System 7 (album)
System 7 is the first studio album by the dance/ambient band System 7.
| System 7 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1991 | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 66:27 | |||
| Label | Ten Records (Virgin) DIXCD 102 CD DIXG102 2 x 12" | |||
| Producer | System 7 | |||
| System 7 chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Select | [1] |
| The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music | [6] |
A somewhat different version was released in the United States as 777 by 777. The running order is different, there are different mixes of two tracks (taken from the "Miracle" single), and it has two tracks from the "Freedom Fighters" single – "Depth Disco" and "Mia". Just to confuse matters, 777 was also the title of System 7's second UK album, with completely different music.
With several vocal tracks, this album has rather a different feel from later System 7 albums. Aniff Cousins appears on "Freedom Fighters" (with Zoë providing chorus vocals) and "Dog", and Olu Rowe on "Habibi", "Bon Humeur" and "Strange Quotations".
Style
Candy Absorption of The Rough Guide to Rock wrote that the album was "accessible, if in retrospect untypical", adding that group leaders Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy "were yet to settle into their after-hours, dreamy, chill-out style, and the record features vocals by Olu Rowe reminiscent of Seal."[7] John Bush of AllMusic writes that the album is a "potent crossover record" that explores "the polished end of ambient house". He wrote that Hillage's guitar solos and the structures of several tracks evoke Hillage's mid-1970s work, considering the album to be "space-rock explorations".[2] Davydd Chong of Music Week describes it as an album of "atmospheric sound collages" which are laced with harder-edged material.[3]
The single "Habibi" was described by Chong as "world music dragged through a sweaty sound system at three in the morning".[3] Hillage explained: "'Habibi' means 'my love' in Arabic. I've had a long-term interest in Arabic music, right back to the mid-seventies. It's quite elevating."[3] "Mia (The Fisherman Mix)", found on the American version of the album, is a washing ambient track which features on the 1993 Excursions in Ambience compilation.[2]
Track listing
System 7
| # | Track | Length | Written by | Produced by | Mixed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Sunburst" | 07:25 | Alex Paterson, Steve Hillage & Miquette Giraudy | Youth & Hillage | Youth and Thrash |
| 2 | "Freedom Fighters" | 05:21 | Hillage, Aniff Cousins & Zoë | Hillage | Hillage, Thrash and Greg Hunter |
| 3 | "Habibi" | 06:09 | Steve Waddington, Hillage, Olu Rowe & Giraudy | Hillage & Waddington | Thrash |
| 4 | "Altitude" | 05:58 | Derrick May & Hillage | May & Hillage | May |
| 5 | "Bon Humeur" | 07:27 | Hillage, Rowe & Giraudy | Hillage | Thrash |
| 6 | "Fractal Liaison" | 02:09 | May & Hillage | May & Hillage | mixed live to DAT |
| 7 | "Dog" | 05:52 | Paterson, Hillage, Cousins & Giraudy | Hillage | Thrash |
| 8 | "Thunderdog" | 02:26 | Paterson, Hillage & Giraudy | Hillage & Paterson | The Orb |
| 9 | "Listen" | 06:23 | May & Hillage | May & Hillage | Thrash |
| 10 | "Strange Quotations" | 06:36 | Hillage, Michael MacNeil & Rowe | Hillage | — |
| 11 | "Miracle" | 07:08 | Paterson, Paul Oakenfold, Hillage, Giraudy & Andy Falconer | Hillage | Thrash |
| 12 | "Over and Out" | 03:27 | Hillage & Giraudy | Hillage & Giraudy | — |
777
| 777 | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by | |
| Released | July/August 1992 |
| Length | 78:33 |
| Label | Caroline CAROL 1727-2 |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [8] |
| # | Track | Length | Written by | Produced by | Mixed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Sunburst (Seahorse Mix)" | 07:14 | Paterson, Hillage & Giraudy | Youth & Hillage | Youth and Thrash |
| 2 | "Miracle (Orb Remix)" | 06:31 | Paterson, Oakenfold, Hillage, Giraudy & Falconer | Hillage | The Orb (Paterson and Thrash) |
| 3 | "Depth Disco" | 07:35 | Hillage, Giraudy & Lewis Keogh | Hillage | Hillage and Tyrell |
| 4 | "Altitude" | 05:58 | May & Hillage | May & Hillage | May |
| 5 | "Habibi" | 06:19 | Waddington, Hillage, Rowe & Giraudy | Hillage & Waddington | Thrash |
| 6 | "Strange Quotations" | 06:16 | Hillage, MacNeil & Rowe | Hillage | Hillage and Thrash |
| 7 | "Bon Humeur" | 07:00 | Hillage, Rowe & Giraudy | Hillage | Thrash |
| 8 | "Freedom Fighters" | 05:18 | Hillage, Cousins & Zoë | Hillage | Hillage, Thrash and Hunter |
| 9 | "Dog" | 05:52 | Paterson, Hillage, Cousins & Giraudy | Hillage | Thrash |
| 10 | "Thunderdog" | 02:26 | Paterson, Hillage & Giraudy | Hillage & Paterson | The Orb |
| 11 | "Listen" | 06:25 | May & Hillage | May & Hillage | Thrash |
| 12 | "Fractal Liaison" | 02:10 | mixed live to DAT | ||
| 13 | "Over and Out" | 03:25 | Hillage & Giraudy | Hillage & Giraudy | — |
| 14 | "Mia (The Fisherman Mix)" | 06:09 | Hillage, Nigel Butler & Giraudy | Hillage & Butler | mix consultant Paterson |
References
- Morrison, Dave (November 1991). "Reviews: New Albums". Select: 76–77. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- Bush, John. "777 Review by John Bush". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- Chong, Davydd (28 September 1991). "DJ Directory" (PDF). Music Week: 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- Bush, John. "777 [UK] Review by John Bush". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- "System 7 – System 7". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
- Larkin, Colin (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music. London: Virgin Books. p. 331. ISBN 0753502526. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2002.
- Absorption, Candy (2003). "System 7". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock. London: Rough Guides. p. 495. ISBN 1843531054. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- Bush, Josh. "777 – System 7". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
