spring IN HIS STEP

The last time we featured Tim Hannigan in Digital Beat as a guest reviewer a tabloid hack responded by implying that everything was hunky-dory between my former partner and myself and that the acrimonious Sound Crowd split was an elaborate hoax.
Sure, we pulled a few press scams in our day. Like when that particular tabloid hack devoted half a page to how the Drugs Mix of our Easy Does It single should have been credited as the No Drugs Mix the spoof story sent out because the third partner in the Red Records equation, Denis Desmond, reckoned the Drugs Mix would land us in hot water with 2FM.
But to suggest that the acrimonious split was another scam showed that the tabloid hack (yet again) had little grasp of the facts. A few weeks previously all three Red partners had battled out the last remaining legal matters in a courtroom. The judge had (correctly) ruled in Tim Hannigan s favour. The case followed a year in which many harsh words were spoken, many cruel words were written, and the stabs in the back had cut deep.
This time around, we feature Tim Hannigan as my own tip for the top for 1997, and given the circumstances mentioned above, you might ask me: why? The simple answer is because he is potentially the Irish dance scene s biggest export. I wouldn t be honest if I failed to acknowledge that his undeniable production wizardry will have him in the UK top 40 before long. Mista Fantastic (as he was then) is now Mister Spring, and the pages of Smash Hits await his presence. Good music is good music no matter who creates it, least of all in the world of faceless techno bollocks .
On top of all that, I still like the guy. Ours was just one of many friendships destroyed by the music business. In the last twelve months there has been a lot of growing up on both sides time to move on.
Regular readers may recall that one of our longest running stories has been the tale of Mister Spring s Voyager 1 single, signed up by Manifesto early last year. Some readers thought that the track s non-appearance in the shops was the sign of another Hannigan/Kavanagh scam, but the sample clearance problems that delayed its release were more serious than that.
Tim explains: I knew something was going to fuck everything up. Okay, so I lifted some bits from a tune or two I picked up in Spain. I can t even pronounce the names of the victims here. (The accapella of DJ Roman s La Locura was one, fact fans). The Klubbheads gave me a shoulder to cry on and some wicked advice, and now we re sorted.
For the record, Voyager 1 is a mind-blowing back-to-basics tune that causes serious dancefloor damage. A stomping back-beat and bassline pound away topped with just a snippet or two of the offending Spanish vocals, before it drops to just a wild Mentasm stab which starts looping ever more frantically to reach a heart attack-inducing speed of 1020bpm; one of the best breakdowns you ll ever hear. In Ibiza last summer the crowds at Amnesia had a routine worked out for it involving slow hand-clapping and impatient stamping, and the craze has now spread to the UK.
Dutch stars The Klubbheads are one of the remixers featured on the forthcoming double-pack promo that also includes interpretations from Dex & Jonesy and KGB. A further remix from Hannigan and Paul Dakeyne (the A&R man who signed him), plus Mister Spring and Rampant Weed mixes of Break It complete a package that shows Manifesto is investing a lot of money in Bray s most famous son. Last year s delays must have caused a headache or two.
This ain t no joke, it s big business now, he admits. People s asses are on the line. I had the pressure of being signed and having this fucking thing hanging over me the whole time, messing up everyone s schedules.
That he was one of the only Irish acts signed by a major label last year doesn t bother him. (It didn t seem to bother the Irish media either as it was largely ignored.) He s too busy using his new connections to full effect, with Mister Spring remixes featured on a number of Manifesto releases, most notably Wink s Higher State Of Consciousness , which sold over 200,000 copies.
Throughout 1996 he still found time to offer his services (for free) to a number of small Irish labels such as Abbey Dance paying work is rare but it all balances out in the end. His own label, DT, allowed him the opportunity to explore more underground avenues under a number of clever disguises.
DT may be forced to take a back seat once the hectic promotion schedule that accompanies having a hit single on a major label begins. In dance circles nobody cares about the personalities behind the music, but once the single crosses over from the clubs to the charts the PR machine kicks in.
In the old days he shied away from publicity, but now that people s asses are on the line he will be thrust into the full glare of the media. He need not worry as his wacky and wonderful personality is possibly his greatest asset in the year ahead. Mista Fantastic is dead. Long live Mister Spring. n