Wax Doctor – The Spectrum (Metalheadz, 1995)
Originally hailing from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, Paul Saunders experienced the acid house scene of the late eighties first hand at clubs such as Land of Oz. In the early nineties he started producing breakbeat hardcore for Basement Records as Wax Doctor with tracks including Grooverider favourites ‘A New Direction’ and ‘Dark Matter’. It was through Basement that he met a young studio engineer by the name of Alex Reece and the two of them went on to develop a deeper sound under aliases such as Unit 1 and Fallen Angels.
‘The Spectrum’ appeared on his second 12″ for Metalheadz following the classic ‘Kid Caprice’. It’s a sumptuous but fractured track powered by a masterfully cut-up ‘Apache’ break and filled with gorgeous Detroit inspired synths, packing what could have been the melodies for at least three separate tracks into one. Like ‘Drowning In Her’ it features samples from the early nineties material of The Black Dog, the British techno pioneers whose original line up consisted of Ken Downie, Ed Handley and Andy Turner (the latter two departing in 1995 to concentrate on their work as Plaid). The opening twinkling sound is taken from the beginning of ‘3/4 Heart’ by Balil (Handley), a track that appeared on the excellent Bytes album. The rippling synth effect that comes in at around 3:30 is taken from the start of ‘Otaku’ by Atypic (Turner) which was released on the Black Dog Productions EP. Saunders seamlessly incorporates these samples with the track’s other elements which as well as the lush synths also include a warm bassline and echoed “Yeah” vocals. A beautiful track that is perfect for watching the sunrise on a clear summer morning.
You can purchase the digital of ‘The Spectrum’ directly from the label here. It was also included on the Platinum Breakz compilation and Wax Doctor’s Selected Works 94-96 LP. D Kay & Lee’s ‘Wax’d’ from 2005, a tribute to the retired producer, samples the track and you can listen to it below:
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