View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1999 CD release of Bassline on Discogs. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2011 Blue Transparent Vinyl release of Bassline on Discogs. Label: Get On Down - GET-703. Format: Vinyl 7. Bassline (Vocal) B: Bassline (Instrumental) Companies, etc. Mantronix: Bassline. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1999 CD release of Bassline on Discogs.

The Album is the debut album by the group Mantronix.

Reception[edit]

From contemporary reviews, J. D. Considine gave the album a three star rating, noting its sound was 'pretty run-of-themill for hip-hop' with its 'vintage elctronic percussion' and M.C. Tee's 'standard-issue raps.'^[8] Considine specifically noted that Mantronix 'definitely has a way with the music. They assemble their jams with funky finesse, revving up the marhciner behind 'Bassline' until the rap evaporates into pure rhythm' and that 'Mega-Mix' was 'about as CONCRETE as this music gets.'^[8] 'The Album's track 'Bassline' was praised by Ken Tucker who called it the most well-known cut as 'a slinky dance-music compsotion that employs rap-music cadences to achieve a choppy frenetic effect' while stating the rest of the album 'Isn't as innovative' with the exception of 'Mega-Mix' which was 'almost abstract collage of sound effects, comes close.'^[9]

Mantronix - Listen to Mantronix on Deezer. With music streaming on Deezer you can discover more than 56 million tracks, create your own playlists, and share your favourite tracks with your friends. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1986 Vinyl release of Bassline on Discogs. Label: 10 Records - TEN T 118. Format: Vinyl 12 Mantronix - Bassline (1986, Vinyl) Discogs.

The NME placed the album at number 10 on its year-end list of best albums of 1986.^[10]

Track listing[edit]

1. 'Bassline' (Kurtis Mantronik, MC Tee) – 5:26
2. 'Needle to the Groove' (Mantronik, MC Tee) – 3:41
3. 'Mega-Mix' (Mantronik, MC Tee) – 5:35
4. 'Hardcore Hip-Hop' (Mantronik, MC Tee) – 6:18
5. 'Ladies' (Mantronik, MC Tee) – 6:55
6. 'Get Stupid 'Fresh' Part I' (Mantronik, MC Tee) – 3:52
7. 'Fresh Is the Word' (Mantronik, MC Tee) – 5:31

Bonus tracks[edit]

In February 2006, Virgin/EMI re-released the album in the UK with five bonus tracks and new cover art.

1. 'Ladies (Revived)'
2. 'Bassline (Stretched)'
3. 'Hardcore Hip Hop (NME Mix)'
4. 'Ladies (Dub)'
5. 'Ladies (Instrumental)'

Double-CD deluxe edition bonus tracks[edit]

On February 12, 2008, Traffic Entertainment Group released a double-CD edition of the album, titled simply Mantronix, with an extra disc and new cover art. The extra tracks are as follows:

1. Bassline (Club Version)
2. Needle to the Groove (12' Version)
3. Fresh is the Word (12' Version)
4. Ladies (UK Remix)
5. Bassline (Radio Version)
6. Bassline (12' Version)
7. Needle to the Groove (Alternate Version)
8. Jamming on the Groove
9. Needle to the Groove (Live)
10. Ladies (Live)
11. Ladies (A Capella)
12. Get Stupid 'Fresh' Part 1 (A Capella)
13. Fresh is the Word (Radio Version)
14. Fresh is the Beat
15. Fresh is the Word (A Capella)

Chart positions[edit]

Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album

Billboard (North America) - singles

References[edit]

1. ^Chin, Brian (1 Feb 1986). 'dance trax'. Billboard. 98 (5). ISSN0006-2510. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
2. ^Allmusic website review
3. ^Mojo magazine review, p.119
4. ^Pitchfork Media reviewArchived 2008-04-26 at the Wayback Machine
5. ^Rhapsody review
6. ^sputnikmusic review
7. ^Top Ten review
8. ^ ^abConsidine. sfn error: no target: CITEREFConsidine (help)
9. ^Tucker. sfn error: no target: CITEREFTucker (help)
10. ^'Albums and tracks of the Year 1986'. NME. Retrieved April 20, 2015.

