Press
808 State
1989

clipping from M.E.N. pop page circa 1989

full text:
State of the pop art

WELCOME to the 808 State, the state of Manchester. Just one medium-sized city in a big, big world, yet oh so crucial. 808 State are a dance crew who could only come from the North of England.
Like The Fall or Happy Mondays before them, 808 State have the word "Mancunian" tattooed all over their tunes.
They're as arrogant and uncompromising as any gang of political extremists and a million times as worthy.
So who are they? I can tell you that 808 State is the creation of Graham Massey and Martin Price. Graham being a prolific engineer and member of the ever-changing Biting Tongues, while Martin is the big mouth behind Oldham Street's Eastern Bloc Records, proba¬bly the best indie record shop in Britain.
Underground
Together they produce some of the most experimental dance sounds around; their new album Quadrastate spun daily by Radio One's John Peel (who, incidentally, celebrates his fiftieth birthday next week!).
Vanilla Sound Corps, Diskonexion and Mike Pickering's Dynasty Of Two are just a few Northern dance acts who've turned away from acid house towards more soulful garage and deep styles.
But carried forth by their overwhelming self-confidence, 808 State have stuck to a rawer range, touching on new beat/techno tunes and never scared to experiment.
With friends, including rap crew The Spinmasters and ex-member A Guy Called Gerald, 808 State have built a vast under¬ground following over the past 12 months with a series of 12ins and a mini LP New Build on their own Creed label.
Incredible
Why haven't you heard about it? Because they have purposely kept their precious wares a secret from the Press and radio, refusing to compromise by employing pluggers.
All of a sudden, however, 808 State have chosen to take a step overground. They have been thrown into the limelight after an appear¬ance on Snub TV and an incredible tally of Radio One plays. Rumours fly of "big" labels with whom they've been negotiating "enormous" deals. WEA and ZTT have keenly pursued the band, while Martin Price coolly informs visitors to his shop that Mr. Tony Wilson has offered them £150,000 to sign to Factory. A likely story!
You might never be sure when the 808 State are exaggerating, but you can be certain they have no pop star pretentions.
They just couldn't care less. Manchester born and bred, they laugh at the South, in the knowledge that they'll always be 12 steps ahead.
So don't say you weren't told!