How Underworld Soundtracked An Alternative Generation
Words: Dray Morgan
Since their inception, Underworld have been synonymous with providing the score to the fringe and stranger parts of society. After almost 40 years, their work still sounds as cutting-edge and impactful as ever. Echoing sounds of Krawftwek, Orbital and the prominent rave culture their sound was embedded in, you can’t have a night with some Underworld.
Inception
Initially the duo of Rick Smith and Karl Hyde formed the group “Freur”, in the late 1970s. The band saw initial success through their track ‘Doot Doot’. This then evovled into ‘Underoworld Mk1’ which was based on the horror film of the same name. However, the group was dissatisfied, with Karl Hyde sayin,g “We realised we were a band trapped in the body of another band. We were denying what we were.”
Born Slippy
After gaining underground traction for their first album Dubnobasswithmyheadman. This was enough for Underworld’s music to feature in two films, which gained them major notoriety. Their track ‘Cowgirl’ appeared in the 1995 film ‘Hackers’, but more memorable was their tracks ‘Dark & Long’ and ‘Born Slippy Nuxx’ in the 1996 cult classic ‘Trainspotting’. Initially a throwaway B-side, Born Slippy has not transcended the 90s rave world and become an anthem of introspection. The group initially denied their track from being in the film as they were worried that it was painting the rave world in a negative light.
Olympic Rave
After Trainspotting, the band built a great working relationship with the films director, Danny Boyle. The trio have worked on six TV and film projects together as well as scoring the entire London 2012 Olympics. One of the most ambitious live events in history, Underworld ensured that the rave movement would be perceived by over one billion people.
Video Game inspirations
Various video game creators have cited Underworld as a main influence when composing the soundtracks to their games. Composers of scores for Tekken, Assassin’s Creed, Hitman, Sonic and many more iconic video game soundscapes take inspiration from Underworld.
