Early '89 and outside a house in north London stands a white fire engine. Inside the gaff there are black walls decorated with dayglo fish. Smoke 'n' strobes throb electric. People with laser beam stares and UV ultrabrite smiles dance like sea anemones caught in a tidal wave as the music instructs us to "Work it to the bone." In the back garden a tequila slammer bar is taking on all-comers not far from the grave of Muscles the cat while the children upstairs pour buckets of water over any adult that irritates their fancy. Airfix kits of jets and rockets explode out of the Tron-like DJ booth in which stands the man I have been looking for. Stocky, slightly thinning, he bends over his Technics, cues another record, syncs BPMs, and crossfades. What appears to be a meltdown PiL's "This Is Not A Love Song" and Lil' Louis' "French Kiss" shudders out of the sound system. The DJ stands back and grins at the way he has propelled the energy of the party unto a higher orbit. I tap him on the shoulder. "Erm, are you Alex?" I ask. He nods agreement over the music. "Nice one, I was told you might have some E's" This is how I get to meet Dr. Alex Paterson, I'm later reminded - well it was one of those sorts of nights - by my partner of the time, Helen Mead, now of this parish. --------------------------- Born and brought up in Clapham Common, Alex had ended up at EG after a period spent as a roadie for Killing Joke whose bassist, Youth, was a mate from school and who were signed to the label. If by day Alex was desperately trying to push through dance music on EG, by night he was pioneering ambient sounds in the chill-out room at The Land Of Oz. Sunday mornings were spent hazily coming down around at the JAMMs/KLF Trancentral squat in Stockwell in the company of Jimmy Cauty, who had been in brilliant with Youth. Marshmallow machine madness rules as Alex and Jimmy improvised hour-long chilled sequences of music for DJs and mates who would drop in to repair their heads after a long weekend's clubbing. Some classic tunes would drop out as a result. "It was out of those sessions that 'Tripping On Sunshine', which was a joke really, and 'Loving You' (aka "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld"), some of the first Orb releases happened," recalls Alex (early version of the KLF's "3AM Eternal" and "What Time Is Love?", which were ambient in outlook, were also constructed at the time). "As far as 'Loving You' is concerned it cost £20 make yet now original copies are going for £40! (NOTE: PUBLISHED IN 1993) "The 'Kiss EP' cost about the same and they now go for £80. The 'Kiss EP' was essentially a tribute to New York's KISS radio station - as opposed to KISS FM, who stole everything from them right down to their logos. "Myself, Youth, Kris Needs and Muff Fitzgerald (journalist/publicist) all used to listen to these tapes from KISS in New York and think, What the fuck!?! - this is the future of music. And it has turned out to be that so far. Maybe it'll go back to a rock and roll thing for the year 2000, you never know. And that's another story as well - how businessmen control the music business and they aren't going to allow experimentation with music. Sad but True."