a part in putting together the Two On One series: nine 12"s released over nine months in 1994 featuring a different artist on each side. The covers of all nine 12"s when put together formed the Moving Shadow World Domination logo. A 10th release featured a picture disc of the logo but no music and was included on the extremely limited edition "Pizza Hut Edition" boxset.
2 Bad Mice's 'Shooby Corner' appeared on Issue 3 but I'm going to write about Blame & Justice's 'Nemesis' which as side Y on Issue 9 was the final track in the series. It's an incredibly forward thinking track for the time and a personal favourite from the Two On One collection. It opens with some chilled rhodes and the break from 'You're Getting A Little Too Smart' by the Detroit Emeralds (which would later anchor Digital's classic 'Gateman'). An effects heavy vocal declares "meanwhile (uptown) the DJ play" and comes from 'De System' by Mutabaruka. It also appears in less obscured form on 'In/Flux', a stunning sample-laden odyssey by DJ Shadow.
Here it is the cue for some scattershot Amen to enter along with gorgeous synth pads and an invigorating bassline. I particularly like the mid-track break down as everything is stripped away and the rhodes returns and is built upon as shimmering synths swirl around it before the Amen crashes back in: absolute bliss.
I've covered a few tunes from the Two On One series with Omni Trio's 'Thru The Vibe (94)', Foul Play's 'Cuttin' Loose', DJ Crystl's 'King Of The Beats' and Essence of Aura's 'Northern Lights' all previously featuring. You can hear them and all the rest below on a great mix from 8en. World Domination t-shirts will be going on sale over at 2 Bad Mice's store on Friday at 9pm BST.
