0´10cc0: Sun Electric

Legend has it that the original version of "O locco" by Berlin duo Sun Electric was recorded during the night the wall came down. Tom Thiel and Max Loderbauer soon met Alex Paterson who was just getting started with Jimmy Cauty and Youth as The Orb. Heralding this floating track as the birth of ambient house, The Orb offered to release "O´locco" on their label WAU Mr Modo and did an epic session of eight remixes for the b-side (and a later promo-release).

After an abortive signing to legendary ZTT records, Sun Electric went to hot but patchy Belgian techno-label R&S records, who were at the forefront of the thriving techno-scene in the early nineties.

The first release was a 1993 re-issue of "O´locco", which - thanks to the wonderful sleeve by the Designers Republic - became "0´10cc0".

However the spelling, "O´Locco" in its original versions is a timeless, floating piece of beauty. The genre names "ambient house" and "balearic" nail it.

Sun Electric: O´Locco (Kama Sutra)

The basic groove is a slowed down Kraftwerk-sample ("It´s more fun to compute") which floats and bounces underneath a stream of swooshing and glistening synth-pads. A simple bassline is constantly changing its sound while cut-up and rhythmic female voices provide some erotic stimulus. Some pearly piano loops add another cool breeze to this stereophonic simulation of stoned afternoons on a tropical beach.


Sun Electric did some expeptional records later on, but I never found something that was so simple, perfect and endlessly re-listenable as "0´10cc0"