MA1 is a name made famous by legendary rave promoters World Dance, Fantazia and Helter Skelter. If you grew up within the original rave scene and didn’t own one of these jackets you were either a social outcast, a lover of death metal or that strange genre Brit Pop.
For those who could afford a selection of these jackets, the MA2 was the gentleman’s raving jacket with a collar to turn up and down depending on the occasion.
If my memory serves me correctly, the MA3 was a version of the MA1 with a furry collar, failing that it was the longer version with slightly more puff. Either way though, the MA series was an important part of the rave scene which spread into Jungle raves with the likes of Desert Storm, AWOL and Roast all selling branded versions of the classic jackets.
These jackets originated in the 1950’s and were used by the US Military, way before the UK rave scene exploded. If you want to pick up a MA1 or MA2, Fantazia still sell the original designs here.
Moving on from jackets, MA3 was also one of many aliases used by DJ SS. One of many is also not an exaggeration, the man used over 20 different names including both MA1 and MA2.
So this is ‘Bite It’, a tune that was featured on the flip of Formation Records 66th release and one that didn’ti really receive a huge amount of support. It does, however, carry the Formation trademark sound of the era.
I’m certainly not knocking the track, it’s one of those tunes of the era that must have been carrying certain credibility as SS remixed it swiftly after releasing the original alongside the classic remix of ‘Those DJ’s’ which received a huge amount of support from the top DJ’s of the time.
I think some saw this track as a kind of novelty record, who else would sample the biting of an apple in a drop but SS? Picture the scene, you’re in a dark and moody jungle rave in 1996, basslines are rolling, lighter gas is going off and then…. “to give you permission to… (insert apple crunching sample here).. bite it”. SAY WHAT? It’s about 1.5 seconds after the drop when you then realise that this tune is actually a pretty weighty jump up roller.
The remix especially was a kind of combination sound, simplistic hats and snares lead in the intro, some jazzy trumpets with what sounds like the original James Bond introduction in parts and then that bloody apple sample. I remember picking this up and playing ‘Bite It’ at a local house party only to be swiftly asked “why are you playing this side?”.