Sources[edit]

• Considine, J. D. (September 6, 1986). 'Joel's Bridge Doesn't Cross River'. The Salinas Californian. p. 30. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
• Tucker, Ken (July 11, 1986). ''Legal Eagles' Theme Song is Weakest from Strong, new Rod Stewart Album'. Spokane Chronicle. p. 40. Retrieved August 12, 2020.

External links[edit]

• Mantronix: The Album at allmusic

Here’s an overlooked treat released last week: a double-disc compilation honoring influential hip-hop/dance duo Mantronix.

In the mid-1980s, as the New York rap scene blossomed and all sorts of rhythms were seeping into pop music, fewer dance acts were more exciting than Mantronix. Comprised of DJ/producer Kurtis Mantronik (nee el-Khaleel) and rapper MC Tee, Mantronix won club kids over with their sample-ready electronic sounds, combining processed beats, synthesized bass and turntable scratches to create something that sounded like the logical sonic progression from “Planet Rock” by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force or Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five’s “The Message.”

After the success of Billboard dance hit “Fresh is the Word” and the release of independent album Mantronix: The Album in 1985 (featuring tracks sampled or referenced by the likes of Beck and The Beastie Boys), Mantronix began to produce for other acts on their Sleeping Bag Records label before signing to Capitol in 1987 in one of the first seven-figure deals for a hip-hop act. MC Tee left the group for the Air Force in 1988, and Mantronik added rappers Bryce Wilson and DJ D. (and later singer Jade Trini in DJ D.’s place). Later singles like “Got to Have Your Love” were U.K. hits, but Mantronik left the music business for a long spell in 1991.

Traffic Entertainment Group, who expanded Mantronix: The Album in 2008 with a bonus disc of vintage mixes and edits, now presents King of the Beats 1985-1988, an overview of the band’s Sleeping Bag years, featuring 12″ mixes and album cuts from The Album and follow-up Music Madness (1986) as well as rare Mantronix productions for Just-Ice and T La Rock.

King of the Beats is out now and yours to order after the jump.

Mantronix, King of the Beats 1985-1988 (Traffic Entertainment Group, 2012)

Disc 1

1. Bassline
2. Needle to the Groove (12″ Version)
3. Fresh is the Word (12″ Version)
4. Megamix (1)
5. Hardcore Hip-Hop
6. Get Stupid “Fresh” (Part 1)
7. We Control the Dice
8. Listen to the Bass of Get Stupid Fresh
9. Music Madness
10. Megamix (2)
11. Fresh is the Beat
12. Jamming on the Groove
13. Bassline (Instrumental)

Mantronix Who Is It

Disc 2

1. Breaking Bells (12″ Version) – T La Rock
2. Back to the Old School – Just-Ice
3. Needle to the Groove (Alternate)
4. Cold Gettin’ Dumb – Just-Ice
5. Bass Machine (12″ Version) – T La Rock
6. Cold Gettin’ Dumb II – Just-Ice
7. Turbo Charged – Just-Ice
8. Breaking Bells (Dub) – T La Rock
9. Johnny the Fox – Tricky Tee
10. Fresh is the Word ’88

Mantronix King Of The Beats

Disc 1, Tracks 1 and 4-6 from Mantronix: The Album (Sleeping Bag Records, 1985)
Disc 1, Tracks 2 and 12 from Sleeping Bag Records 12″ SLX-015, 1985
Disc 1, Tracks 3 and 11 from Sleeping Bag Records 12″ SLX-014, 1985
Disc 1, Tracks 7-10 from Music Madness (Sleeping Bag Records, 1986)
Disc 1, Track 13 from Sleeping Bag Records 12″ SLX-018, 1986
Disc 2, Tracks 1, 5 and 8 from Fresh Records 12″ FRE-006, 1986
Disc 2, Tracks 2, 4 and 7 from Back to the Old School (Fresh Records, 1986)
Disc 2, Track 3 from Mantronix: The Album – Deluxe Edition (Warlock/Traffic TEG-76532, 2008)
Disc 2, Track 6 from Fresh Records 12″ FRE-009, 1987
Disc 2, Track 9 from Sleeping Bag Records 12″ SLX-016, 1985
Disc 2, Track 10 from The Rap Pack (Fresh Records, 1988)