Saint Etienne – Foxbase Alpha
It’s hard to believe that Saint Etienne’s debut album Foxbase Alpha turns 25 this year but the good news is that it still sounds as fresh, vibrant and relevant as the day it was released. Often hailed as one of the most important DIY albums of all time, ‘Foxbase Alpha’ became the first long player released on fledgling Heavenly Recordings in 1991 and went on to be nominated alongside ‘Screamadelica’ in the first ever Mercury Music Prize in 1992.
The album is a wonderful mix of both modern and retro influences with house music, ambient, samples and 60s pop coexisting easily for a unique sound not found anywhere else at the time. It is best known for their popular cover of Neil Young’s Only Love Can Break Your Heart. Foxbase Alpha had such an impact upon its release that it was nominated for the Mercury Prize eventually losing to Primal Scream’s Screamadelica.
