Fighting fit... Steve Mason's new band the Black Affair are rekindling memories of the Beta Band at their best. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod
The end of the Beta Band in 2004 was a heavy blow for lovers of genuinely progressive British music. The group's aural collages of folk, hip-hop and 60s pop were consistently enthralling. At times of apathy, those moments when music sounds blandly uninspired, a blast of the Beta Band always restored the faith. While eclecticism is attributed to many recent artists few approach Steve Mason and co in terms of consistent defiance of genre.
The Beta Band were a combination of boundless experimentation, fierce self-criticism and gleeful humour, the likes of which we may not see again. But before becoming misty-eyed with nostalgia, let's turn an ear to what the former members have been producing of late. Most music fans have surely had the experience of loyally following post-breakup careers with a growing sense of dismay. As stubbornly unpredictable as ever, I think the former Beta Banders have reversed this sad scenario.
In fact, listening to new tracks from the Black Affair and the Aliens, my feelings about the band's demise have become ambiguous. Both projects have explosive levels of focus and drive. The songs inspire that rare sense of thrilled anticipation; one listen and you are itching to hear what will follow such brilliant concoctions. To me, inspiring that curiosity is the measure of great music.
The Aliens are Robin Jones, John Maclean and initial member/later producer of The Beta Band, Gordon Anderson (Lone Pigeon). Visiting their Myspace page you are confronted with an awesome mixture of record covers that represent their influences: Wu-Tang, Hendrix, the Beach Boys, the Beastie Boys. Each record is undeniably brilliant but you can't help feeling nervous as to how one sound informed by such a huge range will manage to gel.
If Robot Man is the result then the answer is astounding - as moody and funky as Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man, which it weirdly evokes. With vocal harmonies reminiscent of Super Furry Animals and infectiously soulful synths and guitar, it's a prime nugget of psychedelic pop. The sense of happily successful improvisation and a surreal rap show the charms of the Beta Band remain intact but rather than resting on their laurels the Aliens are creating sounds that pull in numerous directions.
The Happy Song is a manic rocker that evokes the chirpiest moments of Revolver and the delirious release of Primal Scream's Give Out but Don't Give Up. It's a gleeful fusion that manages to have pop appeal while also presenting satire in its excessive sound and droll lyrics: "Happy enough to wake up and make a cup of tea." You can't help but feel that The Aliens would get on well with Outkast. Their music shares the same chameleon-like irreverence of boundaries.
Steve Mason's the Black Affair move in a strikingly different direction. A renowned hip-hop fanatic, Steve devoted a Beta Band song to KRS-One. It sounds as though he has now given full attention to experimenting with the music he loves and the consequences are remarkable. It Goes Like This conjures up Timbaland in Kraftwerk's laboratory. Eerie horror-film synths meet with staccato percussion as Steve's distinctive, laconic vocals deliver an ambiguous spin on R&B raunch: "That's right, not too tight, I can use these ropes all night..." There's an enigmatic 80s flavour to the synthesisers, looking back to Prince and ESG. The song has all the strange melancholy of some contemporary R&B with an amazing mechanical sheen.
Sweet is more recognisable as a love song. The insistent vocals summon Davy DMX and other early rap while the stuttering percussion reminds one of John Carpenter's excellent Assault on Precinct 13 soundtrack. The experimentalism of the Beta Band is being pushed into new pastures by the Black Affair and the results are original and soulful.
It is anyone's guess what directions the Aliens and the Black Affair will take from here. At the moment they are producing ambitious, inspired music. Judging by the evidence we can expect more brilliant surprises to come. Who else do you think has carried on the ambitions of the Beta Band?
