(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)
The Utah Saints made their mark in England during the rave era with a very simple idea: build rock songs by sampling other songs and adding a danceable beat.
Tim Garbutt and Jez Willis (who had apprenticed in industrial music with Cassandra Complex and cut his teeth on house with MDMA) broke through in 1991 with the single What Can You Do For Me, which quickly became famous for its irresistible "hook" and complex vocal layers (sampling Annie Lennox).
The EP Something Good (Ffrr, 1992) used the same trick for the overwhelming title track (this time targeting Kate Bush), occasionally falling into genre clichs (What Can You Do For Me, inspired by melodic disco; Anything Can Happen, a summa of every effect imaginable, from operatic choruses to heavy metal riffs), but also achieving moments of real inspiration (the pulsating, dark, and sinister beat of Trance Atlantic Flights sequencers, breathtaking, peppered with noises and at one point doubled by a string section).
Utah Saints (London, 1993) is divided between two stylistic directions: the fusion with heavy metal on tracks like I Want You and the intensification of trance elements on Solution (featuring Doors-style organ) and States Of Mind (with flute, harpsichord, and ethnic instruments).
(Original English text by Piero Scaruffi)
The duo resurfaced after a decade of silence with another orgy of samples:
Two (Nettwerk, 2001).
