Definition Of Sound

The London-based pair Definition of Sound fused post-acid house hip-hop with elements of freestyle, reggae, rap, funk, rock, and R&B to produce an engaging, energetic sound that could evoke Al Green in one moment, Van Morrison in the next, and the Ombres shortly after. Kevin Clark and Don Weekes first connected at a mutual friend’s house during a session of playing rare and new records while trading freestyle raps. Weekes, already credited on recordings with Coldcut’s Matt Black and a short-term member of X Posse, recognized Clark’s talent and the two quickly began writing together. After completing a demo, they issued two underground singles—“Naturally” and “Straight From the Soul”—on the Dance Yard label under the name Top Billin’. Those releases attracted attention from Circa Records, which signed the duo and helped them build a U.K. audience by placing them on bills with visiting artists such as KRS-One and Kid ’N Play. Cardiac, a Virgin-financed U.S. dance imprint, offered an American contract after encountering the act at an industry showcase.

Their debut Cardiac album, Love and Life: A Journey With the Chameleons, delivered an inventive and striking set of hip-hop tracks. Lead single “Now Is Tomorrow,” an energetic number featuring jangling lead guitar, swirling flanger effects, guest vocals from Elaine Vassell, and an uplifting lyric, reached the rap and dance charts in mid-1991. Follow-up “Wear Your Love Like Heaven,” which climbed to the U.K. Top Ten in early 1992, blended street-level b-boy rhythms with the buoyant ’60s sensibility of Donovan. Third single “Moira Jane’s Cafe” carried a Memphis atmosphere, opening with a spoken passage reminiscent of Elvis, supported by prominent rock guitar and heavy, fatback drumming. Record Mirror named the album Rap Album of the Year, while Billboard, Rockpool, The Source, and additional American outlets published enthusiastic notices. Just as the group appeared poised for wider recognition, Cardiac ceased operations following EMI’s acquisition of Virgin.

Charisma next accepted the finished sophomore album The Lick, yet the label was absorbed into West Coast Virgin only a week before the scheduled release. In the resulting uncertainty, Definition of Sound spent more than a year roaming London’s streets, absorbing the realities of life, love, and hardship, while composing and tracking close to thirty new songs. Eventually the pair secured a Mercury contract and began work on their third album, Experience. The precisely written, intelligent material reflected the perspective of the two self-described “chameleons,” now older and more seasoned. They enlisted ’80s producer Chris Hughes, whose credits include Adam & the Ants, Tears for Fears, and Robert Plant. New Musical Express characterized the resulting blend of ’60s pop, psychedelic soul, R&B, and assorted rock textures within a rich, layered ambient setting as “like the delayed hit of a powerful drug.”