Pacific State (song)

"Pacific State" is a single by 808 State released in 1989. It is important as an early "anthem" in the UK house music scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s, a key track in the Madchester scene and Manchester music as a whole, and as an influence on later techno artists.

The song peaked at #10 on the UK Singles Chart. The track first appeared on their Extended Play (extended 12-inch single) release Quadrastate in 1988. It was then remixed to become the group's first release on ZTT Records. Although the overall title is "Pacific State", the remixed versions are individually known by variant titles: the main 7" and 12" versions are "Pacific - 707" and "Pacific - 202" respectively, and a version is known simply as "Pacific". Most compilations which feature the track include either "Pacific - 707" or the original Quadrastate version of "Pacific State".

The "Pacific 202" version of the track is found on the group's 1989 album on ZTT, "Ninety".

The track has an unusual and distinctive arrangement. Where techno usually uses short, repeating basslines with melodic parts layered on top, in "Pacific State" the bass part is used as a melodic element in its own right, constantly changing over the course of the song, with a soprano saxophone (often mistaken for a clarinet) being introduced as counterpoint. The sampled female voices are Bulgarian traditional folklore singing.

"Pacific State" is also briefly reprised at the start of 808 State's subsequent hit collaboration with MC Tunes, "The Only Rhyme That Bites".

Parts of "Pacific State" are used in Altern-8's song "Infiltrate 202" which reached #28 in the Singles Chart in the UK in 1991, along with vocals from P.P. Arnold (who sang on The KLF's "3am Eternal" and "Last Train to Transcentral") just two years after the release of 808 State's biggest hit.

Featured on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas radio station SF:UR and sampled in the Japanese/European version of Sonic the Hedgehog CD.

External links

• Pacific State (Song) at Discogs